Sarah lifted her head when the knocking on the door began. It could have just started, or it could have been going on for hours.
She hit “save,” stood, and walked, dreamlike, to the window. Down below, she could see a crowd and the bright flare of fire. Torches. The villagers had torches. She wondered how they knew to bring them, and if they had pitchforks, too.
Dimly, she remembered being at a party, how another author, an MFA classmate, had told her that what publishers most longed for were authors who wrote brilliant books, then died before they came out. “That way, they don’t have the trouble of dealing with crazy writers, or the expense of sending us on tour,” this friend, whoever it had been, had said. “And they especially like it, if the death was scandalous, if there’s a story behind the story. A murder, an overdose, or a suicide. That’s best of all.”
She walked back to her desk and gently closed her laptop. The book was still a first draft, still rough in places, but she had no doubt that Will would make sure it was properly polished and, eventually, published. And he’d never lied to her. He’d told her that art demanded sacrifices. Maybe agents, and islands did, too. She supposed she had no one to blame but herself. She’d read the stories, and should have known better. When making deals with the devil, you had to be careful about the particulars. You had to pay attention to the fine print. Don’t just say I want my son back, before you wish on the monkey’s paw, make sure you specify, And he has to be alive, and not a rotting, walking corpse. When you tell your agent you’ll do anything to be a bestseller, make sure that he knows that means you, not just your books.
And now my tale is told, thought Sarah, and stepped outside to meet her end.
More from the Author |
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|---|---|
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| The Summer Place | That Summer |
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| Big Summer | Mrs. Everything |
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| Hungry Heart | Who Do You Love |
BOOKS BY JENNIFER WEINER
FICTION
Good in Bed
In Her Shoes
Little Earthquakes
Goodnight Nobody
The Guy Not Taken
Certain Girls
Best Friends Forever
Fly Away Home
Then Came You
The Next Best Thing
All Fall Down
Who Do You Love
Mrs. Everything
Big Summer
That Summer
NONFICTION
Hungry Heart
FOR YOUNG READERS
The Littlest Bigfoot
Little Bigfoot, Big City
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