While We Were Watching Downton Abbey by Wendy Wax

Author:Wendy Wax
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Contemporary Women, Contemporary, General, Romance, Adult, (¯`'•.¸//(*_*)\\¸.•'´¯), Fiction
ISBN: 9780425263310
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Published: 2013-04-01T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY

BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLAIRE’S RELIEF AT THE salvaging of her book signing had begun to dissipate. Thanks to the Downton Abbey posse, disaster had been averted. She’d sold enough books to walk out of the store with her head up. It had not, however, improved her focus on the book she was supposed to be writing or eliminated the guilt she felt at the breadth and depth of her procrastination. In the days since, she’d sat and stared at her computer screen for maybe two or three hours each day, struggling to envision her heroine, now named Alana, whose goals and motivations continued to elude her and whose name she could not yet fully commit to. Claire’s mind felt as close to blank as it was possible to get without going on life support. That is to say she produced what might charitably be called . . . nothing. No matter how many times she asked herself what Nora would do, she could not bring her brain to heel or will her fingers to pick out the letters that would turn into the words that would allow her to begin.

This time when Claire’s phone rang she recognized the New York phone number as that of her agent, Stephanie Rostan. Its appearance on her caller ID was rare; her agent did not dodge her as some agents dodged smaller, lesser-known clients, which she was. But she didn’t call to chitchat, either. Theirs was a business relationship. They communicated largely via email and talked only when there was something to talk about—a contract clause, a manuscript delivery date, a question about language.

“Hello?” she answered tentatively.

“Claire?” Stephanie’s voice was quick and clear, her manner direct. She was not unfriendly, but she didn’t pretend to the warm fuzziness that might allow an author to think he or she was in a business where anything but the marketability of the final product truly mattered.

“Hi, Stephanie,” Claire said. “How are you?”

“Good. You?”

The pleasantries, such as they were, out of the way, her agent came to the point of the call. “Scarsdale is grateful that you stepped in Tuesday night. Wendy McCurdy called me,” she said, naming Claire’s editor at Scarsdale. “She’s eager to read what you’ve got on the new book. They’ve had a slot open up for next November, which would get you on the shelves almost five months earlier than we expected. You could have that slot if you can deliver a complete manuscript by June first.”

Claire may have stopped breathing. Surely that was what was causing the lack of oxygen to her brain. “I’m sorry. What did you say?” Claire’s heart pounded and her mouth had gone dry. She hadn’t even committed to her character’s names or completed a serious character sketch.

“You definitely want to jump on this while they’re feeling grateful and have you on their mind,” the agent said. “It’s a very good thing you’re writing full-time now. How soon can you get the synopsis and first three chapters to

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.