Chapter 13
13
Two days later, Courtney was perched on the sofa at Rosie’s house, working her way through the comments and questions on Travis Stone’s latest post on his author social media profiles and feeling amazed that she seemed to know what she was doing in this strange new job she’d somehow landed.
Travis was right when he’d explained that the work wasn’t difficult, but that it did need someone who was organised and sensible and courteous. It hadn’t taken long to get the hang of which comments needed only the usual ‘like’ response and which required a specific reply. The fans on Travis’s profiles were a nice lot, for the most part, enthusiastic about his books and crazy about his main protagonist, Maura Shaw, about whom the readers often exchanged funny remarks and fan theories that sparked small conversations between the more committed and frequent contributors.
Dealing with fan interactions across the main social media platforms Travis was engaged on easily took up all the time he was paying her for, but Courtney knew she still had to get into the swing of the process and find her feet. The daily email load was significant, too, and the reader replies she was responsible for sending out were time consuming, even with the helpful guidance document Travis had written.
In just two days, she came to appreciate the speed and skill of Travis’s usual assistant and how deftly she must manage the work in order to complete it within the assigned paid hours. These were skills Courtney didn’t mind learning and honing.
She enjoyed the work, enjoyed interacting with the kind and generous readers, even if it was only virtually. She liked knowing she was being useful—useful to Travis Stone, useful to his unlucky assistant in holding the fort while she recovered from her accident, useful to Travis’s fans who liked knowing they were being acknowledged and appreciated.
And she liked being useful for her own sense of self, too. Staying active and earning some money, even if it wasn’t anywhere close to her old salary, was important after the knocks she’d endured lately.
Although she’d applied for other part-time jobs in the two days since she’d been made redundant, nothing had come up yet. She kept her hopes up and her fingers crossed, but was realistic that, this close to having her baby, she might not find an employer willing to take her on.
Her cousin Rosie was thrilled to know she’d found something to keep her busy for a few hours a week while she was out at work. Knowing she was earning at least a few quid under her own steam also made Courtney feel better when Rosie had insisted they start some baby shopping, using the money Rosie had promised to give her.
The shopping had been fun, even if it did leave Courtney feeling guilty about spending someone else’s money. Rosie, sensing as much, had told her not to be silly, but Courtney couldn’t help it. She didn’t want to feel like a scrounger.
Her Aunt Lorraine and Uncle Colin were also delighted to hear about the new job she’d landed. She’d filled them in on the unexpected development when they’d dropped by to check up on her not long after she returned from meeting Travis Stone, and found her already fiddling around with the borrowed laptop he’d given her. Colin had declared it a ‘great sign of great things to come’ and told her he was proud of her.
His sweet words left her feeling emotional. The hugs that followed inevitably prompted tears, and although she laughed it off and claimed it was just her pregnancy hormones playing havoc with her as usual, she knew that wasn’t the reason at all.
Feeling loved and cared for, after so many months spent in free-fall with no one to rely on, was a gift beyond measure.
And so Courtney accepted these gifts—of love and support from her newfound family, of a roof over her head, of the financial help she desperately needed—and was grateful for them.
And she was doubly grateful for the extra gift of a job working for Travis Stone. Even if she had to work longer hours than he was paying her for while she found her feet and completed the tasks he required, she’d do the best job she could for him. He’d taken a chance on her and she wanted to prove he’d been right to.
Now, Courtney logged out of the social media accounts and email platform, her work done for the day. The baby kicked as she got up from the sofa.
“Yes, I think you’re right,” she murmured to her child. “It’s time for some exercise after sitting at the laptop for”—she checked the time and gasped—“almost two hours! We’ll have to get faster with this work, little one.”
The baby kicked again, making her smile.
The warm month of March had turned into an even warmer month of April, and Courtney left behind her light jacket as she set out for her walk. Foxglove Street looked pretty in the spring sunshine, the soft pink flowers of the cherry blossoms shimmering in the golden light. Further along the street, she smiled when she saw a familiar face.
“Hello, Olive,” she said, then turned to the little dog at the older lady’s side. “And hello to you too, Elsa.”
“Courtney, what a nice surprise,” Olive said, latching her front gate behind her. “We’re just on our way to the park for a walk. Care to join us?”
“I’d love to. That’s where I was heading, too.”
Courtney patted Elsa’s head as the dog scurried around her feet in greeting, and then they set off together.
“What a beautiful day,” Olive said, tilting her head up to the blue sky and the blazing sunshine. “I think we’re in for a wonderful spring.”
“I think so, too.”
“Last year, the early spring was a complete wash-out. Cold, wet, and grey. I thought the warmer days would never arrive.” A sad expression crossed Olive’s face for a moment. “It was quite miserable. This year, the seasons are making up for it and giving us a spectacular spring, and I must say I’m enjoying every minute of it.”
“Me, too. This street is so lovely in the sunshine, with all these pretty front gardens. You’re very lucky to live here, Olive.”
“Oh, I know it.” Olive smiled and then her eyebrows lifted in a question. “Did anything come of the conversation we had the other day when I popped in to tell you about the writer I met at the library and who needed an assistant to help with his work?”
Courtney couldn’t stop a grin from spreading across her face. “He hired me!”
“That’s wonderful news!” Olive gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. “Just wonderful! I’m so pleased. Tell me everything.”
As they wound their way to Peartree Park, Courtney filled her in on the developments the elderly lady had instigated, from her first phone call with Travis Stone, the meeting they’d had, and the work she was now doing for him to help run his author business.
“I can’t thank you enough for your help, Olive,” Courtney said. “Actually, if we hadn’t crossed paths just now, I would’ve knocked on your door on my way back from the park to say thanks. I remembered your house number and wanted to make sure you knew how grateful I was.”
“There’s no need to thank me, dear,” Olive said. “All I did was put the two of you in touch with one another.”
“You thought of me and helped me when you didn’t have to, considering I’m a complete stranger. That means a lot.”
Olive gave her arm another soft pat. “We all need a helping hand from time to time in life. I’ve benefitted from plenty of those over the years, and if I can pay that help onwards to someone else from time to time, then it’s my pleasure to do so.”
Courtney smiled at the older lady’s insightful words, and couldn’t help patting her arm the same way Olive had patted hers. They’d arrived at Peartree Park by now, and Elsa scampered towards the grass verge along the path, eager to sniff out new scents.
“Are you enjoying the work you’ve done so far for young Mr Stone?” Olive asked as they slowed their pace to enjoy the park walk.
“I am, actually. It’s really interesting work. Completely different to what I was doing at the furniture shop, but I’m enjoying learning how to do author social media marketing, which is what it more or less boils down to. His online social pages get lots of interactions and he clearly has tonnes of devoted fans.”
“I’ve only recently discovered his mystery books, thanks to his appearance at the library book club, but I must say I’m hooked. I love his main character, Maura Shaw, who is a lot of fun to be with. I can imagine spending time with her and getting caught up in all the crazy murder mysteries she somehow ends up solving. And considering all the many exciting things that happen in the stories, and the larger-than-life adventures that take place there, well, it’s no wonder the man and his books have a large following and countless devoted fans.”
“I get the impression he’s sort of stunned by the success of the books, and maybe a little overwhelmed by it all, too. In a good way, not a bad way.” Courtney shrugged. “Not that I can claim to know anything about him at all, really. I only spoke to him for half an hour when we chatted about the job. But there was just something…”
She trailed off, trying to find the right words. Although their conversation had been brief and focused only on the work Travis Stone needed done, she’d felt as if she’d sensed something essential about the man himself while they’d chatted. He’d struck her as kind, thoughtful, passionate about his writing, keen to look after his readers.
And he’d had a look about him, the look of a perpetually distracted creative person whose mind was always off in its own little world. Remembering his surprised expression when she pointed out the thirsty pansies wilting at the front door of the house, she couldn’t help smiling at his amusing absent-mindedness.
“There was just something sweet about him,” Courtney concluded. “Although I’m not sure that’s the right word.”
Olive slanted a look towards her, her eyes sparkling. “He certainly struck me as a pleasant young man when he spoke to the book club. I’m glad you are able to help him in his time of need, what with his assistant too unwell to work, and I’m glad he is able to help you with some paid hours that I know you’ll make the most of.”
They walked in companionable silence for a few moments while Elsa sniffed here and there.
“I hope you won’t think I’m being nosy, dear,” Olive said. “But I was thinking about what you told me about how you’re staying with your cousin Rosie at the moment, and that she and her family are helping you during a touch patch you’ve been going through. And so I can’t help but wonder… Is the father of your baby involved in your life in any way?”
Courtney gave a sad smile. “No, we’re not together. We never really were together to begin with. We were just dating and then out of the blue…” She gestured to her baby bump and laughed. “Unplanned but not unwanted. Well, not unwanted by me. The father doesn’t want to be involved.”
Even now, it still hurt her to say these words. Olive gave her a look filled with concern and understanding.
“I’m certainly sorry to hear that,” Olive said. “But it’s his loss. And I’m sure you’ll be a wonderful mother to your little one when she arrives.”
“Thanks, Olive. You’re very kind.”
“Not kind, just honest. And with your cousin and other relatives there to help you, things will be just fine.”
“I hope so.”
“I know so.”
Courtney laughed at her new friend’s certainty and kindness, then noticed a surprised expression cross her face as she looked along the path they were walking. Following her gaze, Courtney’s own eyes widened when she saw Travis Stone strolling towards them.
He peered at them both for a few seconds, and Courtney saw recognition dawn. For a split second, she couldn’t escape the feeling that he’d been once again off in his own little world as he’d been walking through the park, thinking about his stories and the book he was writing, the glazed look in his eyes a sign that his mind was somewhere else entirely.
“Well, isn’t that a coincidence?” Olive said as they drew near, and Travis offered them both a smile. “We were just talking about you a moment ago.”
“Oh?” he said. “Good things, I hope?”
“Naturally. Courtney was just telling me about how the two of you have come to an arrangement regarding this assistant work you urgently needed taking care of. I hope it works out for you both.”
“It already has,” Travis said, smiling at Courtney. “She’s doing a great job.”
Courtney felt a blush warm her cheeks at the compliment. She was about to respond when a pinging noise had Olive taking her phone from the handbag looped over her shoulder and glancing at the screen.
“Oh, it’s a message from my daughter, Gillian,” Olive said, squinting at the screen over the top of her glasses. “It’s rather early in the day to get a message from her. She lives in Toronto, which means it’s not even dawn there yet.”
Seeing Olive’s frown deepen as she read the message she’d received, Courtney frowned too. “Is everything okay, Olive?”
Olive was quiet for a moment as she read the rest of the text message. “It sounds like there’s been a minor mishap with some wedding arrangements.” At Courtney’s blank expression, she waved a hand. “My grandson is getting married next month. I’m flying over to Canada to help him celebrate his big day. But according to Gillian, some snafu with the arrangements for the wedding reception have caused an almighty argument between bride and groom, and my poor grandson is understandably upset. Gillian wants me to ring him up for a chat. My grandson and I have always had a special relationship, despite living on opposite sides of the ocean, and she feels sure I can talk some sense into him and calm him down.”
Olive tucked her phone back into her bag. “You don’t mind if I leave you, do you, Courtney?”
“Of course not,” she replied. “I hope you have a good chat with your grandson and help smooth things over.”
“I hope so, too. But you’ll be okay getting back home on your own?”
Courtney laughed. “Of course. There’s no need to worry about me. I’ll have a nice walk around the park and enjoy the sunshine.”
“I’m sure Mr Stone can keep you company,” Olive said and turned to Travis. “Won’t you, young man?”
“Uh, sure,” Travis said.
Olive beamed at this. “Good. I don’t want to just abandon poor Courtney here on her own. You two have a lovely walk, and I’ll see you later.”
With a quick wave goodbye, Olive turned around and hurried off towards the park exit, Elsa scurrying along at her side.
“You don’t have to walk with me around the park,” Courtney said to Travis. “I can see you were actually heading towards the exit, too.”
“No, it’s fine. I mean, yes, I was going in that direction, but it’s a nice day and it’s no hardship to walk a bit further. In the sunshine. It’s warm and… the park is nice. And, er, I get good ideas for my stories when I’m walking. So, I’ll keep walking. With you. If you don’t mind?”
A scowl crossed his face, and the oddly garbled response made Courtney smile. “You were off in your own little world, weren’t you?”
His eyes widened. “What do you mean?”
“Before we interrupted you, I could see the look on your face while you were walking, as if your mind was a million miles away. It must be fun to disappear off into your own fictional world anytime you choose.”
Travis looked momentarily stunned by what she’s said, and for a long moment she stood there, wondering why on earth she’d said it. She didn’t know him well enough to make that sort of personal observation. She’d just described him as wandering around in a trance. No wonder he looked bemused.
But then his expression shifted and he laughed. “You’re right. I was thinking through a sticky plot problem and trying to figure out how to get my character out of a tight spot. Walking always helps get the ideas flowing, although it’s true I do often get carried away with my thoughts and forget where I am.” He gave an amused shrug. “Hazard of the job, I suppose.”
“And did you solve it?” Courtney asked. “Your sticky plot problem?”
“Almost. There are still a few details to get straight before I plunge back into the writing.” He gestured to the path in the direction from which he’d just come. “So, another loop around the duck pond might be just the ticket, if you don’t mind the company?”
“I’d love it.”
Courtney fell into step beside him. She noticed for the first time how tall he was, and athletic too, with wide shoulders and arms that suggested he lifted weights. Add in the scruffy beard and the wayward hair that looked like his fingers had been raking through it while he’d been deep in thought, and he was, she realised, actually pretty good looking, the combination of physical build and careless grooming somehow oddly attractive.
And that was her pregnancy hormones talking, she told herself, putting stupidly inappropriate ideas into her head. This man had hired her to be his assistant, and was now generously walking her around the park to keep her company. And what was she doing? She was making weird judgements about what he looked like.
And deciding he looked pretty good, all things considered.
She was an idiot to even be thinking such thoughts. It was time to keep her stupid ideas firmly under lock and key, and shut down her pregnancy brain before it raced off into a fantasy land.
And anyway, considering the baby bump she was already hauling around, she ought to have learned her lesson by now when it came to her total lack of competence and judgement in the romance department.
“So, is everything going okay with the marketing work?” Travis asked as they walked along the winding path.
Grateful for the conversation starter, Courtney nodded. “It’s all fine so far. You have lovely readers, Travis, judging by the comments on your social media pages.”
“I’m lucky. I wouldn’t have a career without them.”
“And I’ve started reading the first Maura Shaw mystery you loaned to me. It’s fantastic. I’m only a few chapters into it, but I’m loving it.”
Travis smiled. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“Actually….”
She trailed off, wondering whether to make the suggestion that was on her mind. When Travis gave her an encouraging look, she plunged on.
“Well, I had an idea. I don’t pretend to know anything about marketing or publishing or any of the stuff that you must know inside out, so just tell me if this is a terrible suggestion.”
“I’m sure it won’t be. Go ahead, what’s your idea?”
“Well, I suppose it’s actually two ideas rolled into one. The fans on your social pages know you use an assistant to help deal with interactions there, but they don’t know that your usual assistant is out of commission and I’m standing in to help. I’m new to your books and loving the first Maura Shaw mystery, and I can see from your fan comments and what-not that they are a hugely knowledgeable bunch about the series and have a lot of detailed insights about the stories and the characters and the plot developments.”
Travis grinned. “Sometimes I suspect they might know more about the books than I do.”
She returned his smile, then chose her next words carefully. “I wondered what you might think about me posting an update to your fans, explaining that I’m standing in as your assistant for a little while, and that I’m excited to be reading your books for the first time… and inviting the fans to read along with me. Almost like a virtual book club.”
Travis’s eyebrows quirked as he gave this some thought. “Hmm,” was all he said.
“I know your fans have probably read all of your books, most likely more than once, but I thought some of them might also enjoy the idea of reading together as a little community. And if they know I’m a newbie who’s excited to dive into the Maura Shaw series, that might make it even more fun for the fans. Every couple of days, I could post an update about the latest chapter I’ve read, and maybe include my favourite line from it, and see if it sparks discussion and chit-chat.”
“Hmm,” Travis said again. He rubbed his chin, then looked her way. “I think that might be a nice idea.”
“You do?”
He nodded. “A read-along sounds like fun, and a nice change from the content I’ve been posting for a while now. It might be more time consuming for you, though.”
“Maybe, but I don’t mind. I want to do a good job for you, and as I’m reading the first book anyway, this seemed like a nice way to share the experience and give your fans a chance to talk about their favourite scenes and chapters, too.”
“Yeah, let’s give it a try. It’s a great idea, Courtney. If it increases engagement, terrific. If not, or if it causes too much extra work, we can just revert to posting the content I’d already lined up.”
She was more than a little surprised that he’d agreed to her idea so readily. After all, she knew nothing about marketing, and was only doing what Travis told her to do when it came to his author social media pages.
The idea of sharing her experience as a first reader of the first Maura Shaw novel had come to her last night when she’d been racing through a chapter and loving every minute of the unfolding story. She found herself wanting to share her reading experience with Travis’s other fans.
Would they be interested in hearing her thoughts on the story? Interested in reading posts where she shared her favourite bits from the chapters as she read them?
She supposed she’d find out soon enough.
“One thing I would say, though,” Travis said, “is that you might want to add a spoiler alert note to any posts where you’re discussing any key story developments. Although the first book was published ages ago, there are still plenty of people who are reading the book for the first time, like you are, and might not appreciate having the plot ruined because they happened to glance at some random post on my author pages.”
“Understood. I’ll make sure I don’t give away any specifics when I post about my reading journey, but I’ll add a spoiler alert notice anyway, in case things pop up in the comments that can’t be helped.”
“That sounds like a good way forward. And I think it’s probably a good idea if you show me your posts before you put them up on social media, at least to begin with. It’s important to me to maintain a consistent tone for the fans. I understand you’ll only be sharing a few sentences about the chapter you’ve just read, but…”
“Say no more. I completely understand. Although I’ve only been working as your assistant for a couple of days, I’ve spent time studying your past posts and have a decent idea of how you like to handle things and the tone you want. I won’t give you extra work to do. After all, you hired me to lighten your load, not add to it.”
He nodded in agreement, but she thought she detected a brief moment of hesitation.
“Listen, if you think this idea is going to make things more complicated than they should be, I can just keep doing what you’ve already been doing on your pages,” she said.
But Travis shook his head and smiled again. “I like your idea. I’d like to try it and see how it goes. If it isn’t working, I’ll let you know.”
“Okay.” Her smile widened. “I’m quite excited about this! I’ll put together a post to introduce myself as your assistant and as a new reader of the Maura Shaw books, and send it to you for approval.”
“Fine with me.”
They walked for a few moments in silence as they skirted the edge of the pond where the ducks were quacking noisily and fighting amongst themselves for the bread someone was throwing for them. With midday approaching, the sun was growing warmer, and Courtney realised she was getting out of breath.
“Listen, I think I’m going to grab a seat on the bench for a few minutes before walking home,” she said. “Feel free to carry on without me.”
Travis gave her a concerned look. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I just get out of puff a little too easily these days thanks to this little one.” She patted her baby bump. Travis’s gaze dropped to her stomach and he visibly paled.
“Is there something wrong? Do you feel ill?”
“No, I just get tired easily now. The hot sun isn’t helping.”
The nearest bench was tucked beneath the shade of a tree, and it was bliss to escape the sunshine. The cooler air underneath the leafy canopy was heavenly, and as she parked herself on the bench, the relief of getting the weight off her feet had her moaning in pleasure.
“That’s better,” she sighed, then glanced up at Travis, who still looked worried. “I’m fine, honestly. I’ll just sit here for a minute and cool down. You don’t have to wait, though. You probably want to get back to your quiet walk and your thinking time.”
“I’ll wait and walk you back to Foxglove Street, just in case.” He pointed to an ice-cream van parked on the other side of the pond. “I’ll buy some cold drinks. How does that sound?”
She was about to refuse and tell him not to worry, but the idea of ice cold water was too good to resist. “I’d love that, actually. You don’t mind?”
“Of course not.”
Travis strode over to the ice-cream van and returned with two bottles of water. Courtney chugged hers down as if she’d just finished running a marathon.
“Note to self. Don’t leave the house without taking water with me,” she laughed. “If I’d realised it would get so hot, I would’ve filled a bottle before I started out on my walk.”
“It’s warmer than the weather forecasters said it would be.” He studied her face, his gaze narrowing in concern. “Are you sure you feel alright?”
“I feel okay. I’d tell you if I didn’t. Don’t worry, I’m not about to go into labour right here in the park.”
She laughed, and although Travis joined in, his expression was still wary. “When is your baby due?”
“Just under six weeks. My official due date is May fourteenth, but my midwife says that it’s not unusual for first-time mothers to deliver late. I’ve got ages to go.”
Travis drank some water, possibly reassured by her words, possibly not—she couldn’t quite tell.
“You must be excited about your new baby coming?”
“Very excited. I can’t wait to meet her.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You’re having a girl?”
Courtney nodded. “A lovely little girl. I wouldn’t have minded whether it was a boy or a girl, but knowing it’s a girl is wonderful and exciting and helps me imagine her in my head.”
“Have you picked a name for her yet?”
“No. I’ve thought of lots of different names I like, but I don’t think I’ll know which is the right one until I meet her and hold her in my arms.”
That brought a smile to his lips. “That will be a special moment.”
“It really will.”
He drank some water and looked off towards the duck pond for a long beat before speaking again. “Your partner or boyfriend must be excited too?”
For the second time that day, she felt the tiny stab of pain that pierced her heart whenever she thought of her unborn child’s father.
“I’m not involved with the baby’s dad anymore. We broke up.”
A surprised look crossed Travis’s face, his water bottle halfway to his lips. “Oh, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“It’s fine. It’s only natural to ask, and only natural to assume I’m with the father of my child. But, no, we’re not together anymore. He decided he didn’t want to be involved with the baby, so…”
She caught the sad sigh in her throat and sucked it back down deep inside, then put on a smile and patted her swollen stomach. “We’ll do just fine on our own, me and this little one.”
The expression on Travis’s face morphed from embarrassed surprise to a thoughtful smile. “I’m sure you will.”
Courtney drank more of her water, feeling better with every sip. “So, tell me, how did you become a writer? If you don’t mind me asking…”
“Of course not.” Travis move further back onto the bench from the edge where he’d been perched, making himself comfortable. “I studied journalism at university, but after I graduated, I couldn’t find a job. The news industry is competitive, and it’s also going through a lot of big changes and financial cuts and it’s not easy to get your foot in the door. I ended up working in a sales job just to earn some money, but it wasn’t what I’d trained for and it definitely wasn’t what I’d hoped for either, as far as a career was concerned.”
A wistful look crossed his face. “I’d always imagined myself as some sort of intrepid investigative reporter, digging deep into the big issues and exposing the truth and making sure that decision-makers in politics and society are held accountable. I imagined doing my part to make the world a better place, if only in some small way. It wasn’t easy realising I might not get to do any of that, after all.”
Courtney saw the faraway look on his face and sympathised. “That must have been difficult.”
He gave a small shrug. “It was a wake up call, and a realisation that things don’t always work out the way you think they will.”
She knew exactly what he meant. Wanting to hear more about how he’d turned failure into success, she gave him an encouraging smile to continue talking.
“I’d always dabbled with creative writing ever since I was a kid,” Travis said. “I enjoyed writing stories, and so, to cheer myself up between shifts at the terrible sales job where I was working, I started writing a sort of James Patterson style fast-paced thriller. It was a lot of fun.”
Travis laughed and waved a hand at nothing in particular. “The first draft wasn’t very good, but I had a blast writing it. There were plot holes so big you could drive a bus through them, but I managed to sort most of them out in the second draft. I’d only written the book to amuse myself, or at least that’s what I thought, but I started to wonder if it might be publishable. I gave the manuscript another work through and then got in touch with literary agents. Those are the people who represent authors and negotiate contracts with publishers.”
“And you found an agent who liked your book?”
Travis laughed again. “No, the exact opposite. I got rejections from every agent I contacted. That’s not unusual. It wasn’t a great feeling being rejected, especially after failing to find a job in journalism. I wondered if I might be making one career mistake after another. But I liked the book I’d written and I believed in it. I’d heard a lot about authors independently publishing their books and making great careers for themselves. There have been big changes in the publishing industry since ebooks arrived, and after I did a little research, I thought, why not give it a go? And so, that’s what I did.”
“Good for you. That must have taken a lot of guts.”
“I don’t know about that. I just wanted to see what might happen. And at first, nothing much happened at all. It took a couple of months for the book to start selling, mostly thanks to word of mouth by readers who somehow discovered it while looking for new books to read. As I still hadn’t found a job in journalism, I decided to start writing another book in my free time. When I finished it and was happy with it, I published it. The second book sold a little faster than the first one, which was encouraging. Not enough to make a living, but enough to cover the expenses of paying for an editor and a cover designer and all that stuff, and with enough left over to buy a few cups of coffee. By this point, I had yet another idea for book number three, so I kept going.”
Courtney smiled. “And how did the Maura Shaw mysteries come about?”
“After I finished writing book five, I realised I didn’t want to write any more of the of thriller-type books I’d written so far. I started playing around with new stories, new characters, new plots, new settings, and kept coming back to this idea I’d had for a cozy mystery series. Even now, I don’t know how I ended up writing about a historian in her sixties who runs around solving murders as an amateur sleuth in her spare time, but once Maura Shaw got inside my head, I couldn’t get her back out again.”
“She’s a wonderful character, Travis. After reading only the first few chapters of the first novel, I can understand why readers love her.”
“I never would’ve imagined she’d be the sort of character I’d want to write, and I never imagined cozy mysteries would be the genre where I’d find success. Because the Maura Shaw character kept popping up in my head, along with endless numbers of mad story ideas for her to get stuck into, I eventually just started writing about her. And once I started typing, I literally couldn’t keep up with the book as it unfolded in my head.”
“That sounds sort of crazy.”
“It feels sort of crazy, too,” Travis laughed. He gave her a guarded look, then added, “The first Maura Shaw book, the one you’re reading now, only took six weeks to write.”
Courtney’s eyes almost popped out of her head. “Six weeks? Are you kidding?”
“Nope. Like I said, once I started writing about Maura Shaw, I couldn’t keep up. I didn’t want to stop, either. Towards the end of writing that book, there were days where I forgot to eat because I was so caught up in the story.”
“That sounds amazing. But six weeks? I can’t take that in.”
Travis laughed. “Not many people know that little detail. I worried that if anyone knew how quickly the book poured out of me, they might judge it less kindly. Promise you’ll keep that fact about the six-week writing binge to yourself?”
“I promise. I signed your non-disclosure agreement, didn’t I? Consider this a work-related conversation.”
He laughed again. “Anyway, as soon as I published the first Maura Shaw book, it found readers who loved it. Within a few months, it was selling fast and readers were talking about it on social media and it just took off. I couldn’t believe how well it did. A couple of weeks before I published the second book in the series, I was contacted by a publisher who wanted to work with me. They offered me a contract that almost made me fall off my chair. It was too good to turn down and they could get my paperbacks into bookshops that were much harder for me to reach on my own. And so, I signed with the publisher and the Maura Shaw series grew bigger than I ever dreamt it would.”
“It must be a great feeling, having all this success after so many tough times when you couldn’t find a job after university?”
“It’s a relief knowing I can do something right, put it that way,” Travis laughed. “And it’s a relief being able to pay my bills. I’m pretty comfortable now, but there were plenty of hairy times after I graduated when I thought I’d end up broke and stuck living with my parents for the rest of my life.”
Travis laughed, and although Courtney joined him, her own laughter was more thoughtful. “It’s good to know there are real-world dream-come-true stories out there that happen to real people.”
She meant it too. Travis had turned bad luck and failure into a huge success and turned his life around. If he could do it, she could do it too.
She was doing it, she reminded herself. Or at least, she was trying to.
Perhaps Travis saw the faraway look on her face because he studied her for a moment before giving an easy shrug.
“I never thought of it that way, but that’s a nice way to describe it.” He gave another shrug and glanced away before adding, “Anyway, that’s the story of how I ended up becoming an author. My journalism career plans were derailed and I couldn’t get them back on track again, and to cheer myself up while doing a job I hated, I turned to a hobby I’d always enjoyed, just looking for some escapism. That turned out to be the best move I could’ve made, and it eventually led me to where I am now.”
“It’s a fantastic story, Travis, and it’s really inspirational.”
“Things have worked out far better than I ever imagined they would. My writing supports me and makes me good money, and I love writing the books, too. I love knowing there are readers out there who look forward to my new novels coming out, and that I’m giving them the same escapism and entertainment I wanted for myself when I first started writing. That’s a good feeling, knowing I’m providing something valuable to people.”
“So valuable that you’ve had to hire staff in order to help you with all the work it’s generated,” Courtney observed. “And for that, I’m very grateful.”
He laughed. “I never imagined the popularity of the books would mean I’d need help to interact with the fans. That’s probably the most startling part of it for me, seeing how much the readers love Maura Shaw. No one is more surprised about it than I am.” Travis shrugged and laughed again. “But what’s life without a few surprises to keep you on your toes?”
“Tell me about it,” Courtney said with a wry smile, and patted her baby bump.
Travis laughed at her quip. They sat for another moment on the bench, sipping the last of their water. Feeling better now, and aware of how long they’d sat chatting—and how long she’d spent asking about his writing career—Courtney got to her feet.
“Thanks for the cold drink, Travis. I needed it. I’m happy to get moving again if you are?”
With a nod, he binned their empty water bottles and they resumed their walk, heading in the direction of the park gates. As they strolled out of Peartree Park and meandered back to Foxglove Street, they made easy small talk, the conversation flowing naturally.
When Travis waved goodbye after seeing her back to Rosie’s house, Courtney was glad she’d bumped into him at the park. She’d enjoyed getting to know him better.
And she felt like she’d made a friend.