February 12, 2011

Hello From My New Computer!

What a week it has been! Four days of classes, and I'm still catching up on homework and getting into the routine, after a bump in the scheduling road at the beginning of the semester. Just when I had my weekend planned out, with time for grocery shopping, doing taxes, and finishing the catch-up on the homework, I came home from class Thursday afternoon, turned on my computer, and received a big shock, good news, and bad news.

The shock: my computer was effectively dead. Well, not really dead, it booted up, and the local programs all worked, but the laptop I've been using as a desktop for the last 2 1/2 years wasn't able to find the printer, keyboard, or mouse that have been hooked to it for the same length of time. It also couldn't find it's own internal wireless antenna. It was demanding I plug the Ethernet cable in, though...

The bad news: my computer would have to be replaced now instead of when the tax money comes back...which means I have to pilfer from my buy-a-new-bed fund.

The good news: nearly all of my documents, and certainly all of my important documents, were on jump drives, or my external hard drive. And the computer could find the external hard drive. I was able to copy everything over and make a list of programs I'd need to install on the new machine before I shut down the "dead" one for the last time. All it has actually cost me is a lot of time and a reshuffling of money. I'll pay my bed money back when the taxes come in. I didn't lose any data or programs. No manuscripts or edits were lost. Life goes on...a little bit more behind schedule than it already was, but that's the way the cookies crumble.

The other good news? I bought a new program for making book covers. It arrived in the mail on Tuesday. I didn't install it yet. Now I don't have to argue over the license. It's now installed on the new computer, and I have to learn how to use it. There's always more to do than hours in the day, but I'm beginning to get used to that now.

~Marie

February 02, 2011

Need More Beta-readers...

In order to get Deadly Gamble out on time, with a sneak peek of The Siege in the back of it, we need beta-readers right now for The Siege.

The Siege is a fantasy book, with a medieval to renaissance setting. There is some mild violence in battle scenes, but if memory serves I didn't go into a lot of gory details. Probably fewer details than Fabric of the World has.

I need people who can read Word 2007, and use the track changes feature. I will be sending out an instruction sheet with the manuscript. If you want to be a reader and only have Word 2003, I can accommodate you, just let me know. I would like to send the manuscript out next week, and there will be a four-week turnaround time. I expect readers not to discuss the story with anyone but me until after the book is published. I want people who will seriously edit and make suggestions to the manuscript, rather than people who just want to read it for free. I'm not offering payment, but I will list you in the thanks in the front of the book, unless you don't want to be there.

Anyone interested in helping with The Siege should email me at marie@am-jenner.com.

Thanks!

~Marie