Chapter 17 #2
“I knew that would convince you,” Sophia says.
“And I’ve had a cracking idea for the booth that I want to discuss with you lot.
” She nods at Ramon and Kamal. “I went to the bookshop downstairs this morning. These two are making the preparations. Come on, let’s grab a coffee, sit down with them, and then I’ll tell you everything! ”
Sophia runs ahead with a bounce in her step, and a few minutes later, we’ve made ourselves comfortable on the floor with Ramon and Kamal. Ramon’s sitting back against the wall, handing Kamal the scissors and glue whenever he needs them.
“Ramon’s given up already,” Kamal tells me with a smirk as I sit down next to him and glance curiously at all the tiny cardboard parts strewn around. I discover a beige-and-orange cat who looks a bit like Nugget, some flowerpots, several bookshelves, and other odds and sods.
“You’re better at crafts because you have a kid,” Ramon says, sipping his black coffee.
“Bahar’s in her Lego phase right now. I nearly broke down crying recently because I missed a piece and had to dismantle everything again.
This is more complicated, though.” The tip of Kamal’s tongue appears between his lips as he focuses on punching out more small parts.
“What am I even making this for? Do you need this for the presentation?”
Sophia shakes her head. “No, for reference. And as decor for our booth. To be honest with you, I didn’t realize how tricky this was going to be. I thought it would be a cool meta level for the whole thing.”
“A meta level?” Nataly tilts her head and takes a sip of her coffee.
“I was in the shop downstairs the other day to buy some gifts, and they have book nooks there.” Sophia nods at Kamal’s creations.
“Miniature rooms showing scenes or locations that you can fit between shelved books. Why don’t we design our booth that way?
You can enter the book nook, lounge on the sofa, and we’ll have two desks where people can play Novel Haven.
There could be bookshelves everywhere—one with the book nook Kamal’s making right now. A photo spot would be cool . . .”
“Can we even afford that?” I ask. I still vividly remember Sophia’s worries over our budget plan. “GameChanger are providing free booths, aren’t they?”
Sophia tilts her head back and forth. “Sure, but it’s just a big white box.
I’d like to stand out, keep up with the big-name publishers.
But yeah, building a complete booth would be too expensive, and it’s short notice too.
” She scoots over closer to Kamal and gingerly picks up the growing construction on the floor in front of him.
He’s already managed to stabilize the walls.
“What do you think, could we build something like this ourselves? We could decorate the walls with wooden planks, add a rug, some books and plants . . .”
“Oh, let’s!” Nat exclaims. “That would be perfect for content too. Us building Novel Haven on our PCs, and then the sad comparison to us trying the same thing in real life.”
“Could you try not to talk about sad comparisons?” Sophia grumbles, turning the book nook over in her hands.
“We could actually get started on that right now,” Nat says, getting out her mobile without replying to Sophia’s objection. She records Kamal, who’s busy folding a miniature book, and then Ramon, still sitting idly next to him.
“I like that idea.” Kamal glances up. “I could call my brother; he’s good with that sort of thing. Not booth building, but he built an entire jungle gym for Bahar once. I’m sure he could pull off a roof for the booth—you know, that sort of thing.”
“Really?” There’s a gleam in Sophia’s eye, and she cheerfully waves her hands around as Nat sticks the camera in her face.
I catch Nataly’s eye and shake my head, but she just shrugs impassively and turns the phone around to capture me.
“That would be brilliant. We’ll buy fairy lights and all the other accessories we need as cheaply as possible downtown.
If you and your brother could take care of the main structure, that would be smashing! ”
“I’ll call him right now,” Kamal responds, and Sophia claps her hands enthusiastically.
“Wicked! I owe him one!” Sophia says. “All right, then I’ll make a list of all the bits and bobs, and please send me anything you can think of, like which items from the game we absolutely need to have at our booth—that sort of thing.
Besides, we need flyers and promo materials. Aria, can you take care of the flyers?”
Aria nods. “On it.”
“Any ideas for promo materials? Definitely bookmarks with direct QR links to the game—a few more people putting it on their wish lists wouldn’t hurt. Especially since early access starts soon.”
“I suppose mini book nooks of the game would be way too expensive, right?” Ramon asks, turning one of the little parts in his hands. “Or we could design our own with a starfish, a lighthouse, and all that.”
“Yep, book nooks are pricey. We can think about that when we send out packages for influencers—but that would be something for after we win too.”
“How about postcards?” Nat suggests. “‘Greetings from Novel Haven.’ We can include custom printed pens, and everyone visiting our booth can write to their friends. We could put a postbox on the outside of the booth, and then we’ll send out the cards after the fair.”
“Excellent idea!” Sophia is so thrilled that she spills a bit of her latte over her skinny jeans, but she doesn’t seem to notice.
“That shouldn’t be too expensive either.
There’s already a postbox in the game, and we could keep it here once we’re finished with it.
Wouldn’t that be cute? Brilliant! Ramon, since you’re just watching Kamal work, can you do the minutes, please? ”
Ramon clambers to his feet with a groan and returns with his laptop a moment later.
“Keychains,” I suggest. “With little books on them. Maybe people could create them themselves? Or they could stick things on, at least. Will we have printers there? I keep seeing that on Etsy—miniature books.”
Sophia nods slowly. “Great idea. I’d have to see about licensing for the book covers, but I’ll ask Matthew!” Matthew, Sophia’s childhood friend, runs a literary agency in London. It’s only thanks to him and his contacts that we were able to get the studio facilities so cheap.
“Or we could reconstruct scenes from the game, or stick on characters, animals, things like that.”
“You’re getting a capybara book,” Nat whispers to Aria.
“Sounds like a good plan B. Right, then. Pens—who can take care of the printing? And no gaudy colors, please; we want something that goes well with the game.” Ramon raises his hand, and Sophia nods, satisfied.
“Flyers: Aria . . . Do you think you can manage to do the bookmarks and postcards too, timewise?”
“Sure.”
“Great. I’ll take care of the plushies, designing the booth, and the book cover thing. Kamal, just write me a shopping list once you’ve talked to your brother, OK?”
Kamal gives Sophia a thumbs-up before snatching the book nook from her hands and turning back to his crafts project. All the small parts are free from their cardboard frames now and spread wildly across the rug.
“I’ll look for book-building materials,” I offer.
Sophia nods. “Very good. But only if it doesn’t take up too much of your time; I’ve already sent you a big chunk of work this morning for the presentations.
We’ll be presenting the game on a stage again—in front of a big audience this time.
There’s going to be a demo and a Q&A session, and everything will be streamed live. ”
My heart starts to race immediately, and Sophia raises her hands reassuringly, like she can hear it all the way from where she’s sitting—who knows, maybe she can. “No worries, I’ll be presenting, but I’ll need your input.”
“OK,” I say, and my hands relax a little from their death grip around my cup.
“Cracking. And Nat, I’ve already sent you a list of streamers who will probably be there.
It would be great if we could get in touch with them beforehand and invite them over.
” Nataly nods, and Sophia puffs out her cheeks, which are flushed from excitement.
She lets out the air noisily. “Right, lads. I’d say the next few days are going to be as chaotic as the floor around Kamal right now.
But we can do this! We’re going to give the others a bollocking they won’t forget!
We’ll win that prize money, and we’ll turn the entire industry upside down, from PAX to Tokyo Game Show. Let’s get a wiggle on!”
Sophia punches the air with her free hand, and although I know she’s exaggerating, there’s nothing I can do against the excited flutter in my chest. Our game will be out there.
In just a few days, it’ll be played by people outside of our team.
I’ll be letting strangers into Novel Haven, a place that has well and truly become my home.
And what’s more: That game is me. Me, in all my facets—the humor, the dialogues, the world building, all the bits and bobs in the lighthouse.
Without their knowledge, I’ll be letting those people see more of me than I’ve allowed my own family to see in the years since the accident.
They’ll see me for who I truly am—without being influenced by my looks. They’ll enter my innermost sanctuary, judge me on it, and get to know me by it. Just the way it should be. Just the way it hasn’t been for me in years.
I swallow, because with that last thought, Luca’s face pops up in my mind’s eye. The one person breaking that pattern.