Oaths and Odysseys is coming, I promise! 

My annual pilgrimage to the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, which took place from June 9th to the 16th, was a great week. Being among fellow lunatics is always restorative.

The sessions where I was on a panel had engaged audiences and great questions. The three panels I was on, discussing my path in Indy publishing and self-promotion, were video recorded. Once I have copies, I'll put them up on a YouTube channel and share the slide deck I prepped—should you be interested.

I was asked to sign a book (always a thrill), and the evening keynotes were phenomenal.

New friendships were forged, both personal and professional. I hesitate to start naming folks; I would undoubtedly forget someone. You know who you are.

Being across the street from the ocean for a week was a treat. I grew up a stone's throw from it, and now that I'm over an hour away at the edge of the desert, I am reminded how much I took that pleasure for granted.

The highlight of the week, though, had to be the workshops: mornings with Matt Pallamary's Phantastic Fiction and John Reed's late-night Pirate Sessions. I heard some truly amazing stories.

Friday morning, during the last of my Indy Pub Q&A sessions, I noticed a hairline disruption down the middle of my laptop's screen. I didn't think much about it. It's a five-year-old laptop that has given me great service. I figured I would baby it along until I got home, then take advantage of the extended warranty and end up with a brand-new high-resolution screen. As a precaution, I attached one of my portable backup drives and did a backup as a little CYA

That evening, I slipped it open to do a little editing on O & O, and the screen went black... with a slight multi-colored lightning bolt wiggling its way down from the screen's top center. Fortunately, I was right, and it was just the screen. I got home; it was attached to my external large screen and worked great. I did a better backup to ensure I wouldn't lose anything, then called Apple to schedule the repair.

Because I drink my own Kool-aid when it comes to security, the firmware lock on the motherboard caused headaches in diagnostics, delaying repairs. Then, some ham-handed technician damaged the motherboard and keyboard/trackpad assemblies while replacing the LCD - the additional parts are on order. Now I'm looking at another three days—and a week plus overall—without my laptop.

I have been able to continue my consulting work, as my patience-of-a-saint-bride is doing without her iMac, so I can have some basic functionality. Because of its age, I'm unable to finalize the O&O manuscript and its cover art. Hence the slug line at the top.

And, an upside... in dealing with the firmware lock, they didn't have to wipe or undo the encryption on the drive. So once I get it back, I can hit the ground running. With the new motherboard, keyboard & touchpad modules, and high-res LCD screen, I'm getting back close to a brand-new five-year-old computer. 

Cue the Jeopardy music.....

I have markup back from the editors, and as soon as I get my laptop back, I'll finalize the build for Oaths and Odysseys—hit publish and get it out to you folks in both ebook and paperback.

Friday, I'll be back in Goleta for the day, supporting ye olde alma mater, San Marcos High School, and playing in their annual scholarships golf tournament. I'll be donating a couple of signed copies of my books for the prize table.

And I bought a whole new box of balls—wonder how many I'll come home with. 

With the dog days of summer upon us early this year—it was 103 here today—the pups are crashing out of the air-conditioned comfort of my office.