The Harborside Regency
Providence, RI
She should have faked her own death when she had the chance, Kristen thought as the really disgruntled-looking woman who had been glaring at her since she stepped into her line five minutes ago stepped up to her table and-
“I’ve been waiting over a year for your next book,” came the angrily muttered announcement that had Kristen struggling to bite back a wince.
Clearing her throat, Kristen opened her mouth to apologize only to have the incredibly angry-looking reader demand, “When are we getting another book?” before she could say anything.
“Before Christmas?” Kristan said, hoping beyond hope that she was finally able to finish a book by then, otherwise…
She really didn’t want to think about what would happen if she couldn’t pull this off.
For a moment, the reader didn’t say anything as she slowly nodded and placed her book on the table in front of Kristen to sign. Grateful for the reprieve, Kristen gave her a warm smile as she autographed the book and handed it back, watching the way the woman’s eyes narrowed on her.
“Before Christmas?” she asked after a slight hesitation.
“Before Christmas,” Kristen said, watching as the woman slowly nodded before she walked away, leaving Kristen sitting there, feeling sick to her stomach and-
She had no idea how she was going to do this.
For the past year, she’d been struggling to write. But so far, she hadn’t been able to write a single word and she’d tried. God, she’d tried. For the first month, she sat at her desk, staring helplessly at her computer, trying to figure out what she wanted to write. By the second month, she’d convinced herself that she just needed a break.
So, she started taking walks, trying out new recipes, reading the books on her wish list, taking naps, and when the third month rolled around…
That’s when she started panicking.
When staring at her computer screen for sixteen hours a day didn’t work, she decided to change her routine, her diet, read every article and blog that she could find on writer’s block and tried anything and everything that she could think of to break out of it, but nothing worked. That left her spending her days staring at her computer screen, hoping beyond hope that today would be the day only…
Nothing changed.
Every day, she dragged herself out of bed, took the dog that had yet to be named for a walk, made breakfast, cleaned up and put off sitting in front of her computer for as long as humanly possible. When she finally ran out of excuses, she sat down only to stare at her computer until she found herself checkingher email, scrolling online for hours, and giving in to whatever distraction was currently demanding her attention.
While other authors seemed to be publishing books every other month, she was debating adding another level to her Twinkie tower. She hoped that by coming here and surrounding herself with other authors and readers that it would help, but so far, all it did was remind her that she was an absolute failure. She really wished that she hadn’t come here, Kristen thought, biting back a sigh as she forced a warm smile when the next reader stepped up in line.
Twenty minutes later, her line began to die down when the book models started taking off their shirts, leaving her with no other choice but to finally open her laptop and stare helplessly at the screen while she waited for the words to magically appear. When nothing happened, she reached into the goodie bag that one of the volunteers had left for her earlier, grabbed the bag of chips, tore it open and popped a chip in her mouth before she went back to staring helplessly at her computer screen.
She-
Found herself frowning as she watched a large tan hand pluck the bag of chips out of her hand. Telling herself that she was just imagining things, Kristen turned her head and found herself wondering what she did in a past life to deserve this.
“Can I help you?” Kristen asked, blinking at the large man helping himself to her chips.
“You can forgive me,” Garrett said, popping a chip in his mouth as he took in the large ballroom lined with tables, readers making the rounds getting autographs, swag, and pictures, and the authors that actually belonged here.
“That’s never going to happen,” Kristen said as she went back to staring at her computer screen.
“We’ll see,” Garrett said, sounding confident as he helped himself to her juice. “Where did your line go?”
“Why are you here?” Kristen asked, absently gesturing to the women lined up on the other side of the ballroom, hoping for a chance to meet the half-naked male models posing for pictures.
“Moral support,” Garrett said as she typed the word “The,” deciding that was the best place to start.
“So, you’ve decided to up your game after years of leaving bad reviews?” Kristen asked as she kept her fingertips hovering over the keys, waiting for the next word to magically appear.
“I deleted those reviews,” Garrett said, shrugging it off as he finished off her juice.
“Oh, you mean the reviews that you left for books that you never read? Are those the reviews that you’re talking about?” Kristen asked, blinking at him.
