Page 66 of Thick

“Your date.”

There was tremendous risk in telling her the truth, and no future ahead if I lied to her. I let out an exhaustive sigh. “I did.”

“Okay.” She leaned against the back of her chair. “That’s all I wanted to know.”

“Why?”

“I was curious more than anything,” she said. “But I wanted to see if you’d tell me the truth.”

“Did you already know the answer?”

“No. I saw you and Tink walk in that direction, but that’s about it. You were too far away, and there were too many people in the way for me to see much of anything.”

“So how would you know if I was lying?”

“I wouldn’t. But I know now that you’ll be truthful with me.”

“Can’t be much future between us if I’m not willing to be truthful.”

“Club business is club business.” Her mouth twisted into a smirk. “Sound familiar?”

“This wasn’t club business,” I said flatly. “It was personal.”

She raised her hands and turned her palms to face me. “I don’t want to know.”

“And, I don’t want to say. So, we’ll agree that this subject is closed?”

“There’s nothing else I need to know.”

“Next subject,” I said with a laugh.

“What’s it like--”

“I thought the subject was closed.”

“Not that. What’s it like to write a book? To have all those characters running around in your head?”

“Confusing. Fun. Rewarding. Confusing. Did I already say that?”

“You said it twice.”

“Sometimes I can’t write fast enough. They get to doing and saying things, and if I don’t write it as fast as it happens, I lose half of it.”

“Do you make outlines or take notes?”

“I don’t. It’s fly by the seat of my pants. I just let the characters do what they do.”

“I like that. So, the books are more of reality TV show than a movie script.”

I chuckled. “I guess that’s one way of putting it. The characters do what they do, and I edit it for grammar. I rarely change content. As far as I’m concerned, it’s like changing history.”

“Is that why you choose to self-publish?” she asked. “You don’t want an editor making you change content?”

“To change content would be to restrict a character’s ability to convey his or her tale. It doesn’t matter if it’s narrative or dialogue, it’s all the same if written in first person. It’s the character’s voice.”

“Have you ever had to pull the reins on a character?”

“What do you mean?”