Yes, there was my 'Place in the Sun', a small furnished apartment built into a hillside overlooking the Southern Ocean and the entrance to a river. I settled in and started writing 'The Mystery of Granny's Ghost' on my Amstrad word processor.
 |
| An Amstrad PC-1512. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Well, actually, my Amstrad crashed and I was flat broke. What's more the company was losing the race for an operating system to Microsoft and service back-up was disappearing. I was stuck with a head full of experiences plus Florence's files of her mystery.
For the next 10 years I was kindly given old cast-offs by sympathetic people who had purchased new models - with Windows. In that time I went through 4 different operating systems - Locoscript, Apple Mac and Windows '98. Finally a kind friend took pity on me and contributed the money for Windows 7.
Each being on their last legs, they soon died in turn and each time I was left with only back-up files which were of no use in the next computer with a different operating system and, luckily, a print-out of my manuscript, hundreds of pages long, which needed to be retyped each time into the new system.
With each retype I would use the opportunity to follow up even the slightest lead or clue to the mystery, or to add any more details from my memory, often reaching down to my deepest emotions in order to share with the reader my feelings as well as the facts.
It's a miracle that I ever completed the book - even in 10 years - with no money or a decent PC.
Neil
www.neilwjsmithauthor.com
www.ancientlifecoaching.com
www.secretsoftheancients.info
