Jane thought about the conversation she’d had with Annie the night before—before she’d ambushed her into manning the shop for two hours—about Amazon getting ready to disrupt the book business in Australia. Maybe book signings were what they needed to stand out and get people into the shop, instead of having them buy the book for half the price and get it delivered to their doorstep for free. Annie’s Book Shop would have no choice but to offer added value. That this would have to be her—that it was even possible that it could be her—didn’t sit right with her, but still, it appealed to Jane’s sense of duty, so she would do the right thing. If it made a few people happy in the process, then who was she to stand in the way?

“Well,” Mia looked at her. “Having the talent to write and actually making your living as a writer might be a better job, but for me, this is probably as good as it’s going to get.

Jane nodded. She was lucky and privileged and grateful for the chances she’d had, but none of that helped her get more words on the page these days. She would need to talk to someone about it soon, because it was starting to exasperate her. She’d had dry spells before, but they’d never lasted this long and she could usually pin-point what the problem was: not enough enthusiasm for the story; in dire need of a break; not enough research and plotting done beforehand. She couldn’t figure out why this book was kicking her ass so much. None of the previous reasons applied.

“Being a writer is pretty great,” she said, trying to hide the doubts in her voice. It wasn’t a lie. Being able to live off her writing was a dream come true—one that had only come to fruition a few years ago, when the profits of the shop had sunk to such a level, some hard choices had to be made. This lovely shop that had supported her writing habit for all those years, and Annie, her partner of nearly twenty years, who managed it with such dedication, it would have broken her heart if she’d lost it.

So yes, writing had, in the end, worked out well for her—for them—but when the words weren’t flowing, it filled Jane with such insecurity and anxiety, she wished she had chosen another profession entirely.

“Pretty great?” Mia repeated. “You truly are a walking understatement, Jane.”

Chapter Five