Experiments And Opportunities
By the middle of December, Olivia felt as if she’d always lived at the farm.
She and Nash fell into a good routine with the kids.And if she thought of them as a unit, it couldn’t be helped.Two adults.Two kids.On the surface, a typical family.
Except they weren’t typical, and they weren’t a family, no matter how much she wanted them to be one.
She and Nash hadn’t taken any steps toward creating a relationship.No kisses, anyway.Lots of trust and like, though.
They lingered when their fingers brushed or when they eased past each other in the process of making cider.
The sparkling attraction built every day.She’d never experienced anything like it, and she wanted to explore it all the way to the obvious conclusion.
But she wanted more than that as well.Wanted the family image they projected to be real.She wanted to be a partner with Nash in all senses of the word.
Today, they were experimenting with another combination of cider flavors.Charlie was sure cinnamon and raspberry would be great with the apple flavor.The scent certainly was enticing.
When her phone rang, it took her a moment for her to realize it was a call.Since arriving in Vermont, her phone had gained more contacts, but most people texted.
Rika Yoshito’s name flashed on the screen with a video call and Olivia smiled.“It’s my agent.Do you mind watching Ella for a few minutes while I talk to her outside?”
Nash nodded even as Charlie called out, “I’ve got it.”
Ella was napping, so it wasn’t a burden, but Olivia knew it wouldn’t be a problem anyway.She had people she trusted to back her up and help.
Blinking away the tears, she answered while she threw on her coat.“Hey, Rika.How are you?”
Her friend smiled.“I’m great.And so are you.I can tell by the smile in your voice and on your face.”
Olivia couldn’t deny it.“I am.Everything is wonderful.”
“Wonderful?That’s amazing.I’m so glad to see you happy.Do you have a few minutes to chat?”
She looked back at the cabin and smiled, knowing she had no reason to worry about Ella.“I do.”
Rika grinned.“Good.The book release was amazing.”
She’d almost forgotten about the book release.Her publisher took care of the publicity and social media.Olivia had never had personal social media, and while she had an author presence on a few sites, she only used them to point readers to her website for more information about her books.
Here was one of the biggest moments of her career, and she’d only thought of it a couple of times the previous day.
Rika continued.“Early numbers say that preorders for Kayaia’s Choice are more than two hundred percent over Lelja’s Journey.Additional release day sales were higher, too.”
Olivia had to blink back tears.“That’s amazing.”With those kinds of numbers, her bank account would provide even more safety.The rent she chipped in for the farm wasn’t nearly what an apartment would cost, and she didn’t need a part-time job to help support her and Ella.
Rika nodded.“It is.Early reviews are glowing, and influencers are extremely positive about Kayaia.”
Having a twin-spirited character in a book for kids had been a risk.One Olivia had been more than willing to take.Most kids loved learning about people from all walks of life and with varied life experiences.Giving face to a non-binary character had been important to Olivia.Her books were about believing in yourself, and she hoped everyone could find a character to connect with in the series.There would always be haters, but Olivia refused to change her books and her creativity for them.“I’m so glad to hear that.”
Rika laughed.“Me too.We’ve already got some character art showing up on social media.Dragons and brucans working together.”
Olivia laughed.“I’m not near them now, but we made snow dragons and snow brucans the other day.They’re fabulous.”
Rika’s eyebrows shot up.“I’d love to see photos.Tell me you took some pictures.”
“I did.I can send some to you after I hang up.If I do it now, I’ll probably disconnect us.”Not having had a phone during her teen years, she wasn’t as adept as most people her age.
“I can send some to the publisher.Put them out on social media.See if we can get other kids to do the same.”
