📚Publishing Delays, Printer Fails, and Indie Author Tales 📚

My expensive, beautiful printer — the one I have relied on for six (nearly seven) years — started acting up in mid‑March. At first, it was just streaky pages and half‑printed lines, the usual “I’m tired” nonsense. But it went downhill fast. The normal printer maintenance did not help... not even a tiny bit. By the first week of April, it stopped printing altogether. Completely dead. No reviving it. Off it went to be recycled.

And because this printer was also my scanner, losing it didn’t just slow me down — it stalled a critical part of my workflow. I need that scanner to digitize the artwork (among other things) for my Warriors of Anaa – Actions Not Words (Book 3) cover. Those "photo scans" are just not the same... the lighting changes, a glare here and there... just no.

No scanner means no digital file.

No digital file means no formatting.

And no formatting means… my cover reveal and book release are officially delayed.

Exactly what every indie author dreams of, right?

So here I am, nearly two months without a printer or scanner, watching my workload pile up like it’s trying to form its own mountain range. Shipping labels, contracts, forms, drafts — all waiting for a machine that no longer exists. And don’t even get me started on how my kids have been dealing with not being able to print essays for school. End‑of‑year season means a butt‑load of academic assignments, and apparently every teacher in existence suddenly remembers the “print this out and bring it tomorrow” rule.

Enter the HP All‑In‑Plan, which — on paper — is brilliant. A subscription printer. Automatic ink. No more emergency office‑supply runs. No more “why is toner $80” meltdowns since it's simply one low-cost monthly subscription payment. I was genuinely excited — crazy happy dance and all.

Except… the printer they sent me arrived broken.

Not “quirky.” Not “needs a reset.”

Not “give it a minute.”

I mean completely unusable.

And that’s when the saga really began...

I’ve now called HP customer service at least twenty times trying to get a return label for the broken printer they sent me. At least twenty (if anything that number is underexaggerated). Every time, I explained the same situation:

• The printer arrived broken (the cartridge carriage is stuck on the right side & errors about a paper jam keep popping up — even when there is NO paper in it)

• I can’t use it

• I need to return it

• Please send the label

And every time, I got the same response: "The label was sent to your email by Fed Ex. Did you check your junk and spam folders?" GRRRRRR!!!!!!

They escalated it three separate times. They warned me they’d charge me for the cost of the printer — the broken one — unless I returned it. We're talking in excess of $500 here because it's not just the printer they charge for, it's also for the cancelation of the contract. Except… they never sent the return label. Call. Call. Call. Call...

Still no label. Still waiting.

At this point, I’m convinced the return label is being handcrafted by monks in the mountains of some mystical land and it must be blessed under the light of a full moon before it can be emailed to me.

But here’s the twist — and the part that gives me hope: I was able to sign up for a brand‑new HP All‑In‑Plan using my business email, and that shiny new printer should be arriving on Monday.

Which means:

• I’ll finally have a working printer

• I’ll finally have a working scanner

• I can finally digitize the Book 3 cover art

• I can finally format the cover

• I can finally get this release back on track

• And... I can finally give each of the waiting manuscripts (that have been piling up) my undivided attention.

After weeks of delays, phone calls, and printer‑related rage, there’s a little light at the end of the tunnel.

YAY for new printers! BOO for return labels that apparently require a quest to obtain.

It’s been a journey — not the fun kind — but we’re moving again... or we will be when Monday gets here.

And honestly? If Book 3’s theme is “Actions Not Words,” then this whole printer saga has been the universe’s way of testing my patience, my persistence, and my ability to keep moving even when technology betrays me.

Stay tuned. The cover reveal is coming. And so is the new book release.

If you haven’t started the Warriors of Anaa series yet — or you’re only partway through — now is the perfect time to dive in. Book 3 is coming, and things are about to get intense.

Start with Tormented Souls (Book 1), continue with Breaking Chains (Book 2), and you’ll be fully caught up and ready when Actions Not Words arrives shortly.

Your next favorite series moment is waiting.