Happy birthday, Sir

As you may know, I have a little thing for Salman Rushdie's books, by which I mean I love them with all my heart. Well, today is his birthday, and to celebrate, the Writer's Almanac has a great, brief biography, which you should read if you are a writer (which I am), and especially if you are an impatient writer (which I am) who needs to hear that it took Rushdie five years to write Midnight's Children, and most especially if you have recently gotten a stinging rejection (which I have not, knock on wood, but it's always good to hear these things anyway) and need to hear that the first editor who read the manuscript that would go on to become the Booker Prize winning masterpiece Midnight's Children, suggested this:

"The author should concentrate on short stories until he has mastered the novel form."

I think this calls for cake and an afternoon with The Enchantress of Florence, don't you?