Thanks for your response, Valerie and your thought-provoking questions. Yes, the terror was partly because I wasn't sure I could meet the deadline and the fear that while I managed to write one book, I wasn't sure I could actually finish another. It's fairly common, as many of my fellow writer friends can confirm. I was short-tempered, absent-minded, overly sensitive--all that sort of thing which made me difficult to be around.

There are so many different reasons behind our behaviour, I couldn't even hazard a guess on why your friend changed. I hope things work out for both of you though. My best wishes.