The whole idea was unfathomable. When my sister, Piper, had applied for me, I’d told her she was being utterly ridiculous. Then, when the call came announcing that I’d been selected, apprehension had smacked me in the face.

Of course, I’d declined. I had already sold my first novel two years before. Sure, there had been a bit of a publishing delay, and now I had terrible writer’s block, but I’d still sold it. I hadn’t written anything new since the accident, but I found it hard to fathom that a show could help with that.

But Piper had begged me, with tears in her eyes. She’d said I was fading into nothing right in front of her. I believe her exact words had been something along the lines of, your numbness is sucking the life out of me.

So, because I loved my sister, and not because I thought this experience would have some profound effect on me, I’d agreed.

Another knock.

“Calla. It’s time.”

Standing from the vanity, I tugged on the hem of my most comfortable sweater, ensuring it lay smooth. It was my favorite and made me feel like a writer whenever I put it on, which is why I’d found it so strange earlier when the producer had begged me to change. What said ‘writer’ more than a cable-knit sweater? It was even weirder when they’d strongly suggested I wear a dress. Why would I wear a fancy gown to pitch book ideas? Surely the other contestants would be wearing similar things.

“Let’s do this,” I said, with more confidence than I felt.

“That’s the spirit.”

Brady ushered me through the door of my room, and I found myself face to face with a mounted deer head. It stared right into my soul before I tore my eyes away and continued down the hall. The whole thing was being filmed at a remote lodge in Montana. It seemed a bit random, but when I’d asked, Brady had mentioned something about a state tax credit and budget restrictions.

“Don’t get overwhelmed, but you’ll be meeting a lot of people when we first get down there. We’ve split everyone into two groups. You’ll meet one set first, and then we’ll bring the others in.”

I practically had to jog to keep up with his hurried pace.

“I’ll put you in one of the side rooms we use for interviews and knock when it’s time for your big entrance.

“The sound guy will come in and get you all mic’d up. Remember, any time you’re in the lodge, there will be hidden cameras recording you. It’s vitally important that you don’t remove your mic during filming, and you stay in the designated rooms. You remember which ones those are, right?”

He’d provided me with a map yesterday that labeled all of the areas of the lodge that we’d have access to. I thought back to that, recalling most of the information. My head spun trying to process it all. I was surprised to learn they’d be filming us even during our downtime. Wouldn’t people just be tuning in for the competition aspect? Maybe they thought there would be drama among the contestants. They certainly wouldn’t be getting that from me. Confrontation gave me hives.