Dearest Series Boxed Set by Lex Martin Read Free Book Online Page A

whatever Veronica is doing to him.
    Marceaux taps the podium.
    “First loves are at the core of many romance novels, so you can use your experiences, however wondrous and exciting and painful, as fodder for your manuscripts. The reader should experience the blooming of this relationship with all of its awkwardness and lust and possibly shame. You Americans seem determined to feel guilty about having sex, so explore this aspect if it’s been a part of your experience. I want this to be authentic, and as this is a senior writing course, I’m sure you all have adequate personal examples from which to draw.”
    My experience? Oh, fuck me now.
    Jenna nudges me and smiles.
    “It’ll be okay,” she whispers.
    Marceaux pauses when she reaches the end of the room and stares out the window. “Your semester-long assignment is to write a thirty-thousand-word novella. I want to see a fifteen-page scene by next week, starting with the first time your lovers meet. Show me their attraction, why they can’t stay away from one another, and what is keeping them apart.” She adjusts her glasses before she turns back to the class. “We’ll separate into writing groups to critique. By the way, I can smell bullshit, so don’t attempt to pawn off some dime-store romance on me. I want authentic relationships, ladies and gentlemen!”

    * * *
    W hen Harper joins me for lunch in the student union, her brows quirk up and crinkle as her watchful eyes appraise me.
    “You look upset.” She takes a bite of her sandwich and lets the silence settle.
    We’ve always met here. I’d be having panic attacks over how I was going to pay for school or the fact that I thought my professor was a creeper, and Harper and I would curl up in this booth, hidden behind the decorative planter box, and she’d talk me off the ledge. Thank God she’s a psych major.
    I’ve only had one other best friend, who betrayed me in the worst possible way, and it took a long time to trust Jenna and Harper, but they never stopped trying. I don’t know what they saw in me, but their friendship helped pull me out of the darkness to the point that I don’t need to take anxiety meds anymore.
    Exhaling a deep breath, I say, “I’m overwhelmed. I’m supposed to tutor tonight, but I have a ton of work to do on my website if I ever want to sell a second book, and people keep emailing me about how Say It Isn’t So needs a new cover. I guess I need someone to redesign it. And I’m having trouble with my writing class.”
    She frowns. “Talk to Dani about the cover design. She works in the art lab, and I bet she knows people who do that stuff if she can’t.”
    “I had no idea she was an artist.” Peeling back the corner of my Peach Snapple, I realize how little I know about this girl despite having lived with her for almost two weeks. “I’m a sucky roommate.”
    Harper laughs as she takes a sip of her water. “But you have potential.” I shake my head, feeling a little better now that I’ve unloaded a little. “Don’t worry about the writing assignment. You’ve got this. You’re a bestselling YA author, freak.”
    I don’t always believe this, but every month I get statements from Amazon that prove this crazy fact. I think I’m able to sell books, not because I’m creative or original, but because I’ve been honest about the crazy shit that’s gone down in my life. Of course, I wrap it up in a thin veneer of fiction, but my best work always originates from my own experiences. I don’t need make-believe when real life is more fucked up. Especially my life.
    Honestly, the whole publishing process scares the hell out of me, like with full-out nightmares or bouts of insomnia, but I want to pull up my big-girl panties and move on.
    The little pep-talk voice in my head tells me I can do this without Jason Wheeler’s help, and I hope that’s not just wishful thinking. Because I’ve only finished that one book. And damn it if it wasn’t in part because Wheeler