I overslept again. By the same length of time I did on the day from heck. This time, however, I did make it to work on time.
One of the first things I saw when I checked online is that an author who used to write for Leisure/Love Swept had died. Since I haven't seen anything from a firsthand source, I'm not going to give her name even though I've seen the report in multiple locations.
Reading this was like taking a kick in the chest. This woman was someone who was very gracious and welcoming and helpful when I first came on the loop. My first release was also out in the same month as one of her books and she was kind enough to read Ravyn's Flight and compliment me on it. I did buy her book, but it's still sitting TBR. I always meant to read it, it's just that I've read so few books in the last five years. Now it's too late.
I was just thinking about her a couple of days ago, because even though she doesn't write for Leisure any longer, she stayed on our loop and posted from time to time and she hadn't done so lately. I just thought she was busy, like we all get. The last time the RWA Conference was in Dallas, she organized a get-together for all the authors, but this year--nothing. Now I know why.
We weren't friends, more like casual online acquaintances, but this author touched my life. Part of me is hoping the reports were wrong. Most of me fears it's true.
I did get my printer problem solved yesterday, although it took hours. I plugged the printer into my laptop and everything worked fine and then I plugged my other printer into the USB port that held my laser printer and that printer worked. So clearly there was no problem with either the port or the printer.
I ended up uninstalling the laser printer and all its software and then reinstalling. I had an error message, but once I got around that, the printer was back to normal.
Last night, while I was waiting for the slowest computer in the world to reboot, I looked at the clock and thought, "If I were at National, I'd be autographing books at the literacy signing right now."
There was a slight pang. The literacy signing is one of the few autographings I do, and while I enjoy it a lot, it's also torturous for me. I'm so darn shy! Plus, it takes so much of me to hold a conversation with a stranger that I have trouble signing a book at the same time. I don't know how other authors manage to chit chat and spell correctly. :-/
