Page 2 of Property of Azrael

Next comes a series of GIFs, with people checking their watches or appearing to tap the screen.

Ignoring her messages, I go straight to my email and scroll through the dozens of unopened mail, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. New masterclasses for crafting the next bestseller. A response from a publisher I’ve been querying that has gone unopened because I saw the preview of yet another rejection. It’s not until I refresh my inbox that I find what Eden may allude to.

Right there, at the top of the screen, sits a message from Sapphire Knight, the subject line reading: MMM. The signing I’ve been trying to snag a table for since it was announced. Attending author events is the next step in my marketing plan, but I haven’t quite gotten my foot in the door with being a fairly new author. I’ve filled out several interest forms, but have had yet to hear. My hands shake as I open it and start reading.

Hallie,

I know this is the last minute, but we had a late cancellation for MMM23. I was talking to your friend, Eden, and she mentioned you might be interested in taking the spot. Please let me know if you are, and if so, it’s yours.

My mouth drops open as I read it again, making sure my eyes aren’t deceiving me. Oh. My. God. I got an invitation to MMM!

Jezebel barely makes it off my lap before I burst from my chair, screaming and spinning in a circle, while screaming, “I got in! I got in!”

My heart pounds inside my chest like a drum-line with excitement. Without hesitation, I reply with an emphatic “YES!” before sending Eden four different happy dance GIFs.

I can’t believe I got an invitation! How did you pull that off?

I was chatting with Sapphire about my book shipment when she mentioned it, and I had to throw your name in the ring, sweets.

I am going to hug the shit out of you when I see you in Houston next week.

Oh, god. The event is a week away. The key detail I hadn’t considered when accepting. Shit. I don’t have a banner or books to sign. I don’t even have a hotel room or a plane ticket. I mean, Indiana isn’t exactly a hop, skip, and a jump to Houston, Texas. I could fly down, but it will be expensive. An expense I also have to consider with how much I’ll have to pay for my books. I won’t be able to order author copies with the event being so close, so I’ll have to hope I can Amazon Prime them and just pay the retail price. Thankfully, I can ship them straight to the hotel to save myself from the added stress of something happening to them in transit.

Driving is my only option.

The only problem with that is Wanda, my old Nissan Altima, who has seen better days. Half the time, I have to live on the power of prayer and persuasion that she’ll start. That, as well as a large supply of starter fluid. I have a small bit of knowledge about how engines work, thanks to the YouTube videos I’ve watched, so there’s that. A two-thousand-mile round trip to Houston from Indiana will push it, but I just might have to risk it.

I have so much to do. Are there even rooms available?

You can stay with me. I got a suite and an extra bed since Bee can’t make it. Her son has a baseball tryout that weekend. If you can cover half of the room, it’s yours.

Are you sure?

100%. I have got to run into town to ship off some packages, but we can talk more about it tonight. So excited you’ll be coming. MMM is wild, and I think it’ll be perfect for your first event!

I settle back into my chair and start writing out my to-do list when my work laptop chirps with an incoming video call. Seeing that it’s Melinda, I throw my headset back on and open the chat.

“Hallie.” Her biting tone and intense stare sends a shiver down my spine. I guess this is the Melinda Frank gets to see every day. I can tell you, I’m not a fan.

“How should I begin my two-part apology?” I ask innocently.

“I just spent the last twenty minutes getting chewed out. I don’t think there’s an apology on this planet that will help me scrub that woman’s voice from my memory.”

“I take it you couldn’t fix her problem, either?”

“Nope.”

I snort. “I tried to tell her.”

“They never listen.” Sighing, she shakes her head. “People like her make me want to take a permanent vacation.”

You and me both.

“Speaking of vacation…” I give her the sweetest smile I can muster. “I need to take a few days off next week. I know this is super late notice, but an opportunity fell into my lap and I can’t pass it up.”

“It’s not like you to take time off with short notice.” She suddenly looks concerned as she asks, “Is everything okay?”

“I’m perfect, I promise,” I assure her. “I know I’ve mentioned this book event in Texas that I’ve been trying to attend as an author for years to you, and well, they had a cancellation and offered the spot to me.” My smile grows wider. I’m bursting with so much excitement.

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