SWNOVELS Chapter 11
Chapter 11 Marcus Toodey
“Okay, fill this in and wait a moment. Mr. Chadworth is in a meeting right now. You can go up when he is done.”
“Okay.” Neil patiently filled out the form.
Yvonne was a talkative person. She thought Neil was talented, so she initiated a conversation with
him.
“My name’s Yvonne Storey. I’m thirty–two this year and have been working here for seven to eight years. You must be around twenty years old. You can call me Ms. Storey; everyone does. My name’s really easy to remember. It’s spelled differently but pronounced the same as ‘story‘. Although I can’t write, I love to read. I started working here right after graduating…” Yvonne continued to babble on. Neil thought she was endearing.
I can’t believe she’s thirty–two. She looks so much younger. I thought she was around twenty–seven.
A person’s appearance wasn’t important yet during this time. People didn’t have to rely on beauty to get a job; instead, they were hired based on their capabilities. Neil did not know when society required receptionists to be young, pretty women in their twenties.
Of course, many of them used their connections to get jobs.
Neil finished filling out the form and returned it to Yvonne.
At this time, a middle–aged man in a suit came down the stairs. He was tanned and had a lean body.
Neil smiled at him, but the man ignored him and swaggered away with his hands in his pockets.
He didn’t even glance at me!
Neil did not take it to heart. He knew people wouldn’t pay attention to him in this realistic society. After all, he had no backing, name, or position and was dressed raggedly.
Yvonne was not pleased with the man’s attitude. After chatting with Neil, she had taken a liking to this gentle, handsome, and polite man. She looked at him as a little brother. She leaned closer to Neil and whispered behind the man’s back, “Did you see that man? Do you recognize him?”
“I don’t,” Neil said with a shake of his head. The entertainment circle in the parallel world was different from what he knew. Everyone in the entertainment circle, including directors, actors, singers, etc., from his world had disappeared. If this man were a famous writer from his world, Neil wouldn’t know.
There was a hint of disdain on Yvonne’s face as she continued, “His name is Marcus Toodey. He is this year’s most anticipated fiction newcomer author. He wrote ‘Changes in the Sky‘. It’s a new
style of writing and has sold a hundred thousand copies in three months…”
Neil jumped at that number and exhaled, “That’s pretty impressive.”
Although the nineties were a time for books, selling a hundred thousand copies wasn’t easy. It was almost impossible for a new person with a new writing style to sell so many copies. It would be amazing for a nameless newcomer to sell even ten thousand copies in this era! Some could only sell a few thousand copies and had to buy them for their friends and relatives back home!
It wasn’t easy to earn a living through writing. Forget about earning; writers could consider themselves lucky if they didn’t end up in debt.
However, Neil didn’t understand why Yvonne sounded like she hated him if he was an anticipated author.
Yvonne said, “Marcus Toodey is Mr. William Braxton, one of the forefathers of fiction literature’s disciple. Do you know him? There are four forefathers, and Mr. Braxton is one of them. You could say
he is the head…”
The forefathers are probably similar to The Golden Summit in my world, but they should be incomparable to the literature masters in my world! There’s a bigger world out there than they think. Marcus must be impressive in this world if he is one of the forefather’s disciples!
Yvonne continued, “But he is a snobbish, unreasonable man and impatient toward our minimum–wage staff. One time, someone saw him slap the editor–in–chief’s assistant. The rumor says that the assistant accidentally spilled tea on the floor. It was only a couple of drops on his socks; his shoes and pants weren’t even soaked, but he jumped up in a flash and started being
violent…”
Neil got a fright.
What a violent man! I can’t believe he hit a man in the editor’s office just because of spilled tea!
However, Neil was not in a position to make any remarks. He would stop Marcus if he caught him red–handedly, but the event had passed. He shouldn’t gossip behind others‘ backs.
Neil knew it wasn’t easy for gossip to go around in this era, as the Internet was not a widespread notion yet. People couldn’t just post recordings or videos to spread gossip. However, he thought it was better not to talk badly about people behind their backs. It could come and bite them back in
their *sses.
He grunted and said nothing.
Yvonne spoke again, “Neil, I think you have potential and are an honest man! If you get famous in the future, do not become like that man. A person must live honestly and not let their head grow big. You can’t treat people…”
Yvonne’s words struck Neil’s heart. He agreed with her sentiments.
“Thanks. I’ll remember your advice. I’ll bring some home produce next time I come,” Neil replied sincerely.
Yvonne’s smile widened. “That would be nice. Promise me you’ll come often. We’ll have a lot of time to get to know each other. You should go and meet the editor.”
Neil followed her instructions and arrived at an office on the third floor. He knocked on the door.
“Come in,” a middle–aged husky male voice sounded.
Neil pushed the door open and saw Charlie Chadworth sitting on a couch.
Charlie was a slightly chubby forty–year–old man with average looks. His hairline was parted down the middle. He looked quite strict.
Neil had done his research before coming. He knew Charlie had edited many best–selling novels. Ninety percent of those books were fiction fantasies. Although Greenleaves Publishing was not a big company, Charlie’s skills and experience editing fiction fantasy novels were among the top five in the nation! This was why Neil wanted him to publish ‘Harold Patter‘.
Charlie scanned Neil and nodded his head with a gentle smile.
Ms. Storey was right. He is very strict. He may be smiling, but his eyes are not.
“Have a seat,” Charlie invited.
Neil knew Charlie’s time was precious. He didn’t have much time to spare. He quickly brought out his draft and placed it on the table.
“How do you do, Mr. Chadworth? My name is Neil Grant. This is my fiction fantasy novel, ‘Harold Patter. This is the synopsis, details of the story, character association chart, and the first thirty- thousand words of the novel!”
A flash of suspicion darted across Charlie’s eyes when he saw the neatly placed information. before him.