Page 6 of Blood Lust
We finished setting up all Merin’s books and swag, then decided to walk around before they opened the doors to the VIP readers. I’d learned more than I could’ve imagined during the trip. Being an author was much more complicated than I realized. It was obvious I only saw a small part of their journey, though I’d never really thought about it like that before now.
First, we stopped to see “my authors.” I finally met Sapphire Knight, Verlene Landon, Winter Travers, and Manda Mellett inperson. It was like we were old friends, though we’d never met face-to-face before. Of course, I had to get my picture taken with all of them. Sapphire was hosting the event, which made it so much cooler.
“Your pictures online are beautiful, but honey, they don’t do you justice,” I told Sapphire. Despite the fact that she was absolutely stunning, her cheeks flushed softly.
“Aww, you’re too sweet. Thank you.” She hugged me.
“How’s the next book coming along? I can’t wait to get my hands on it,” I blurted out. Then I held up my hand. “No, scratch that. I’m not here as Alia the editor. I’m totally here as Lia the proud book nerd.”
We all laughed.
After promising to come by to buy books from them, we let them get back to setting up their tables.
Next, I stopped by to see Jessa Aarons, Chelle Craze, Vera Quinn, and N.J. Adel. Then I had a shot of moonshine with Avelyn Paige and a dick shot—I cannot make this stuff up—with Kristine Dugger.
“Psst! Wanna Fireball shot?” A.R. Hall whispered when we stopped to see her, but I was already feeling the other two.
“Thank you, but I just had two on an empty stomach, and I’m starting to feel them already,” I declined with a giggle.
She handed me one of the little shooter bottles. “For later.”
“Thank you,” I replied with a laugh.
Merin introduced me to Darlene Tallman and Liberty Parker who often wrote books together. Then we stopped to see Nina Levine so we could grab our preorders. What I wouldn’t do to edit her books. I sighed. She was so nice—incredibly down-to-earth for a big-name author. Then again, so was Merin.
It made me realize all of these authors were just people like me, but with an incredible talent to weave amazing stories. Though I could pick a story apart, fix grammatical errors andcontinuity issues, and offer advice, I was no author. They all had my utmost respect.
I mentally added so many books to my TBR—To Be Read—list. With editing full time, my TBR was already astronomical, but it kept growing.
“We better get back,” Merin said as she glanced at the clock. “If you want to buy some more books, you can make your rounds.”
“No, I’m here to help you,” I insisted.
She rolled her eyes at me. “I get it, but I’ve done these by myself before, and I want you to have fun too.”
“No.”
“Fine. There will be a lull eventually, and I won’t take no for an answer then.”
I pursed my lips and crossed my arms, but I agreed.
We walked back to her table, and I saw that Morgan Jane Mitchell was on the other side of us. She set up before we did and then must have gone back to her room to get ready, so we missed her earlier.
“You need one of these to take home with you,” she told me as she handed me a bright pink dick straw that had me laughing. Her husband was with her, wearing his signature fedora.
“Can’t leave without one of those.” He chuckled.
It seemed we got back just in time for people to start coming through the doors. It was constant activity right away.
Merin was interacting with loads of readers and had sold several books already. I helped as best as I could. I was putting the money from her last sale into her cashbox when she greeted the next reader.
“Hello, have you read any of my books?” she asked the woman. A conversation ensued, but I was too busy staring at the guy leaning against the wall to pay any attention. He was absolutely gorgeous. Damn, some woman or man was incrediblylucky. Maybe he was one of the book models. Several authors had them at their tables. I made a mental note to ask Merin who he was and which author he might be with, because I was buying a book with him on the cover. Can you say spank bank material?
His phone rang, and he walked off. Another guy joined him, whispered something to him, and I sighed. The way his perfect ass moved in the Adidas joggers he wore was sinful. He was so hot, I actually had to wipe my mouth for fear of the drool that might be there.
A chuckle had me jumping when I realized there was a man with the woman at Merin’s table, and he’d been watching me. My face flamed in embarrassment. Holy hell, he was gorgeous too. I needed to come to more of these with my friend. The man grinned and looked over his shoulder at the other guy as he disappeared into the crowd.
“H-hi,” I stammered. “Can I help you?”