Technology Hates Me

Susan Vaughan here. Yes, it’s the holidays, and the next year is nearly upon us. I’d intended to use the month of December, at least the lead-up to Christmas, to make progress on the new book. Alas, the folders of research notes, plot threads, and Chapter 6 are still waiting, and I can hear inside my head my state detective Justin Wylde and my heroine Sheri Harte mocking me.

[image error]I’d hoped to wait until well into 2019 to buy a new computer, but the old laptop was quickly giving up the ghost. That was the only thing it was doing quickly. Opening files or programs, checking my sales, updating my website (more on that later), and doing anything on the Internet was slooooow. Yes, I’m smiling in the picture, but that was before… Then the keyboard had issues. So I was forced into making a decision. Laptop or desktop. Friends on Facebook persuaded me that a desktop model made more sense. I’d have a bigger screen that was directly in front of me, no bending over. If the keyboard breaks, people said, you can buy a new one cheap. If the keyboard on a laptop breaks (which nearly happened), the laptop is toast.

So I purchased nifty desktop components customized for me at Rockbound Computer in Rockland, Maine. Rearranging the desk/shelving unit my husband had made for me was a challenge, and threading the various cords behind and below was another. But oh, no—I couldn’t get online. No Internet. It was a tense weekend until I could get assistance from [image error]the guys again. It was a shock to me that desktop computers don’t automatically come with WiFi, and a shock to the guys at Rockbound that I didn’t have high-speed internet with a router. I live on a rural peninsula, down a dirt road that the local high-speed company won’t serve, so for this household, it’s a “hot spot” aimed at a tower across the river. Not high speed, no streaming or downloading movies or robotic devices here, strictly lower tech. The advantage is I’m not lured away from writing or editing by shiny new toys. So the Rockbound guys added WiFi to the computer and I was set.

Or so I thought. Again, slow and unreliable Internet, but I figured out why. The computer is in my basement office, and the hot spot is upstairs so it can connect with that distant tower. More assistance from the guys linked the computer and the hot spot to an “extender” (a router of sorts—don’t ask me) halfway between. Whew. I’m in business, I said. I could make progress on “Hidden Obsession,” a sequel to my published suspense novel, Primal Obsession, and Justin and Sheri would stop mocking me and get to solving a murder and preventing more.

[image error]

So before beginning, I decided to upload the new author photo of me to my website. If I’d left it at that, I’d have been fine. Instead, I noticed the wording in the page header was a little off. Instead of “Author of Romance… Suspense… Adventure” as my tag line, it read “Author of Romance… Adventure… Suspense,” which didn’t have the same rhythm. I’d created this DIY website in 2015, so of course I’d forgotten the way to change a header. I won’t go into the boring details, but I ruined the header completely. After three different tech support “chats,” I learned that my template  was outdated and no longer supported by the host. So when I attempted to “fix” the header, the lack of “support” was why the plug-ins didn’t function. So I’ve had to choose an entirely new template and attempted to set up the headers and other elements. Aargh. I’ve now consulted a designer who tweaked my mess.

If I needed further proof that technology hates me, while I was writing this post, all of a sudden my screen went to snow, not the blue screen of death, but snow, like a television screen when the feed is lost. I checked all the cords, and everything was connected. Thankfully, when I rebooted the computer, all was well. So everything is working—for now—and I can continue with “Hidden Obsession.”

But after the holidays. So Happy Boxing Day and Happy 2019 to you all! May you be blessed with good health and good fortune.