“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 muchextra 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.”
