Choosing how to love.

A Publisher

HOLTON

"Nick." Holton shook his hand as he greeted him. "Holton. How are you?" "I'm good. And yourself?" "Can't complain, especially if you really do have an up and coming author to show me. We have been lacking around here the last few months."

"I do. She is amazingly talented man. And thanks for meeting me on a Saturday morning." "I understand there are not enough hours in the work week. Come on in, lets see what you got." Holton followed Nick into the conference room, and Holton took out the books and sketches he borrowed from Madilyn. He had told her was going to investigate some marketing ideas for her, and really, he was in a way, she just didn't know it.

"Her name is Madilyn Snyder, but she writes under Grace Roger. She has nine books completed, all but two are self-published. She has a few more in the works that she needs to finish illustrations for, but these are what she has idea wise." Holton was nervous for Maddy as Nick looked over the materials.

"She has a website already, but she personally does all the orders and shipping herself. I would like to streamline the older books in with the new, and hopefully the publisher can do all of it." He was hopeful as he watched Nick flipped through the books.

"You? Is this girl your next pet project?" Nick laughed. "Not at all. She is actually Craig's girlfriend, but when I saw how talented she was, I had to try to help out. Even for kid's books, I enjoyed them." Holton added the last part to help his case. He really did enjoy them, and he hoped Nick saw that.

"These are good." Nick was reading when someone walked in and knocked. "Linda, come on in. Holton, this is Linda Johnson, my head of the junior division. I asked her to come in and look at what you had." "Linda, this is Holton Becker. I have known him since high school."

"Nice to meet you Mrs. Johnson." "Miss, but please, call me Linda." She gave that all too familiar blush and bat of the eyes. No. Not here lady. This is business. Holton gave her a tight smile and hoped she understood.

"Linda, please call me Holton." He shook her hand softly and then she walked over and looked at the work on the table. She picked things up, moved things around, and then looked up. That was not a good look.

"Do we really want another hand illustrated kid's book in our line?" Linda groaned and Holton's heart sank. "She has more than the standard kid's story. This one, it is for older kids. It is about a boy named Steve that gets adopted at thirteen." He handed her the book, which she flipped through, uninterested.

"She is talented in so many ways." Holton continued. "Who is she to you?" Linda looked up with her eyes focused on him. "She is a friend of mine. I saw how talented she was, and I know most of it is self-published, but I think she could sell thousands of books, if she was out there. She does a pretty good business of it on her own selling direct."

"Can I ask why she isn't here now?" Linda looked right at him again and it made him uneasy. "If she is so good, why skip the meeting?" She was unimpressed, and immediately he did not like this woman at all. She was not even giving Maddy a chance and that did not sit well with him. 

"She is at a wedding, and honestly, she doesn't know I am here. She is very shy about her work and I led her to believe that I was doing some marketing research for her. Which technically I am."

"So, you lied to her. How do you know she wants this? Maybe she wants it to stay small and informal. She uses another name, so maybe she is not ready for the world to know she writes kid's books. Some people do not to give that up. What if we agree to something and she turns us down? And what are you getting out of it?" She glared at him. Why? What was this about?