Chapter 35
"What's he saying?" Jennifer asked, hovering over Sam as he uh-huhed into the phone. New York publishers didn't call just anyone any day. Thank goodness she'd stopped by the paper to catch a quick lunch with Sam when the call came through.
"I see," he was saying. "No, I'll take care of it. That's right. And thank you for calling." He hung up the phone.
"What'd he say?" Jennifer demanded again, grabbing Sam by the tie and pulling his face within inches of her own.
Carefully, Sam peeled her fingers away from the silky fabric. "He said he was interested." Sam stood up and began shuffling papers on his desk.
Jennifer could hardly contain her joy. The proposal for The Channel 14 Murders had been submitted a mere three weeks ago and already had a response.
"He is going to buy it, isn't he? I mean, he wouldn't be calling if he weren't serious," she persisted.
Sam turned and faced her. Something was wrong. She could tell. He should be smiling, ecstatic, bubbling like she was. Okay. So she had enough enthusiasm for the both of them, but Sam's steely calm could not be good.
"He had some conditions."
Conditions? She expected changes, revisions, whatever. They were all part of the process.
"He wants the book to come out under my name."
"And mine," she added, and immediately wished she hadn't.
Sam shook his head. "He wants a more… objective telling of the story. He says we should downplay your role in all this. Actually he said you come off… too pixilated."
"Pixilated? Ambitious, determined, overfocused maybe, but pixilated?"
"His term, not mine."
Jennifer sank back against the desk.
He cupped her chin. "Look, it's not really all that bad. The book belongs to both of us. We'll split the advance and the profits, if there are any. Besides, what do you care? You want to make your name in fiction."
It was true. And publishing a nonfiction book wouldn't help her all that much in the fiction market. But for one brief moment she had seen her name—Jennifer Marsh—splashed across a book jacket.
"I guess you're right," she sighed.
He kissed her cheek, a sweet, discreet peck, and scooped up a folder from his desk. "I've got to get this copy to my editor before I can take off. I'll be right back."
Jennifer settled into his swivel chair. Disappointment was nothing new to her, but why didn't it ever stop hurting? She'd be impossible to live with for the next two days, if her normal pattern held true, and she intended for Sam to be by her side throughout all the waking moments of those forty-eight hours. It was the least he could do. His name would be on the cover.
She picked up a copy of the morning paper and glanced over the front page. Typical newsy day. An article in the lower left-hand corner of the second page caught her eye. It was about a woman in Phoenix who claimed to have dreamed an entire four-hundred-page novel over the course of a week, writing down chapters each day when she awoke. It was being acclaimed as a surreal journey into the subconscious. Following the initial skepticism, two renowned psychologists had flown in to interview her and monitor her sleep process.
Dreams. Murder. Sleepwalking. It'd been done a few years ago, but what if she had a psychic detective who visited crime scenes through out-of-body experiences, and what if he had a spirit guide who—
"Okay, I'm all yours," Sam announced, grabbing up his jacket.
Jennifer practically leaped from the chair. "Let's make it dinner or maybe lunch tomorrow. I gotta go before I lose this thought. This one," she beamed, "this one's gonna sell!"
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If you enjoyed this book, Jennifer's adventures continue in the next book in the series: DYING TO GET EVEN.
Please visit Judy Fitzwater's website where you'll find a complete list of Judy's books with descriptions, news, updates, and links for purchase: https://www.judyfitzwater.com
Contact her at
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Books by Judy Fitzwater
The Jennifer Marsh Mysteries:
Dying to Get Published
Dying to Get Even
Dying for a Clue
Dying to Remember
Dying to Be Murdered
Dying to Get her Man
Dying Before "I DO"
Dying at Honeymoon Inn
The first six Jennifer Marsh Mysteries were originally published by The Ballantine Publishing Group, a division of Random House.
Suspense Books
Drowning in Air
No Safe Place
Ghostly Romantic Comedies:
Vacationing with the Dead
Non-fiction:
The Rocky Road to Publishing: Advice on Writing
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