Ann Cleeves lost the laptop that contained the manuscript for her new novel, the Guardian reports—but it could have been worse.

Cleeves, the British mystery author known for books including White Nights, Silent Voices, and The Long Call, took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce that her computer had gone missing, writing, “[Shetland] tweeps I need your help! Lost my laptop in the blizzard y’day. I’d been to @ShetlandLibrary & @MareelShetland but no sign there. Scruffy HP. Could have fallen from bag. Half novel there. Reward offered!”

Shetland, an island chain north of Scotland, was battered with cold weather and snow this week, causing widespread power outages in the region.

Cleeves told a radio show that she lost the laptop while walking from a library to an arts center in the town of Lerwick.

“I needed to get home early, and I think I must have either left my laptop there or it fell out of my bag while I was struggling through the wind and the snow to get from the library to the arts center,” she said.

Still, it’s not a complete tragedy—she said she had emailed the manuscript to herself days before.

Cleeves seemed to take the loss of her laptop in stride, tweeting on Wednesday, “Thanks to tweeps who showed concern about the loss of my laptop. Still not turned up but no big deal. Some folk here are struggling in the cold waiting for power to be restored. Shetland has pulled together brilliantly to get roads cleared and workers home.”

Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.