When someone asks you the English word for counterfeit money, you know that something’s up. Which is what happened yesterday morning at the Starbucks counter when I pulled up and flashed some cash. My money was fine, but apparently some foreign dude had tried to use a $100 RMB bill and it was fake. Poor bastard. The girls thought that he should have noticed, but really, how? This has happened to me before (it occurs more often than you’d think in China) but as someone who doesn’t sit around and make close examinations of cash, knowing whether a bill is real or not just wouldn’t be part of my handy skill set.
It is embarrassing, though. And the money…well, the fake bill is taken from you on the spot, with no replacement to be had. So if that was all the cash you had in your pocket, tough luck. I don’t know what the gentleman at Starbucks did, but when my fake cash was taken from me, I returned to the location where I originally received the money and raised a stink. And I got my money back. Hurray for being the squeaky wheel.
Apparently, the May issue of LOCUS is out, and I’m on the cover. And draped across the interior, as well. It’s a special Urban Fantasy issue, with features from Kim Harrison and Patricia Briggs, along with commentary from Charlaine Harris and Kelley Armstrong. I really appreciate being interviewed for the issue, and I hope you guys check it out.
