Chapter 56
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
A year and a half later
Standing in the wings, Courtney watched as Dana commanded the stage. It was incredible to see one person captivate thousands of people using only her voice and her storytelling ability. The screen behind her was set up to project images and video clips to align with her talk. This particular theater handled the touring companies of Broadway productions, so the crew was more than capable.
Even so, the head of lighting hadn’t sounded happy to hear that Dana’s movements would be unpredictable. “She tends to pace,” Courtney had explained. “Sometimes she goes out into the audience to hold babies or to give out birthday hugs. There’s really no telling what she’ll do.” He’d accepted Dana’s modus operandi with a sigh. Really, he had no choice.
True to form, only fifteen minutes had passed before Dana had gone down the stairs and up the center aisle to hug a woman who had just finished her last round of chemotherapy. “Your books were the only thing that got me through it,” she’d said, clutching a tissue. Dana had practically flown off the stage in order to give her comfort, and this was the thing that always got to Courtney—no one minded. It was touching how every other person in that theater became emotionally invested in the scene playing out before them. Dana was so beloved that anything she did was fine with them.
This book tour was special because two Rebecca Cavanaugh novels had been released this year, and only two weeks apart. When the announcement was made, fans had gone crazy with anticipation. The first published book was the one they’d worked on together, and fourteen days later, Courtney’s secret novel came out.
Initially, she’d been afraid to tell Dana that she’d written a Rebecca Cavanaugh novel on the sly. What if her best friend thought she was trying to appropriate her life? Three days after Dana had come home from her self-imposed kidnapping, Courtney had anxiously emailed her the novel as an attachment. After that, she’d waited, pacing endlessly around her living room for hours.
When Dana came to her apartment with the printed pages in hand, she felt her stomach churn, anticipating the worst. She didn’t exhale until Dana broke into a grin and said, “I love it! This might be the best Rebecca Cavanaugh novel yet!”
“You think so?” She felt her cheeks blush pink.
“Absolutely. The readers are going to eat this up!”
“What a relief! I’m so glad you like it.” Courtney found herself babbling. “I wasn’t trying to usurp you, honest. I just had the idea and it sort of just took off on its own. If you want changes, I can do changes. I mean, I did the best I could, but they’re just words on a page. Revising is no problem.”
Dana held up a hand to stop her. “It’s perfect. You don’t need to change anything.”
Of course, that wasn’t the end of it. Their editor, the very astute Jessica, caught a timeline error, and as it turned out, Courtney had mixed up some names. An embarrassing mistake. Also, Jessica suggested the ending get punched up a bit. Courtney also wound up cutting part of a chapter labeled repetitive. So she wasn’t completely finished. Only nearly finished. She and Dana agreed that she’d get the full share of royalties for that book, and going forward, fifty percent of the money for the novels they’d worked on together. “Are you sure?” Courtney had asked, gobsmacked. She put her hand over her forehead in amazement.
Dana was sure. “You probably should have gotten half all along. I suggested it once to Ian, but he talked me out of it.” She shrugged. “I wouldn’t have any of this without you, so it’s only fair. I already have more money than I know what to do with.”
Knowing she was a novelist in her own right was a dream come true. Like so many things in life, she didn’t know how much she’d wanted it until after it arrived. Seeing the book, her book, in print had filled her with unbelievable joy. Being a writer had been her childhood goal. She’d somehow lost sight of it along the way.
The best part? Dana would be the author of record and do all the promotion, but Courtney would still be listed as one of the copyright holders and get half the royalties. If anyone asked, Dana said she’d give her credit, and in fact, she’d heard her call Courtney her cowriter a few times already. It was more than enough. As long as she got the money, Dana could get the glory.
Courtney didn’t need accolades. She just liked writing stories.
For someone who didn’t like change, she’d sure had a lot of it thrown at her over those first few months. Ronald and Martha had moved out, with Olive and Dylan taking their places. Dana had insisted Courtney hire them. She wasn’t as convinced, but it had worked out wonderfully. Olive was a marvelous cook, and her meals were more health-minded than Martha’s hearty entrees. She even lost a few pounds without trying, in itself a nice change.
Dylan was every bit as good on the job as Ronald, and a better conversationalist too. He and Olive took over the roles like it was their calling.
Ian and Kristy left too, but Brayden had opted to stay at the house until he was off to school in the fall. For the rest of the summer, he’d been there to help Dylan and Olive transition into running the household and grounds, and he and Charlie still found time to play video games. Since then, he came back occasionally during school breaks.
So that was good.
By the time Dana’s author tour started, everything at home was running smoothly.
They were currently in their sixth city of a twenty-city tour. All of the tour events blended together for Courtney, since they followed the same series of steps. Dana greeted the crowd and then talked (and talked and talked) before reading a bit from both books. After that, she talked some more. Here and there she interacted with the crowd, commenting on signs being held aloft, blowing kisses to the balcony. No one loved being the center of attention more than Dana.
Her presentation ended with a group Q and A. This time around, Courtney zoned out during the first few questions. They tended to be the kind she’d heard many times before. Where do you get your ideas? How long does it take to write a book? Do you plot your stories out ahead of time? What advice would you give an aspiring author? This last one was from a girl who looked to be about twelve. She asked so quietly that even with the microphone it was hard to make out the words.
Courtney recognized the girl’s shy, hesitant way of speaking. She’d also been reluctant at that age, daring to hope her dream could someday be a reality. She was glad Dana told the girl to just do it, that every author who ever lived had once started out being someone who hadn’t written a book. “Doubt is your friend. It keeps you striving to do better. Write the story of your heart and you’ll do fine.”
Wise words, but Dana hadn’t come up with them. So long ago, late at night in a dorm room, Courtney had spoken those very words first.
As Courtney watched, her husband came up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist. “Hey,” she said, leaning into his kiss. “Everything okay?”
Nolan nodded. “Everything is set up in the lobby. Plenty of books, and the bookseller is very organized.” Since Nolan had become their agent, they’d begun working with independent bookstores to provide the books at each event. A little more work than having them shipped directly from the warehouse, but it led to great partnerships.
Nolan was good at facilitating connections. Including their own relationship. Before they’d met, she’d given up on love, deciding she was destined to go through life alone. Then suddenly, there he was, tall and smart and kind. With the most incredible indigo eyes. She’d been drawn to him in ways she found hard to describe. Lucky for her, he felt the same way. Now they lived in Ian and Kristy’s former suite. Her old apartment above the garage still got some use when Brayden visited.
Life was good.
Nolan’s chin rested on her shoulder while they viewed the rest of the Dana show. The next question was about her. A woman with silver curls asked, “Do you still work on the books with your best friend, Courtney?” Inwardly she groaned, knowing what was coming next.
Dana said, “Yes, I do.” She turned toward them. “And she’s here with me today! Come on out, Courtney, and say hello.”
Nolan gave her a little push, and she strode out and smiled in the direction of the audience. She didn’t love that her face loomed large on the screen behind them, but if she concentrated on Dana, she could almost forget it was there. Dana slung her arm around her shoulder and spoke into the microphone. “I can tell you that if it wasn’t for Courtney, there wouldn’t be two books this year.”
The crowd burst into applause. Someone yelled, “Yay for Courtney.”
Courtney felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment. Secretly, though? She was starting to like this limited dose of acclaim. It was enough, but not too much. She faced the adoring throng, waved, and called out, “Thank you!”
As she walked back into the wings, a woman’s voice yelled out, “We love you, Courtney!” She could almost feel the love. She had to admit she didn’t hate it.
“Well done!” Nolan said as she went to join him. He knew this was out of her comfort zone. “You survived it.”
“I got it over with.” She grinned. “Now your turn is coming.”
A man in the front row stood up. “I heard your brother is no longer your agent.”
Not really a question, but Dana jumped on it regardless. “My brother, Ian, was my agent for many years. As you can imagine, it was a lot of tedious paperwork, so I’m pleased that he’s moved on to an exciting new venture. He and his wife have started their own business, and it’s been a huge success. I couldn’t be happier for him.” A photo of Ian standing in front of his new business flashed on the screen. The website address on the bottom was a generous bit of free advertising.
Dana continued. “Since Ian’s been gone, I’ve gotten new representation. It’s worked out great for both of us.” She scanned the assemblage. “I think we have time for one more question. Lady with the blue top?”
The lady’s face brightened as she leapt out of her seat. When they handed her the microphone, she clutched it with both hands. “I know you just had two books come out, but I’ve already read both. Can you tell us what you’re working on now?”
Dana smiled. “I’m glad someone asked that question.” She’d been planning on talking about the next book at the end of her talk, regardless. “The next novel in the series will involve the kidnapping of a very high-profile, high-maintenance author. Sound familiar?” She laughed and everyone in the theater joined her. “Rebecca Cavanaugh is on the case, but she encounters a problem. The author is such a pain that her family doesn’t want to pay the ransom.” She winked and the crowd went wild.
Courtney knew what they were about to see, and so did Nolan, who drew in a sharp breath. She knew how much he hated being in the spotlight, but the readers always loved what came next. Once the hubbub died down, Dana continued. “As usual, I did research for this book. This time around, I put myself into the same situation as the author who’d been abducted. Would you like to see a video clip?”
Of course they did.
The screen lit up, showing Dana speaking to the camera. “Hello, everyone!” she said with a wave. “I’m here at a remote location with my friend Nolan.” She looked around the room. “We’re at an abandoned motel in the boonies of Wisconsin, to be precise. I’ve just gone through the motions of a faux kidnapping, just to see how my character would get herself out of this kind of predicament.”
As the video continued, Nolan buried his face in Courtney’s shoulder, dreading the part where she turned the camera to show him wearing a ski mask. When it was over and the crowd applauded, he exhaled in relief.
Dana said, “Nolan is actually my new agent, and he’s doing an incredible job. We don’t have a release date for the new book yet, but we do have a title. It’s going to be called Written Off .”