SCBWI For the Loss

One weekend, not so very long ago, I decided to take the plunge, hand over $85 of my hard-earned money and join the Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators. I mean, it's an investment right? Little did I know that it would lead to a call from my bank's fraud department.

So I sat down in front of my computer, credit card in hand, and filled out all the online forms for SCBWI, nothing difficult. Name. Address. E-mail. Writer. I filled in all the blanks and continued to the next screen. The credit card information screen.

After inputing my credit card number and verifying all the other information, I clicked "Submit." It took a moment to process and... ERROR. No explanation. Just a screen telling me that it didn't go through.

Fair enough. I wait and try again the next day. ERROR. The following Monday morning I called and got an answering machine at SCBWI. So I try again and ERROR.

One last ditch effort that afternoon lead to an, you guessed it, ERROR! That was when I gave up and went to lunch. Forget SCBWI. They would return my phone call. I would pay them over the phone, and it would be done.

While in the restaurant parking lot, my cell rang and a 1-800 number showed on the Caller ID. Hallelujah! It was SCBWI... Or not. Turns out it was the fraud department of my bank and they were calling to ask me if me credit card had been stolen because someone had attempted to charge over $300 to "something called SCBWI."

Damn crooks, trying to join literary guilds in my name!