The time crunch is upon me. On 1/19, I lost my laptop; one of its two fans refuses to spin, and the other spins on high. The laptop generates a huge amount of heat. In short, it’s unusable.
So, by the end of next week, I have to complete the following:
· Set up a new laptop for my in-laws. Yes, this was a surprise.
· Maintain my weekly schedule of reviewing one chapter of Shifting Mars’ Sands with the writers’ group as well as reviewing the other writers’ works. This involves polishing the next three chapters ahead of time.
· Apply critiques from the writers’ group in a timely manner.
· Set up a new printer for myself—I’m giving my old one to my in-laws.
· Uninstall several programs from the old laptop to free the licenses.
· Wipe personal information from the old laptop.
· Set up my new laptop. This’ll take 6 to 8 hours to install the software and configure everything to my taste.
· Find time to practice golf.
· Continue daily activities such as work, chores, etc.
My goal is to finish my novel with the group in spring, probably mid-April if I can make all the meetings. Afterward, I hope to golf. I plan to start an agent search by summer, and finish my layout and treatment of my next novel, Freedom’s Fires in the spring/summer time frame.
It’s fair to say that I have my work cut out for me.
I’m an author living in northern Virginia with a wife and a cat. In the late ’80s, I worked on the International Space Station project. I recently retired from managing a group of software engineers to focus on writing science fiction and speculative fiction. Learn more.