Hats off to the BBC's Deborah McGurran. We truly love tenuous links to our books - especially when they mean we get publicity on top. Like a cherry on top, you might say... If, for example, you were talking about a belgian bun, which might be the case if you are talking about cakes - which I'm about to do.
Why speak of cakes I hear you cry?!
Because that's what Deborah did. Marvellously. In an article about Matthew Hancock and Nadhim Zahawi's latest book, Masters of Nothing, which is about economics, Deborah writes:
"MP Matthew Hancock obviously has hidden talents.
He, at least, is a master of something, having been named as the winner of the men's Victoria sponge contest at the annual Thurlow Fayre in his constituency of West Suffolk.
Quite unlike the Masters of Nothing, the title of his new book."
She continues:
"It tells how the crash will happen again unless we understand human nature.
"We know this from our everyday lives and the people we talk to and our marriages," he said.
Well, at least Mrs Hancock can rely on a nice slice of sponge.
What authors won't do for a bit of publicity, eh? And we love them for it. The battle has begun though. Whenever you have a co-authored book there's a contest between them to be the most shameless. Cakes, Matthew. Good work. Now, Nadhim, what can you pull out of the bag? The race is on.
Speaking of races - THIS happened today, a canal boat race.
Needless to say it had us all out of our chairs the way something important coming out of the printer never does (queue the handing down from desk to desk of a manuscript or publicity plan). And it was actually a race too. I've never seen canal boats motoring on so fast, nothing like a bit of competition to get the bucolic life of a canal boat dweller chugging down the Thames. There you go Nadhim - I'm sure there's a link to Master's of Nothing in there somewhere. Good luck!