No matter how carefully you plot and plan and scheme, sometimes a projected timeline just doesn’t come together. That’s a hard truth we’ve had to face where the release date for Fibers and Felonies is concerned.
That means this is your official notice that we’re not going to make our deadline for the book to come out April 27th as planned. As Deanna filled you in last month, she’s been in the midst of getting her Washington house ready to sell, and it hit the market last week. Fortunately, she’s been very busy with the first open house and multiple private showings since then, which is a GREAT sign. Unfortunately, that means she has to bug-out at a moment’s notice, often multiple times a day, which isn’t conducive to a regular writing schedule. While she’s had all that going on, Angie has been in the middle of a home-improvement hell of her own making, and all the contractors flowing in and out of the house is also disruptive to the creative flow.
We’re going to try our best to move the release date to late May and hopefully make it this time, but we should warn you now that we can’t promise that will happen. If Deanna’s house sells in the near future (fingers crossed!) she’ll be packing up and heading to Tennessee to start house hunting. And honestly… we’d rather make you wait and deliver on the quality story you’ve come to expect rather than rush our way through it just to make a deadline and then have you be disappointed in the end result. Especially since this book is a critical will-she-or-won’t-she turning point for Sadie. So just to whet your appetites and hopefully prove that the book will be worth the wait, no matter how long that ends up being, we thought we’d share a little teaser of how it begins…
Fibers and Felonies
Chapter 1
“I’m coming! Hold your horses,” I called as Peaches and I rushed back into my apartment. I’d just taken my adorable Pomeranian out for her first potty break of the morning, and the phone was already ringing off the hook. Heck, I hadn’t even had my first sip of coffee yet.
It was just after 7:00 a.m. when I snatched up my phone and saw it was the editor in chief from Fancy Fibers magazine in New York. “Frances?” I said into the phone.
“Sadie, good morning,” Frances said. “I’m sorry to call so early. I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“No, no,” I said, trying to control my breathing as I moved toward the coffee maker. After my mad dash through the apartment, I was slightly winded. “Peaches and I were just getting going this morning. How are you?”
“I’m great. Better than ever actually,” Frances said, her smile shining through her tone of voice. “I have news to share.”
I pressed the button on my coffee maker and took a seat at my small kitchen table. “That must mean it’s good news then. Don’t make me wait. I’m dying to know what it is.”
“I’m retiring next month.”
“You are?” I asked, shocked. Frances Schwartz had been with Fancy Fibers for nearly two decades. She was practically an institution at the magazine. “Wow. That’s exciting for you. Congratulations. The place isn’t going to be the same without you.”
I briefly wondered who’d be taking over and whether or not they’d still want my articles and patterns. Fancy Fibers had kept me on as a columnist and designer when I’d moved from New York back to Hoochville nearly a year ago. I’d been an editor there, and when I’d requested a leave of absence for the upcoming year, they’d graciously offered to keep me on as a regular contributor. But a new editor in chief might want to choose a new direction.
“Change isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Frances said. “Especially when that change is spearheaded by someone I trust to maintain the quality and tradition of the magazine while also bringing it up to speed with modern technology.”
“You’ve already named a new editor in chief then?” I asked as I leaned back in my chair, waiting for the news.
“Not yet. That’s why I’m calling… to see if you’ll accept the position,” Frances said.
I sat silently, blinking at my coffee maker as her words slowly sank in.
Frances chuckled on the other end of the line. “Sadie? You still there?”
“Yes,” I said quickly. “I’m here. Can you repeat that last part? ‘Cause it kinda sounded like you’re asking me to come back to New York to take over your position.”
She laughed again. “No need to repeat it. You understood me perfectly the first time. I know you were only planning to stay in Tennessee for a year, so the timing works out perfectly.” Frances went on to ramble about how the CEO and VPs were all really excited to have me back in the office, and then she mentioned my proposed benefits package and salary.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “You can’t be serious.” It was enough for a fancy two-bedroom apartment. Maybe even one with a view of Central Park. They were also offering full health benefits, 401k matching contributions, and a generous vacation package.
“Oh, the board is serious. I told them I didn’t know how much you were making running your own business, but that they’d need to be competitive because it meant stealing you away from your family,” Frances said.
“It’s definitely competitive,” I said, trying not to laugh at the absurdity. My salary at As the Yarn Turns paled in comparison to what they were offering me. But since I lived rent-free in the apartment above the store and drove my grandmother’s hand-me-down SUV, it wasn’t as if I had a lot of expenses living in Hoochville. “It’s better than competitive. It’s amazing, actually.”
“Good,” Frances said with a sigh of relief. “That means you’ll take it?”
I had a strong urge to blurt out an enthusiastic yes! Who in their right mind would turn down such an incredible opportunity? But then my grandmother’s yarn shop flashed in my mind, followed by my sister Charmayne and her kids, and then my friends Misty Dawn, Lauralee, Deana Marie, Kathleen, and Patty Jean. Not to mention Clem and Dot. The very thought of moving away from all of them again… It made my stomach roil. Then there was my boyfriend, the handsome Sheriff Reed Hawkins, to consider. I could only imagine the look on his face if I told him I was moving, and my heart started to ache. “Can I think about it?” I asked, the words tumbling out of my mouth in an anxious rush.
“Oh, of course,” Frances said, sounding a little disappointed. But then she perked up as she added, “You haven’t even gotten the official offer letter yet. You’ll want to look it over and make sure the terms are acceptable. I know it’s a big commitment, but I’m certain that you’d make a great editor in chief. The board is going to need an answer in two weeks. By April 1st.”
“Thanks, Frances. I appreciate the call. You certainly know how to wake a girl up in the morning.”
“I try to keep people on their toes,” she said. “Take your time thinking this over, but don’t hesitate to call if you have questions about the offer letter, okay?”
“I will on both counts,” I said. “I just need to… figure some things out here first.”
“I understand. I’ve got to go. I have a meeting scheduled in five.”
“Thanks again for the call, Frances,” I said sincerely. “And congratulations again on the retirement. You deserve it.”
“Thanks, Sadie. Congrats to you, too.”
After the line went dead, I looked down at Peaches and asked, “Can you believe that just happened?”
Peaches lay on the floor, looking up at me with her big brown eyes.
“What do you think? Do you want to move back to New York, or are you a certified country girl now?”
Peaches rested her head on her paws, just blinking at me, refusing to give her opinion.
“Fine. You’re no help.” I got up, shuffled to the coffee pot, and finally got a much-needed caffeine fix.
By the time I’d sucked down three cups, showered, and forced myself to eat a piece of toast, I was still no closer to knowing what I should do about the job offer. So I decided to push it to the back of my mind until I had a chance to talk to Charmayne… and Reed.
“Come on, girl,” I said to Peaches. “It’s time to head to work.”
My pooch jumped up and headed to the door, her tail wagging as if she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Must be nice,” I muttered as we headed downstairs to the yarn shop.
“There you are!” Charmayne cried, giving me a look of annoyance. “I thought I was going to have to come wrestle you out of bed.”
I glanced at the clock behind the counter and winced when I realized I was fifteen minutes late. I figured Charmayne would be harping on me about that for weeks to come. “Sorry. I had to take a call from Fancy Fibers this morning.”
My sister rolled her eyes. “That highfalutin’ magazine isn’t more important than this store, you know. I already had two customers come in and didn’t even have a chance to give Elvis his morning treat.”
“Poor Elvis. It won’t happen again,” I said as I fished a treat for her opossum out of the drawer behind the counter and took it to Elvis, who was tucked in his habitat in the front window.
“Okay then,” she said, all the fire disappearing from her tone, and I knew I’d appeased her by taking care of her pet. She glanced around the store. “Do you want to man the register or stock the shelves?”
“I’ll stock,” I said, knowing that she preferred to work the register.
She eyed me for a moment before she smiled and said, “Sounds good.”
As Peaches curled up in her bed, I got busy restocking the shelves, my mind whirling about the phone call from Frances.
***
