AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Understatement of the year, but... “Yes. My dad passed, and we saw each other for the first time in five years, and...” Her hand wove through the air to encompass everything that had happened since. “It’s too real, too fresh, too in my face. I haven’t had a chance to process or adapt to any of it. I can’t write what’s happening to me as it’s happening. It doesn’t work like that. I usually write in retrospect. I need more space, more...”
“Time?”
She nodded. “Lots of it.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
She dusted the crumbs off the table and onto her empty plate. “I was thinking of finishing some old projects.”
Sarai brightened. “What projects? Are you going back to writing as Minnie Hess?” Sarai placed both hands flat on the table. “You have stories just sitting on your computer that no one’s ever seen?” She let out a squeal that made a man sitting at the next table jump. “I can’t stand the suspense. Can I read what you have?”
Jasmine pulled back as she was battered by Sarai’s hyper energy. “You’re scaring me.”
Sarai ignored that and bounced in her seat. “I mean, I hate that the next book for Thalia Crane is being postponed, but I can deal, since I have a hint of what’s to come.” Sarai gave her an exaggerated wink before clapping her hands together. “But I also love your work as Minnie Hess, so if that’s what you’re going to work on, that’s still a win. I’ve read everything you’ve published. I can’t stand knowing there’s something you’ve written that I haven’t gotten my hands on.”
“There’s a lot of shit you haven’t read,” she muttered and put up a hand when Sarai started to rise from her seat. “They’re just fragments of stories, not books ready to be read! Calm down.”
Sarai closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “You shouldn’t tease me. When it comes to you and Johanna Ledger, I’m not entirely sane. You’re my favorite authors.”
Jasmine paused with a cookie inches from her lips. “I’m one of your favorite authors?”
Sarai opened one eye to glare at her. “You’re surprised? You think I go psycho like this for every author I read?”
“Yes?”
Sarai opened both eyes to give her a disgusted look. “I may be obsessed with books, but we both know there are stories you read, enjoy, and promptly forget, and then there are those that hit right here.” Sarai tapped her chest, over her heart. “And they never leave us. When Roth told me you were a writer, I was interested, of course. I read anything I can get my hands on, even phone books and those annoying pamphlets on airplanes.” Sarai waved a dismissive hand. “Plenty of people think because they know the alphabet, they can write a captivating tale. But just because you can talk doesn’t mean you can sing. And I’ve come to realize, the most educated tend to be the worst writers, because they lack creativity and imagination.”
Jasmine found herself nodding, because she’d come to a similar conclusion. Writing was still an art, which meant it was subjective and imperfect. Those who excelled in school and needed structure, rules, and parameters struggled in creative endeavors, because they didn’t know how to color outside the lines. They tended to focus on the technical aspects rather than tapping into their emotions or following their intuition.
“I didn’t have high expectations for your work as Minnie Hess,” Sarai said bluntly. “I was pleasantly surprised when I read your fantasy novel. I could tell we read the same authors and probably had similar influences.” Sarai swished her hand. “But your work as Thalia took me to another place. I could tell you let go. I heard about Thalia Crane long before I picked up your book. They compare you frequently with Johanna, but I heard the hero cheated, so I avoided Rex and Juliet for the longest time. Readers said not to be dissuaded by that and reassured me the main characters still had a relationship and would probably end up together.” Sarai grinned when Jasmine rolled her eyes. “Isn’t there a saying—‘art imitates life’? If that’s so, I need to start writing the man of my dreams so he shows up.”
“That sounds so weird,” Jasmine protested, though she’d had similar thoughts about how strange it was that the series foretold some events that had come true in real life.
“It’s not weird—it’s magical. A fairy tale come true.”
“You know we aren’t.”
“You’re the realistic version of a modern fairy tale, and in some ways, that makes it even better.”
When Sarai suddenly sobered, Jasmine tensed. “What?”
Sarai glanced around before she said, “You don’t have to answer, but I’ve always wondered...”
“Yes?”
Sarai leaned across the table and mouthed, “In the book, Juliet leaves Rex because she catches him cheating. I always wondered if Roth actually…?”
Jasmine swirled the last of the latte in her cup. “We spent our marriage in different countries. He did things that led me to believe he was having an affair.”
“But he didn’t,” Sarai said in a flat tone.
It wasn’t a question.
“So he says.”
“You believe him, right?” Sarai demanded.
Her hand fisted on her lap as she nodded. She watched Sarai closely, waiting for a reaction to this information. Would his loyal personal assistant be offended on Roth’s behalf about her revenge sex? But Sarai looked thoughtful rather than angry.
