Yes I know. I said the Fang Marked office would be closed yesterday and today. I still am closed, but it's for a different reason altogether. I thought maybe it was a practical joke on Sunday, but it wasn't.

Legacy isn't finished anymore. The last forty pages crashed and burned with my other computer.

Just when I think I'm not going to be reminded of that horrific mistake, it just keeps coming back to bite me in the butt. All this time I've spent rewriting Awakening, and now the book preceding it isn't done. Fabulous.

When my old computer died, that was bad. This is worse in my mind because I haven't worked on Legacy since April. That was five months ago. I can't for the life of me remember how it ended before. I can't remember anything about it except the relief I felt when it was finished. Now I almost have to start over again on a book due out in seven months because I'm going to have to edit what I have first before I can finish it. Argh.

So, to make a long story short, back your stuff up, always! And back it up in multiple locations. Or you could find yourself in my situation. Trust me, it's not a fun place to be right now either.

Today's post is a lesson I had to learn not that long ago. It was a very painful lesson and I found something that will help everyone else out there function a little easier.

Not that long ago, my computer got fried (I'm sure everyone knows about that by now). However, last Friday I got a new one as well as a piece of technology that I'm never leaving home without ever again. Everyone who writes for a living, regardless of whether you have internet backup or not, needs to have one of these little things. For the price, the security is worth it.

I have a 250 GB external hard drive that doesn't require an additional power source to operate. It plugs right into your USB port on your computer and runs right off of it. Walmart has a 320 GB one as well if you need the extra space. This thing is just the coolest invention ever. I have all this space and it's about the size of my wallet. It's easy to store and easy to port around with my new laptop. It also helps that it's pink like the computer. But that was optional.

This little device makes it easy for me to protect my novels without worrying about things getting lost if something happens to my new computer. I love internet back up, but I don't have internet at home and it makes it hard for me to back up everything that way. This little device makes storing things separately from my computer a cinch.

The lesson is back your stuff up in multiple places. If you don't, you'll cry when you lose four months of work like I did.

Due to circumstances beyond my control, I'm going to be taking a break. I hate technology that gets zapped when water falls over the power strip, don't you? Hopefully, this will be a temporary set back and things will be fine. More information to come when I have it.