I quit trying at 10:00 AM -- 24 hours nonstop was just too much for this old man...

I did get some sleep -- I woke up around 9 PM, after hittting both a bottle and bed at noon-- Some Polish Honey Liquer called Zambouka, basically "Mead on Steroids" at 80 proof... so nine hours of sleep have helped...

I went back in and finally did a reboot of my system at 10 tonight, then started a search again... and the computer spit out about 80% of my finished PDFs, so I only have to redo about fifteen pages. Once that is done and all my pre-press work is done, and I've sent individual pages to each contributor, I'll be ready to start production of the book.

However, there's still a snag in the schedule -- I had intended to rent a high volume color photocopier to produce the pages, but the supplier won't be able to get me my special required high-gloss paper until the end of October, so alas, the book will NOT be available by FaerieCon... (Sigh!)

Well, after almost 2 weeks of trying, I went back to double check on the PDFs I had created for pages of The Enchanted Folk Book of Faerie.  And guess what? My computer says the files "do not exist"...AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is currently about ten minutes to nine in the morning, I've been searching every possible file on my computer since 10 AM yesterday, non stop.  I'm tired, frustrated, angry, upset, and about ready to pull what little hair I have left out of my freaking skull!

I really need a stiff drink to calm me down, and about 20 hours of sleep to make me feel halfway normal and focused enough to try again. Wish me luck...

I've been attempting to create PDF files of each page of the Enchanted Folk Book of Faeries, both for printer references and to show each contributor what 'their' page would look like...

However, my converter program has suddenly decided that it will no longer accept certain IMPORTANT information like a particular font, or picture sizes, so now I'm running behind on my production schedule, and trying desperately to get the problem fixed. And on top of that problem, I'm also finding that OTHER programs are starting to act up as well... (Sigh!) There are times when I almost wish I could go back to using a physical "Cut and Paste" and photocopiers  for mockups... At least then, I could usually resolve the problem by peeling up the crooked line and changing its position... UUUURRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!

I think I'm going to take the rest of the afternoon to do a complete hard-drive reboot, run all the diagnostics, and (hopefully) fix the problems...

Oh yeah, and a reminder to everyone attending FaerieCon International in Philadelphia in October -- Watch for the bearded elf carrying around this sign... and be sure to stop him and say "Hi, I'm on Enchanted Folk too!"

It's a bit before 2:00 AM as I sit here tapping on my keyboard, having just spent an hour sitting up the side of a mountain in an open space, watching the skies where literally hundreds of swift-moving lights could be spotted -- red, green, blue, yellow, and white in hue, they would drop two or three at a time out of a lightly cloud-bespeckled sky...

Yeah, I know the 'scientific' explanation is the annual Persieds Meteor Showers... but Goddess help me, there was magick in the air tonight! Could this be what long-ago wanderers by night saw, and attributed to 'Trooping Fae'? It seems highly possible... and given the majesty of the night sky tonight after the moon had set behind the mountains, this array of falling stars -- falling Faeries -- Angel lights -- by whatever name you choose to call them, was truly breathtaking!

Just to let everyone know, I've almost completed page roughs for the entire book, and should be sending out PDFs to each contributor page in the next two-to-three weeks. However, I've run into a bit of a snag with some of the submissions -- I do not have everyone's 'real' name for attribution. So, if you have contributed artwork, photographs, stories, poems, whatever -- please send me your 'real' name, or the name you wish to be identified by, along with a list of your submissions titles, so I can be sure everyone is properly credited.  Thank You!