Too Far From Texas

Chapter One

"So, I have an idea," said Lorelei, dropping a file on my desk and leaning against it.

"Chicken salad or tuna?" I raised a brow, not bothering to stop typing on my keyboard, my eyes still focused on the screen in front of me.

"No, not lunch," she scoffed in her Australian accent. "I mean about the book. I was thinking..."

She shoved the manila folder as well as a stack of papers to the corner of the desk so she could sit down.

"Lor," I shook my head, my red hair bouncing off my shoulders, "If I remember correctly, the last time you told me you were thinking, we ended up with a three hundred page manuscript."

"A book tour!" she cheered with glee, oblivious to my last comment.

My fingers stopped mid-sentence over the keys as I glared up at her.

"Are you serious?"

"Serious as a heart attack!" she exclaimed.

I shook my head. "I don't think we're ready for a book tour."

"Why not? The book's doing fairly well. I talked to Kris about it and she thinks it's a fabulous idea."

"You've already spoken to our agent? You came in here like the idea came to you just now."

"Okay, so I talked to a few people about it already, I-"

I sat back in my chair, crossing my arms. "What the hell, Lorelei? I thought we were partners."

"We are!"

"Then why didn't you come to me first?" I asked, perturbed to say the least.

Lorelei hung her head, playing with the pens that sat in the little box on my desk. "Because I was afraid you'd say no. I figured if I ran it by someone else first, you might get on board."

"Gee, thanks," I remarked sarcastically. "Am I that horrible to work with?"

"Oh, God, no! Stacey, it's not that at all!"

I sighed, uncrossing my arms. "Kris thinks it's a good idea, huh?"

"Yep!" she nodded, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. "She says it could triple our sales. Just last week I went to a Nora Roberts book signing at the Galleria. The store was packed."

I rolled my eyes. "We are not Nora Roberts."

"Why not? We could be! You don't have enough faith, Stace!"

I pursed my lips.

"C'mon, Stacey," Lorelei begged. "Think outside the box. Expand your horizons. And for God's sake believe in yourself!"

"You sound like a self-help seminar."

"Good!" she widened her eyes, rising from the desk. "I'm going to be your cheerleader until you start to believe it too. The book is wonderful, Stacey. Give it a chance."

I sighed again, turning my chair to gaze out the window. Our novel, The Loving Kind had been two years in the making. The story of a young woman from Louisiana who travels to New York to meet her estranged brother, only to fall in love with the stranger who was subletting his apartment, Lorelei and I had put our hearts, souls and guts into it, spending every free moment we had writing it. When we were proud of our final product, we submitted it to the publishing company we both worked for. Despite the nerves that enfolded us, our story was well received, and it was published within a few months.

Much to our surprise, the book took off and made an impression, hitting the Best Seller's list. Neither of us had yet to quit our jobs, but we were doing well. Still, Lorelei's words made me think. A book tour might do some good. As it was, we were close to halfway through our second book, and if the first one did well enough, we wouldn't have any problem getting the new one to fly off the shelves. And maybe, I could finally quit my job and focus on writing full time.