Ed Calkins is Concerned

The other night, when Ed Calkins, Steward of Tara, called to reserve his Christmas order of books and schedule his annual signing appearance at the distribution center, he abruptly me asked me how sales were going.

Me: "Slow, but steady."

Steward: "What are your numbers?"

Me: "Not sure. I would have to ask my business manager."

Steward: "Are you turning a profit?"

Me: "Not exactly, but the beast is now supporting itself. I'm not expecting to see any profit until at least after the third book."

Steward: "So, less than a million?"

I laugh out loud.

Me: "Yes, Steward." (still chuckling). "Definitely less than a million."

Steward: "I knew it! This is the work of the IVA!"

The IVA, for those of you new to the BryonySeries blog, is the Irish Vampires Association, an organization so secret, no one has any idea who belongs.

Steward: "You see, by deliberately keeping sales down, they're trying to raise the value of the book. It's like what happened with Chaucer. You DO know he never finished the Canterbury Tales?"

Me: "Yes."

Steward: "I've been so worried you won't finish the BryonySeries."

Me: "I'll finish it."

Steward: "What about the third book?"

Me: "It's written. I begin editing Staked! in January."

Steward: "When do you plan to release it?"

Me: "A year from now. It's cool. We're right on schedule."

The Steward appeared far from appeased.

Steward: "But the prequel? Have you written it?"

Okay, now I began squirming.

Me: "Well...no, but I have outlined it. Every year, I go into National Novel Writing Month with the best of intentions, but something always derails me. Last year, it was the cat bite. This year, it was a corrupted document."

Steward: "See? Just like Chaucer."

I could hear the genuine worry and concern in his voice, and I began to feel his trepidations, too. What if I DON'T finish it? How horrible to be at the mercy of the IVA!