They say no good deed goes unpunished. Back in October of 2022, a French magazine reached out to license some photos that had appeared in one of my stories. I didn’t own the rights (they were from a US govt. agency.) They asked if I could help them, because they were on deadline. I’ve been an editor on deadline, and I knew I could help. So we agreed on a token 100 Euro fee just for my time, and I got them the images. For the next couple of years they avoided paying. They buried me in paperwork: Affidavits of residence, certificates from my bank stamped by the manager, (I drew the line at obtaining a personal ‘declaration of the foreign tax authority’—the IRS!). It started to become less about the 100 Euros, but more about making these guys pay. And they just did. Three and a half years later. The publisher? Le Groupe Bayard.