Oh, squiders. Why is it when you need something, and you know you just saw it, you can’t actually ever find it?
I feel like the more important said item is, the more likely it’s been jettisoned into space, never to be seen again.
In this case, I’m looking for the note sheet for when I did the Local Author Showcase for Shards so I can be properly prepared for the one this Sunday for City of Hope and Ruin. You know, not re-invent the wheel. Especially since I’ve already got to stress about going from the 10 minutes I had last time to 5 minutes for this one. Is 5 minutes long enough for anything?
It’s all for naught, though, because my notes from the last one are gone. Vanished. Disappeared into thin air.
I swear I saw them recently. I had to re-read Shards fairly recently to redo its book description (was that last year? yikes) and I think the notes were tucked in there when I picked my copy up. But where did I put them? They are no longer in the book (I’ve checked twice) and also don’t seem to be in the general vicinity of where the book hangs out (on top of the book case, currently under my copy of City of Hope and Ruin).
I’ve checked everywhere I keep story notes. (Which turns out to be entirely too many places and I should probably consolidate. But hey! I found the map that goes along with Broken Mirrors, which I’m not sure I’ve worked on since before I started this blog in 2010, but at least I now know where it is.) I’ve checked inside notebooks, where papers sometimes accidentally get forgotten or tucked, and I’ve checked inside folders that I might have taken to something writing related at some point. I even checked in the filing cabinet, though I’m pretty sure nothing remotely creative has ever gone into it.
And when it became obvious it was gone, I checked digitally. I checked my hard drive, and my back-up hard drive. I checked my Google drive and my email. Nothing. I finally, FINALLY, had the thought that I might have posted it on the blog since I had such a hard time finding resources to write the first one and, well, partial success. (There were pictures in that post at one time. Sigh.)
So I guess I should just give up and write a new one. Drat.
But again, 5 minutes. Do I squeeze in a 2-minute reading and do 3 minutes of intro/explanation? Do I just talk about the book and hope the process is interesting enough to get people’s attention? I am the only fantasy author in this particular bunch (8 authors), I think. I feel like for previous author showcases they’ve done a short blurb of each book and this one doesn’t, but going off of titles it sounds like most are nonfiction or memoir. Hard to tell.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Here’s the official announcement:
Douglas County Libraries Local Author Showcase
From fiction to memoir to children’s, please join us to celebrate these Colorado authors and their books. To register, click here.
Sunday, August 20th at 2pm
Douglas County Libraries – Philip S. Miller branch
100 S. Wilcox St.
Castle Rock, CO 80104
Peggy Robinson – My Journey through Cronic Pain and Wonders of Christmastime
Kit Campbell – City of Hope and Ruin
MaryAnn Sundby – Monday is Wash Day
Debbie Johnson – A Pocketful of Seeds
Susan G. Mathis – The Fabric of Hope: An Irish Family Legacy
Jean Jacobsen – The Reluctant Debutante
Thaddeus Dupper – Attack on Nantucket
Carrie O’Toole – Relinquished – When Love Means Letting Go
Well, at least I know where the rest of my promotional stuff is. Minor victories. See you, Thursday, squiders!
(Also, I’ve started a lovely ’80s fantasy book called The Minecamp Vampire for our library book sale finds discussion. It is thus far as awesome as it sounds.)
