As the SNP leadership settled down on Christmas night to enjoy my book, Monsters, Ministers and Mayhem, they must have asked where their own literary careers had gone wrong.
There was a time when former First Minister Alex Salmond and Peter Murrell, husband of our current First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, occupied an office around the corner from mine in Peterhead.
Peter was a frequent and welcome visitor to the newspaper branch office and Mr Salmond and his wife Moira graciously opened their home to entertain local reporters.
But now, many Christmases later, Mr Salmond and Ms Sturgeon found themselves trailing me in the Amazon book charts.
My book, which celebrates bizarre stories from history, was launched on December 23 and stormed to number 4,200 in Amazon’s UK charts. It raced 3,000 places ahead of Alex Salmond: The Dream Shall Never Die.
If only he had thrown in a few stories about bears on the loose, shaved monkeys and sea monsters, he could have been up there with the literary greats.
My book outpaced Nicola Sturgeon: A Political Life, written by David Torrance.
At a time of constitutional change, it is gratifying that Scots can find time for the important matters of football-playing dogs, female bruisers, ghosts on bicycles and baldness cures.
At one point over the weekend I reached number 46 in the UK history chart, nearly 20 places above Margaret Thatcher: The Authorised Biography.
It made me think of the Conservative conferences I covered in Perth in the 1980s. At the time I thought Mrs Thatcher was waving to the crowds from the steps of Perth City Hall. Now I know she was hailing a future giant of literature.
Cameron at 10: The Inside Story and Call Me Dave: The Unauthorised Biography barely cast a shadow on Monsters, Ministers and Mayhem.
Perhaps if Mr Cameron needs advice on enforcing Cabinet discipline, he could turn to chapter one of my book to read about the Victorian who dished out kickings in the Kirk to those who stepped out of line.
Of course, there is a publishing phenomenon known as launch spike and the race will be long so the politicians need not be too despondent.
You can see more info and buy Monsters, Ministers and Mayhem by clicking here.