Page 8 of You Had Me at Chateau
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I thought I’d been on disastrous first dates before but it turns out I didn’t know the meaning of the word. Well, a boring date here, an incompatible man there – none of it seems like a big deal now, not when you compare it to finding a dead body!
Jen looks up from her iPad. For a moment she just stares at me, almost like she’s studying me.
I smile hopefully.
‘What do you think?’ I ask her.
I’ve been nervous about this meeting ever since Jen called me in for it. Well, when your editor says she wants you to come into the office to talk about your new book, panic sets in, and after talking to her on the phone it only made today going well seem all the more vital. That said, I had a very interesting conversation with myself on my way here (in my head, obviously) while I was on the Underground, where I eventually decided that, you know what, I believe in my other idea. I just need to let Jen read it and I’m sure she’ll feel the same.
‘A body?’ she blurts, leaving no room for interpretation. ‘That’s a bit dark, isn’t it?’
‘Well, yes, but it’s still a comedy,’ I reply. ‘And there’s still a romance arc in there. I just thought it might be fun, to go down the crime route, and have some fun with that.’
‘You had a very, very successful four-book series,’ she reminds me. ‘A romance series – why would you turn to a life of crime now?’
I purse my lips for a second, to resist cracking a joke.
‘I just love fun murder mysteries,’ I reply. ‘And I think I have a great idea for a series. TV shows likeMonk, movies likeKnives Out– there’s always been a market for it. So I’m thinking why not bring a little of that to the romcom market.’
‘Look, Amber, I hear what you’re saying, I do, but that’s not what readers want,’ Jen explains. ‘They want exciting.’
‘It does get more exciting,’ I chip in, trying to find my confidence again. ‘There are more bodies.’
‘No, Amber, what I’m saying is that the kind of body counts you’re talking about are not the kind people care about.’
Jen raises her eyebrows to let me know it’s a sex thing. Oh, boy.
‘Right,’ I say simply.
‘If you’re wanting to be more, I don’t know, adult, then I stand by what I said on the phone,’ Jen says. ‘Readers love the spice.’
‘Oh, I don’t know, I…’
‘I’ll tell you what,’ Jen talks over me, her eyes darting back and forth between me and the glass wall behind me. ‘I’m going to give you a book, one with lots of spice, and you’re going to read it and then give it a go. Just, I’m sure this is great, but forget murder, add in some spice to your almost completed draft, and see where we are. Okay?’
I can’t help but pull a face.
‘But you’ve only glanced at it for a couple of minutes,’ I point out.
‘Sorry, we’re just so busy today, it’s not really a good time,’ she tells me and now she’s making no effort to hide the fact that she’s looking beyond me.
‘But you called me in,’ I remind her.
Jen’s eyes snap back to me and I see her realise that I’m right.
‘Okay, yes, that makes sense,’ she says. ‘Why don’t you come back after lunch? I’ll have more time then.’
Suddenly it occurs to me that Jen is glammed up today. She’s one of those thirty-somethings who exclusively wears trousers and a top, trousers and a top, trousers and a top. Sometimes it’s nice jeans, sometimes it’s a fancy blouse, but it’s always trousers and a top. Not today though, today she’s wearing a yellow dress, strappy red heels, and a face-full of make-up – the kind that says she’s out to impress. Now that I think about it, everyone here today looks like they’re dressed in their best. Well, everyone but me, in my black skinny jeans and my oversized black and red stripy jumper. I did take the time to curl my long blonde locks, and I always wear a face-full of make-up because I feel naked without it, but my chunky black boots can’t compete with a strappy heel. I wonder if it’s their staff Christmas party later or something.
‘Erm, sure, okay, I can do that,’ I reply as I pull myself to my feet. ‘What, just come back in a couple of hours then?’
‘Yeah, that would be perfect,’ she replies. ‘I’ll have something for you by then.’
I’m not exactly sure what she means by that but I guess I’ll go with the flow.
‘Okay then, I’ll be back,’ I tell her as we leave the small glass-walled meeting room, but Jen is off. I notice her run over to one of the other editors.
