…just paid for itself several times over.
I’ve never said this, but I actually wanted this drive for one reason and one reason only. All the sorting of files and Carolyn’s Herculean efforts notwithstanding, what I wanted was one tiny text file, created by notebook, which had eluded me for years. I can’t even begin to count the hours, days, weeks I’ve spent searching disks for this little gem.
Last night, Carolyn found that blessed little file.
Back when I finished the initial ‘Netwalkers, I sent it to two dear friends who gave me magnificent quotes to send along with it to publishers. One was the darling Rob Sawyer (now of Flash Forward fame, but author of so many wonderful stories) and the other was my dear friend and endless supporter, the now best-selling author Patricia Briggs.
Patty is one of the most supportive authors in the business, and fame hasn’t changed that one bit. She’s an author who has never lost the love of reading, and she’s a very fast and clever reader, in the sense that she quickly “groks” the essence of what makes a story pleasurable to her (or not so pleasurable). She’s an utter delight to share writers’ workshop duties with because of her insight and her deft manner of expressing those “less than pleasurable” aspects of a story.
Patty spent her time in the trenches writing magnificent mid-list fantasy which got, like so many, lost in the detritus of too many mediocre books on the shelves. Those years of work and that generous appreciation of every form of literature have paid off. When NY decided that Urban Fantasy was the only way to go, she was already a fan of the form, had read extensively, both the good and the bad, and was more than prepared to accept the challenge. Had she any idea the second Mercy book would become a #1 bestseller? Of course not. Like all good authors, she was just trying to write a good story about characters she liked. But Patty, unlike so many, had done that work in the trenches and so wasn’t trying to break in using a popular medium, but was writing something charmingly original, with the skill of a seasoned veteran.
All that being said, back when she read NW, she wrote me this wonderful quote. I sent it to my agent and DAW…both lost it. Meantime, the emails that had been the exchange method, had been lost in moves, backups, and such (I’m sure the Outlook archive with it in still exists somewhere on a disk). At one point, in anticipation of a happier outcome for NW, I made it into a little text file and put it with my stuff to use on me website.
Then, the years of silence from DAW came. I decided to quite waiting for them and put the quote up on my website anyway, but could I find it? Of course not. Hours and hours of going through CDs with searches that should have found it and then file by file searching didn’t turn it up.
Patty has generously offered to write me another, and for certain, I plan to take her up on it, now we have CC to make use of it, but something in me really longed for this quote, because nothing is ever quite like that first reaction.
But last night, Carolyn found it, and it’s as wonderful as I remembered. So…without further ado: Patty’s quote:
“Reading any book by Jane Fancher is like sitting down to a cup of really good hot cocoa—rich with just the right touch of darkness to make it interesting. Her Science Fiction balances cutting-edge, hard science with character-driven plotting. Her fantasy is multi-layered, intricate, and unusual. Her characters walk out of the pages, grab you by the throat, and don’t let go.”
Could a writer ask for a better recommendation? Not in my book.
Thanks again, Patty. I love you!
I lost it today. I don’t often do that on the phone, but I got seriously angry at the oh-so-polite, oh-so-lying through his teeth customer non-service guy at Toshiba. 
I cannot tell you how sorry I am to report that blowing the Westibule’s brains out didn’t work. That image was just … so appealing. So, we’re back to trouble shooting. I’m taking the morning to do some very necessary office work (it being the 15th and all) but will be back on this this afternoon.
Of course, to do this, you have to have your original WinXP install disk available. Could I find mine? Of course not. Back when I set up the desktop, I filed it. I was sure I filed it. And I couldn’t find it. I looked in every file drawer we have…ten times! Well, at least three. And couldn’t find it. When Carolyn finally figured I was going nuts over something in a file folder…she found it in five minutes.
…has never been more appropriate!
