Isn't it funny how we don't realise just how much we depend on something until it stops working? There is a problem with one or more of the internet servers somewhere and it keeps stopping me from connecting. I feel as if a door has been slammed in my face - every time I try to contact someone I get this little message telling me that the page cannot be found. It is better today, at least I've been able to connect to a few sites, if not all of them.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not addicted. I can stop any time I want... I just don't want right now when I've got stuff for sale on Ebay and am in the middle of communications with several publishers; not to mention the fact that I believe I have emails here on this site that I just cannot get at.

I heard a rumour that two of the main UK sites have been attacked by hackers, but this has not been confirmed on the TV news. Perhaps the news agencies don't consider my desire to be connected newsworthy enough to mention. Or perhaps the rumour is unfounded and the problem is in one of the little chips inside my dilapidated machine.

Oh well, at least I caught up on some reading last night. My review books are stacked in little piles around the house - putting them all together would be too scary - and possibly dangerous. Every time it looks as if I might get through them, more come plopping through the letterbox. Thankfully they all seem to be pretty readable, which makes life easier. On the other hand, the better the book, the more attention I give it and the longer it takes to read. On the other, other hand, I am a very, very fast reader. Yesterday and the day before I got through four of the shorter books and also got on with an article I'm putting together for a UK magazine. Maybe temporary disconnection wasn't such a bad thing after all...

Yesterday's selection were from the small, but rapidly growing UK publisher Rainfall Books Ltd. They  specialise in horror and dark fantasy, so it may not surprise you to learn that my dreams last night were..... haunted.

More reviews are due to be uploaded on Spiralthreads within the next week or so, servers permitting.