Chapter 9

Craig Randal’s thoughts on how to increase his compensation for writing novels resulted in his phoning Senior Editor Janet Morris who worked for the company that published his novels. She gave final approval to novels before they are published.

“Tell me, Janet, do you also review authors’ novels other than mine and if so, do you reject any of them?”

“Yes, I do review many novels that are submitted, and I reject a number of them for various reasons.”

“Would it be a problem for you to send me a copy of those novels you are rejecting along with the author’s information? I am interested in the detective type of stories that you are rejecting.”

To her credit, Janet didn’t ask why Craig wanted to review these rejected novels. She said was she would do it since it only required her to copy these novels to a flash drive. He couldn’t help but think that maybe other authors had made similar requests to her which was why she didn’t question his request.

Over the following weeks, Janet sent him copies of several rejected novels. In reading them, Craig could see why they were rejected. He read one novel that was rejected but had an interesting plot. He phoned the author of this novel, Brian Gill.

Craig introduced himself and explained his S. Carpenter name to Brian. Brian said he was familiar with Craig as he had read all of his novels and asked what he could do for him.

“I am aware that the novel you submitted was rejected for publication. I read that novel and I liked the plot of the novel, especially the ending. I was wondering if you would want to re-write that novel with the main character being my Ric Nolan character. The novel would need to have military involvement and be written in my style of writing. Once you do that, send me the completed novel and I will probably make some revisions to it. After I do that, I will submit it to be published under my name only.”

“What is in it for me if I agree to do this ghostwriting?”

I will split with you equally the funds I receive for this published novel. You do need to understand that you doing this is a matter between you and me, and it needs to remain confidential.”

“If I agree to do this, how much will my fifty percent share of the author’s compensation be?”

Craig told him what he received for his last novel, and said he would expect to receive close to the same amount for this novel of which fifty percent would be given to Brian. That amount surprised Brain with him saying that was more than he expected. He agreed to be Craig’s ghostwriter and said he would keep this arrangement a secret.

As an incentive, Craig told him if he has other novels he has written to send them to Craig, and if he likes them, he may do some revising and submit them for publication with both of their names listed as authors.

Besides revising this novel with the Ric Nolan character, Brain said he would send Craig a novel he had written involving a different character. This one is about an attorney who gets involved with unsavory clients or situations that the other attorneys at his law firm don’t want to handle. Craig thought, if he was to put his name as a co-author of this novel, he would need to be careful as to how many novels he was submitting for publication. Too many novels could have questions arising among the readers as to who was actually authoring these novels. Then again, with this additional compensation coming in and if the stories were good reads, so be it thought Craig.

Craig felt that having Brian do this ghostwriting was a step in the right direction. The time he now would spend writing novels would be shorter and should result in an increase in his compensation.

It was on a Thursday afternoon when Craig had finished his writing for the day and was thinking about what he would do for dinner when he heard his doorbell chime. Wondering who that was, it was a pleasant surprise for him when he opened the door and saw Sara standing there.

“I hope I haven’t caught you at a bad time,” said Sara. “I took some time off to come to Austin to do some shopping and I thought I would see how you are doing.”

“Please come in. How did you know where I live?”

“I saved your address from the Christmas card you sent me.”

Sara accepted his offer of a drink and brought him up to date on the changes and the goings on at the Waco station that had occurred since Craig last saw her. She also accepted his offer of dinner and they did the short drive to Ricky’s.

She was amazed by the restaurant saying there was nothing comparable to it in Waco. The pour-your-own soda and peanuts on the table with the shells on the floor, she said was something different. The quality of the food and its atmosphere along with Sara made for a pleasant dining experience.

On the drive back to Craig’s condo he said, “Instead of you driving back to Waco tonight, you are welcome to stay at my place.”

“Thanks, I think I will do that. You need to stop by my car so I can get my overnight case.”

“You brought an overnight case?”

“Well..., I..., I thought you might ask me to stay the night,” she said somewhat sheepishly.

Sara in saying what she said, told him that the night would be enjoyable. There was more talk since it was a little early to go to bed, which had them cuddle on the couch doing some kissing and caressing. There was nothing of any importance discussed in their conversation. The television was on and they did watch the late news. Craig made comments about the individuals who were reporting the news, especially after Conners commented on the catch and release of the shoplifters’ problem occurring in some cities.

After the news program had ended, they went to the bedroom, undressed, and made love. Sara was a good lover which made for an enjoyable time. She tried to give him pleasure and he did his best to reciprocate. They made love twice before they decided to go to sleep.