Publisher Calling!

         Marrisa feverishly worked on her kindle to finish the first draft of her new novel A Line Never Crosses. She was working against a looming deadline. She was waiting for her editor to call with news about when her first bookAn "A" in Friendshipwould be going to press. Staring at the gleaming snow on the ground made her think about the day her first book was accepted.

         It took Marrisa eighteen months to write her first book. Between her full time job as a elementary school teacher, her divorce, the simultaneous deaths of her father and her sister, and this new endeavor of becoming an author, she was one busy bee. When the acceptance letter for her first novel came, she thought it was a hoax. As a precaution, she called the company. When they affirmed the letter, she was overjoyed. Her editor advanced her a royalty check, which she promptly deposited in her bank account.

         Her laptop contracted a virus and was in the shop for repairs. Before it infected her system, she put her chapters both on Dropbox and flash drives. It was harder to write on the kindle. While writing mid sentence, she took a sip of her tea and heard a sizzle sound then a bang. Hearing the blaring smoke alarm, she ran to the basement door, put her hand on its knob and removed it just as quickly. It was hot. Not opening the door, she grabbed her phone, and ran out the front door.

         Marrisa ran to her next door neighbor after calling 9-1-1. Alyssa Brown quickly got her inside and warmed up. Hearing the fire trucks and engines caused Alyssa to flag down the chief to let him know that Marissa was at her residence. Asking if there was anyone else in the cottage,. the chief received a negative response.

         "Do you need an ambulance, dear?" Alyssa asked.

         "I don't think so", Marrisa coughed.

          A few hours later there was a knock at the door. Alyssa answered and allowed the chief in.

         "Ms. Calmidge, your basement and part of the kitchen were severely damaged. A faulty hot water tank seems to be the cause of the blaze. Do I need to call an ambulance for you?

         "No sir. I'm fine. Is the cottage a total loss?"

         "No ma'am. There is smoke and water damage, but it looks as if the basement and kitchen took the brunt of damage."

         "Thank goodness."

         Just then Marrisa's telephone rang. Her editor was calling with the information she was waiting for. After writing down the information, Glenn Rabinski, her editor, asked if she was ok. Marrisa explained what happened. After hearing her explanation, he was very sympathetic toward her plight. He told her thaat if she needed anything, let him know. She thanked him for his concern and concluded the call.

         It took the better part of a year to get everything repaired and back to pre fire. Sales for Marrisa's first novel were exceeding 6 million copies and were in paperback. Her second novel had been published. Its sales were quickly approaching a half a million copies. Her life was on an even keel.

         She rebuilt the cottage bigger and better than before. She decided to turn it into a boarding house. This allowed her to keep writing and meet new and interesting people. Calmidge Cottage was on thr same road as all of Marrisa's other endeavors-the road to success.

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