Yes, I think letting you read the WIP chapters for Teddy’s book would be very reasonable, especially if I don’t have to buy a new kitchen table.
I answered his question.
I explained my trade-off.
Yes, it was a good start.
As you might’ve seen me mention in the group, I’m slightly...well, let’s call it easily distracted by my work and everything it involves, so I would appreciate any help you could offer in housekeeping management.
That was a good way to say finding the bottom of my shit, right?
I am willing to trade ebooks and paperback copies of my backlist, provided you can help me find where I put that box. You know that one I mentioned? It’s still around here somewhere. The mailman assured me I have it.
I was really hoping he was telling the truth, but he looked slightly sketchy.
He kept smiling.
Early work-in-progress chapters are a reasonable request, and when I can find the list of bonus chapters I was going to write, I will let you read those as well.
Yes, that seemed very fair.
If you let me know what other things you’d see as an appropriate trade, I will gladly discuss it with you. I’m sure we could come to a reasonable...there’s a word I can’t remember. I need more sleep. I’m sorry. I know you’ll figure out what I was trying to say. My readers are always very helpful. I’m sure you’ll be the same.
Yes, I had lovely readers.
They were wonderfully helpful when we played thehelp an author remember the lost wordgame.
They just escaped so easily.
The words, not my readers—yes, more sleep before I started writing anything else was going to be a good idea.
What had I been doing?
Oh, my reader friend.
Thank you for responding so politely and not asking questions I can’t answer or can’t read. You were either amazingly sober last night or are very articulate while drunk. Either way, I’m impressed and I appreciate your time.
And now to wrap it up.
Why had I been worried about responding?
Please let me know when it would be convenient to meet. I would like to get the details lined up before I forget what we were planning. But you will need to promise Lori that you’re not a stalker or a serial killer. Worriers are hard to deal with, but editors I don’t want to kill are even more difficult to find, so I have to be nice.
Yes, he’d have to agree with me there if he remembered the greatwhat English do they edit indebacle.
Thinking about that still gave me ulcers.
All right, quick sign-off and send.
Now...what had I been doing before Lori called?
Had I been going to find where I’d left my coffee?
Chapter 2
Rohan
“Let’s play drunk, insane, or writer on no sleep...” Humming theJeopardytheme song as I read through the strange email for the third time, I shook my head. “The answer is all of the above. Thank you for playing.”
