Page 49 of Catching Kyle
At lunch, I decide to continue on with my Joe Abercrombie audiobook while I eat.Best Served Coldis much more compelling than I thought it would be and just as good as theFirst Lawtrilogy. Hearing about all the shit that Monza is going through, comparing it to Logan Nine-Fingers, I get an idea for a romantasy: two knights in a disgraced retinue who fall in love and want to keep their fellow soldiers safe from bandits, other retinues, and the magical wild. Sort of inspiration from Brandon Sanderson as well. Ilovedreading theStormlight Archive. I consumed those 6,000 pages like it was nothing. Even if this ambiguous relationship with Kyle Weaver goes nowhere, at least he challenged me to read outside my comfort zone. Just as he said, fantasy is inspiring.
But it’s not somethingIcan write. That’s more for the straight men. Besides, I have the contemporary romance I’m writing, one that I’ll be struggling to finish as I descend into unemployment. Even if I could write the fantasy, I wouldn’t have the time to do it.
After eating and a little reading, I get back to work. During a lull in my day, I start looking at other content writing jobs, but the sheer idea of updating my resume, writing cover letters, and putting myself out there quite literally makes me nauseous. So I let myself wait until Monday.
By the time the workday ends and it’s time to go to book club, I couldn’t be more relieved. This week, we read Rachel Gillig’sThe Knight and the Moth. I loved the duology she debuted with, and this one was just as good. I love her writing for the same reason I like Joe Abercrombie: when characters encounter the dark, gritty, and hopeless, we get to see who they really are. And often, they are better than we would think.
Buoyed after a lively discussion with who I like to call my book club girlies, I make my way over to the coffee shop we use as our light night meet up. I was maybe a little too enthusiastic tonight in my comments, a little manic over the loss of my job, but nobody made me feel unwelcome. In fact, romance book club is my favorite place to be these days. A couple women after even approached me and recommended some places to apply.
But by the time I see Skye and Amani, I’m happy that I can just speak with no filter.
“You guys are not going to believe the shit I went through today,” I say.
When I’m done with my tirade, my mind clears enough for me to realize that Skye brought a friend.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, reaching out my hand. “I’m Michael.”
“Josue,” he says. “And I don’t blame you. I’d be just as pissed if I was laid off with a week’s notice.”
“Right? God.”
Skye laughs. “Josue’s a writer, too.”
“I write fantasy,” he says. “I heard about your group from Skye. I know you all write romance, so I hope that I’m not cramping your style.”
My stomach tugs when he mentions fantasy, but I’m not sure why. “Not a problem,” I say. “I’m actually a big fan.”
“Don’t see how you couldn’t be,” he says.
We all find a table and sit down. Skye and Josue get up to grab a drink.
“I’m really sorry to hear about your job,” Amani says. “Let me know how I can help. I’ll see if my company is looking for content writers.”
I sigh. “There were so few positions today that I could see,” I say. “I doubt it.”
“Well I’ll check anyways,” she says. “Are there more positions you could look for?”
I pause. “I don’t know. I hate corporate life so much I couldn’t imagine trying to pivot into something else.”
“Maybe you don’t go corporate then,” she says. “Maybe you could work retail. Something mindless so you can work on your writing when you’re off the clock.”
Upon hearing the word ‘retail,’ I immediately think of Ruckers. Though I’m not sure why. I’ve never seen that the bookstore is hiring, and they have so many positions filled by enthusiastic people that I doubt they’d have room for me. Plus, I’d like a job where I can work from home and potentially write while I have down time.
“I’ll think about it,” I say.
Skye and Josue return, and she hands me a tall cup. “Decaf mocha for you.”
“Awh,” I say. “You didn’t have to.”
“You’ll be unemployed soon,” she says. “It’s the least I could do.”
I can’t help but laugh. “How thoughtful.”
And then we jump into our shares. Skye shares a brief excerpt of her romance when her two characters finally realize they love one another, and there’s a cool magical realism element she’s infusing into the story that allows us to look at the character’s past and present at the same time. Amani’s agent liked her idea, so she brought in the first five pages of her new dark lesbian romantasy, and it’s fantastic. Josue has this really interesting fantasy heist idea that he’s outlining right now, and I’m excited just listening to it.
We take a brief break, and I pull out my phone. All this fantasy reading and discussion has me excited to talk to him. Without thinking twice, I type out a message. “Hey, been reading some great stuff this week. Excited to talk fantasy with you. Are we still on for tomorrow?” And then I hit send. Amani then asks me a specific question about her writing, and I completely forget about the text.
And once everyone’s back, it’s my turn to share. I look down at my excerpt, and I can’t hold back my frown.
