Natasha Oakley - British Romance Author

Writer of tug-at-the-heartstrings, feel-good romance for Harlequin Mills & Boon

Thursday, January 31, 2008

The deed is done!

Decision made - and thoroughly unpleasant it was. But here, after much angst, is the newest addition to my family.


At the moment, my love for it is not unconditional but we're working at the wrinkles in our relationship.

You'd think, wouldn't you, that a new laptop would be exciting, but actually it's *really* irritating. I suppose it all comes down to wanting it to 'just do'. There's not the smallest part of me that enjoys customising it or discovering how to do something a new and better way.

I miss my old laptop, so loved I'd worn the letters away with use.

I miss my floppy discs. I like them sitting, colour coded and labelled, in my box. Easy to find everything I've ever written. What is it with these memory sticks????? Already I have no idea what's on them. What's worse is the time it takes to safely remove them when you get the wrong one. Bah!

Also, the 'edit' button is on the top left of the screen, but the 'find text' one is then over on the top right. Who thought that was a good idea???? I'm sure there will be an easier way of doing that, BUT I DON'T KNOW IT.

I hate transferring information from one machine to another. *Such* a waste of time. And after I've done it I'm only where I was before I started.

But, enough, it is mine and we will work through these things.

In the end I narrowed the decision down to a 'Toshiba' because it has a curved front edge. Good for the wrist I thought. And I sacrificed size for lightness. Trish Wylie swung me in that direction. She's still not recovered from lugging her laptop around the States last summer. No doubt she'll be doing it again and I can feel smug that, should I go, I would find it much easier. :)

I'd love to go to the RWA conference this year, but I doubt I'll be able to find the time or the childcare. This year, fellow Harlequin Romance authors, Jessica Hart, Barbara Hannay and Barbara McMahon, are giving a workshop. The working title is "Emotion, Emotion, Emotion: Writing Romance with Global Appeal". Lovely choice, I think. The 'Romance' line really does have global appeal. Anyone have any good ideas what to do with the foreign copies I get sent??? The novelty has already worn off and I'm rather overrun ....

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4 Comments:

  • At 9:51 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    OOh Natasha, congratulations on your lovely, shiny new friend!

    Reference the foreign copies, bit of a tricky one isn't it? 'Give them away' is probably not as easy as it sounds,although you MUST have lots of overseas fans eager for a signed copy. Failing that, any room left in the loft?

     
  • At 10:53 am, Blogger Kate Walker said…

    Foreign editions -
    1. Library services - some libraries have foreign language collections - some specify which ones only, some will take any. But also often library services know people who might want them - international reading groups etc (see3)

    2. Colleges/FE or 6th form etc that teach languages - they can often use them for students to practise on

    3.Any international groups in the area? I once sent a lot of mine to a local International WOmen's Group - sadly, that no longer exists.

    4. Women's prisons often have many foreign inmates who have nothing in their nown languages


    Hope this helps.

     
  • At 8:47 pm, Blogger Romance, Rumours and Rogues said…

    Natasha,
    I had the same problem with foreign copies. Very little office space!!
    Just last week donated to a library where they have 20 foreign languages.
    I didn't ask which ones, I just took the lot, hoping they'll find a good home for the ones they don't want!
    Me, cheeky? ;)

     
  • At 12:06 pm, Blogger Jill said…

    I feel the same way about computers. My one at home is a dinosaur and I have inherited my husband's old personal digital assistant.
    It's six years old, has no internet. Just Word. I love it and he can't understand why.
    He keeps trying to talk me into something new, faster, better. I love it because it is idiot-proof, travels well on the bus, I don't worry about breaking it since it's old and paid for, and when I use it I have to write because I can't do anything else. He is just starting to come to the understanding that I have no appreciation for electronics :-)

     

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