Tesco in Hexham: my grandma took ill in there yesterday, and the staff were extremely helpful. However, I found it really hard to find an address to email them a ‘thank you’. It’s really, really easy to complain, but people should be encouraged to give positive feedback as well. After a trip to A&E, my grandma is fine. Well done, Tesco.

Discovered Authors: I FINALLY got my full payment from them. I’m delighted to draw a line under this, and I’m assured that I was just one of the few that fell through the cracks (maybe it’s because I’m so thin). And apology would have been nice, but the money I was due is just as welcome!

Royal Mail: after lots of to-ing and fro-ing, I finally got a message to say that they would be paying compensation for the item that they lost. It’s a shame that I’ve had to jump through so many hoops, but I’m glad that they’ve recognised that there was a problem and have tried to rectify it.

First, the plug. An author I know (and actually met through ‘Karma’) has her debut book in shops/online this week. She’s a lovely person and is trying hard to promote her book and get it in the best-seller lists. Her name is Ruth Saberton and her book is called ‘Katy Carter Wants A Hero’. It’s already had some brilliant reviews, so well worth a read. I can’t give you my opinion yet, as I’m waiting for my copy to arrive! I’ve also bought my mammy a copy for her birthday.

Now, I have a dilemma. Hubby is now dealing with DA, as I no longer have the energy - I’m finding that I’m getting angry with the whole situation and negative emotions and M.E. really don’t mix. I feel it’s becoming personal - I feel as though they’re implying that I’m somehow fudging the figures. However, I’m in a position to prove my own figures, etc, are correct, but to do so may have a negative effect on the company and, as a knock on effect, on other authors. Would you look after yourself, or would you consider other people? It’s in my nature to do the latter, but I really feel that I’m being pushed down roads I wouldn’t usually travel, IYKWIM. For goodness sake, it’s such a small sum: pay me already!

I feel tense again, and I sometimes wish I wasn’t so principled. Life would be much easier that way!

Fobbed off again by Discovered Authors, I feel. Still no response to any of my emails. Hubby kindly called them for me last week and was unable to speak to the Main Man. Apparently, over a month later, he’s still ‘looking into’ my issues. How long does it take to read a speadsheet and look at a royalties statement? I get so frustrated with this kind of situation and it makes me even more determined to get a positive result. Honestly, if they knew me personally, they’d realise that not many companies get away with treating me badly: I know my rights!

I know there are other people in similar circumstances who are watching with interest to see how this pans out, and I know you wonder why I haven’t gone to the Press. Believe it or not, I like to look for the best in people and hope they’ll come through in the end. As time drags on, it’s harder and harder to understand why I feel any misguided sense of loyalty to these people. Maybe it’s because I felt they had given me a chance, when I was feeling pretty useless…but on the flipside, they are now stressing me out!

The sad thing is that, these days, companies rely on a positive web presence and good word of mouth advertising, between authors/writers. Could anyone be so short-sighted to not realise that even one negative comment would get people thinking…five would make you distinctly uneasy (as I felt when I trawled the ‘net and did some not-so-light reading)?

Should I, like Karma’s Paige, have doormat written across my forehead for letting this go on so long?

Apologies that I haven’t updated my blog for a while. This was for reasons including the usual ME-related stuff, playing FB Scrabble, but mainly because I’d lost my log-in info and couldn’t remember how to get this sorted out!

A few of you have emailed me to ask about the situation with DA. Without going into too many details, I did hear from the MD several weeks ago. He maintained that I wasn’t entitled to the sum I believe to be correct and I believe he is unhappy that I am expressing my disappointment in a public manner. As you know, I have been patiently contacting them for well over two years now, and am not the type of person to say things that are untrue. I also maintain that every person should make their own decisions, based on the information available to them, so I would never tell people to avoid a company based purely on my experiences. Some authors DO have positive things to say about DA.

Anyhow, I responded to this email and provided evidence of sales figures, etc, and he promised to look into it for me. Electronic communication probably isn’t the best way to do things but I’m terrible on the telephone. This responsibility will be foisted (in a nice way) on to a family member, if it isn’t sorted out soon. I haven’t heard a dicky bird since!

On a sad note, and on the topic of electronic communication, I recently discovered that Jack Pickard (who hosted The Pickards web site) had passed away. We ‘met’ online when I was researching Mike Parr, prior to a radio interview. Jack reviewed my book, and attended a talk I gave at the launch of Gateshead Council’s short story contest. He was also a talented writer and a generally kind person. Unfortunately, I did not find out about his untimely passing (he was only in his mid-thirties) until a month later. That’s the trouble with social networking: when someone disappears - even those we class as friends - we may never know what became of them. The internet gives us a wide circle of friends, but can we ever truly be real friends online?