Under The Tartosan Sun
Table of contents: [ Spoiler ] Since this story has grown so much bigger than I ever imagined I feel like its time to borrow a page from some of my favorite SimLit writers and offer you a syn...
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Chapter Twenty Seven
Londyn continues to receive rave reviews on her performance in the Urbz movie. Her star is on the rise and even more offers, bigger roles, are piling up on her agent's desk. But while Londyn's career is on the rise, Danielle's career has been experiencing some troubling times recently. Her first six novels were all bestsellers and flying off book store shelves. Critics have been heaping praise on her work, especially for someone so young in years and experience. Her most recent novels haven't been flying off the shelves. Critics are still raving about her work, but the books just aren't selling in the same gaudy numbers. Quietly, there was a storm brewing and Danielle was about to find herself right in the eye of it.
One of the things that Danielle's fans love about her is her accessibility. She can be found online chatting with her fans at least once a week, more often twice.
https://i.imgur.com/wQJcnM1.png
As her questions and concerns mounted, Danielle began trying to talk to Faith to get some answers. She kept calling and calling, but she never got closer than Faith's secretary.
https://i.imgur.com/8AVqUig.png?4https://i.imgur.com/6Zx3Hm6.png?1
Danielle's persistence finally paid off, and she got an audience with Faith via SimFace. Things did not start off well and they only went downhill from there.
"Danielle. What's so important that you felt the need to pester my secretary for a meeting? She's busy and so am I."
https://i.imgur.com/EuODCDS.png
"Hello to you to Faith."
https://i.imgur.com/ShuLOUI.png
"Now that we have the niceties out the way, get to the point."
"Oh, so you want to be rude eh. I wanted a civil conversation. Fine. Why are you sitting on my novels lately and only sending out a few copies here and there?"
"Frankly your books have been bad recently. Nobody wants to read them so why should I waste resources."
"What are you talking about? The critics have been raving about them. My fans, which I know you are aware, I talk to frequently have been asking why they can't find my books. Don't give me that, 'your books are bad and nobody wants to read them' nonsense Faith."
"Your books were great when you were writing regular romance novels..."
"Wait. What did you mean by 'regular romance novels'?
"You no longer write 'boy meets girl, boy wins girl's heart' stories."
"You have a problem with me being a lesbian and writing about love from that perspective?"
"I didn't say that. I said you don't write normal romances."
"You just did it again, Faith."
"What do you want to hear?"
"The truth!"
"You want to talk me about truth? How about when you signed your book deal you didn't tell me you were going to start writing this...stuff. I signed you to that deal because you wrote lovely stories where the man sweeps the girl off her feet and whisks her away."
"Well pardon me for not having my moment of awakening beforehand. I wasn't ready to confront the truth about who I am. My lovely wife unlocked my heart and set me free. I can see how you truly feel about me written all over your face when I said 'my lovely wife'. By the way Faith, if you think the women in any of my stories are weak and were easily swept off their feet you weren't paying attention when you read my books."
"I will take this moment to remind you that you are under contract to me and that you still owe me two more books! If you think you can insult me and get out of that contract you are sorely mistaken. I will see to it that you fulfill your contract or I will sue you for breach of same! I would suggest to you that you don't waste a lot of time or energy writing them, because I will see to it those two books never see the light of day!"
"I've been listening to all of this! You've hurt her and trust me, people are going to hear about this. You picked the wrong woman to make mad."
https://i.imgur.com/T4b50RL.png
"Come here, hon. I've got you. I'm sorry you had to meet someone like Faith. I'm proud of you. You stood up for yourself and you fired back. Your strength and vulnerability only makes me love you more. The truth about her is going to get out, I will see to it."
Londyn continues to receive rave reviews on her performance in the Urbz movie. Her star is on the rise and even more offers, bigger roles, are piling up on her agent's desk. But while Londyn's career is on the rise, Danielle's career has been experiencing some troubling times recently. Her first six novels were all bestsellers and flying off book store shelves. Critics have been heaping praise on her work, especially for someone so young in years and experience. Her most recent novels haven't been flying off the shelves. Critics are still raving about her work, but the books just aren't selling in the same gaudy numbers. Quietly, there was a storm brewing and Danielle was about to find herself right in the eye of it.
One of the things that Danielle's fans love about her is her accessibility. She can be found online chatting with her fans at least once a week, more often twice.
https://i.imgur.com/wQJcnM1.png
Spoiler
It was her fans that clued her into the fact that things weren't what they appeared to be, and that something fishy was going on. When her career launched following the runaway success of her first two novels, her publisher, SimReads, had Danielle doing all manner of public appearances to promote her books. But now she wasn't getting sent out to book signings, tv talk show appearances, and such as often. She was also having a hard time making contact with her boss, Faith Middleton. When Faith would finally answer back, it was now by email or text, where before she would pick up the phone and call or SimFace with Danielle. During her chats with her fans, Danielle was being asked more and more how and where readers could find her books. Everywhere they went her books were noticeably absent almost overnight. Danielle began to digging for answers, and what she found was painting a troubling picture.
https://i.imgur.com/Xc4SrHQ.png
The downturn in sales, and the scarcity of her books, started after the sixth book, 'Heart And Soul'. The previous book, 'Wild At Heart' was the first one inspired by Londyn. It marked a turning point in her writing, just as Londyn had marked a turning point in her life. Every book from 'Heart And Soul' on were lesbian romances. As Danielle fell deeper in love with Londyn she became more introspective about her life up to that point and she had an epiphany. Just like Londyn, she had always been a lesbian but she had been in denial where Londyn had always embraced her truth. She had to admit that deep down that was why her relationships with men had always been so short. She always found some reason to break it off with them, but the reasons she came up with helped her avoid the truth she wasn't ready to acknowledge. Now that she was facing the truth it was natural that her writing reflected who she is.
https://i.imgur.com/Xc4SrHQ.png
The downturn in sales, and the scarcity of her books, started after the sixth book, 'Heart And Soul'. The previous book, 'Wild At Heart' was the first one inspired by Londyn. It marked a turning point in her writing, just as Londyn had marked a turning point in her life. Every book from 'Heart And Soul' on were lesbian romances. As Danielle fell deeper in love with Londyn she became more introspective about her life up to that point and she had an epiphany. Just like Londyn, she had always been a lesbian but she had been in denial where Londyn had always embraced her truth. She had to admit that deep down that was why her relationships with men had always been so short. She always found some reason to break it off with them, but the reasons she came up with helped her avoid the truth she wasn't ready to acknowledge. Now that she was facing the truth it was natural that her writing reflected who she is.
As her questions and concerns mounted, Danielle began trying to talk to Faith to get some answers. She kept calling and calling, but she never got closer than Faith's secretary.
https://i.imgur.com/8AVqUig.png?4https://i.imgur.com/6Zx3Hm6.png?1
Spoiler
During one of her chat sessions a fan named Ashleigh, gave Danielle the most productive lead. Ashleigh had struck up a conversation with the manager of her favorite bookstore, and a large corporate chain at that. He told her that it had been nearly impossible to get more than a handful of Danielle's books lately, and only once a month or every other month at that. The last Danielle knew SimReads said they were shipping out large quantities of her books. It also struck Danielle as odd that a major retailer with loads of buying power couldn't get hold of her books easily. She was beginning to see disturbing signs of what she was afraid was at the heart of this.
https://i.imgur.com/Wr01adt.png
Danielle sat down and had a heart to heart with Londyn.
"I think my novels are being held back by SimReads because they are lesbian romances, or because I'm out and proud, or both."
https://i.imgur.com/wk478Uz.png
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but for all the ground we've gained it feels like it's all being taken back from us. There have always been those who can't accept that which is different and they've come out of the shadows again. I think you need to keep the heat on SimReads and force them to talk to you. I will be right there at your side the whole way. I've dealt with this before and I will guide you through this if you need me."
"Just knowing I have you in my corner gives me all the strength I need. They are going to talk to me and I am going to get to the bottom of this, no matter how ugly it gets."
https://i.imgur.com/NauVJCo.png
https://i.imgur.com/Wr01adt.png
Danielle sat down and had a heart to heart with Londyn.
"I think my novels are being held back by SimReads because they are lesbian romances, or because I'm out and proud, or both."
https://i.imgur.com/wk478Uz.png
"I had hoped it wouldn't come to this, but for all the ground we've gained it feels like it's all being taken back from us. There have always been those who can't accept that which is different and they've come out of the shadows again. I think you need to keep the heat on SimReads and force them to talk to you. I will be right there at your side the whole way. I've dealt with this before and I will guide you through this if you need me."
"Just knowing I have you in my corner gives me all the strength I need. They are going to talk to me and I am going to get to the bottom of this, no matter how ugly it gets."
https://i.imgur.com/NauVJCo.png
Danielle's persistence finally paid off, and she got an audience with Faith via SimFace. Things did not start off well and they only went downhill from there.
"Danielle. What's so important that you felt the need to pester my secretary for a meeting? She's busy and so am I."
https://i.imgur.com/EuODCDS.png
"Hello to you to Faith."
https://i.imgur.com/ShuLOUI.png
"Now that we have the niceties out the way, get to the point."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/fkhaPHV.png
"Oh, so you want to be rude eh. I wanted a civil conversation. Fine. Why are you sitting on my novels lately and only sending out a few copies here and there?"
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/WG4ojz1.png
"Frankly your books have been bad recently. Nobody wants to read them so why should I waste resources."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/CZFspWM.png
"What are you talking about? The critics have been raving about them. My fans, which I know you are aware, I talk to frequently have been asking why they can't find my books. Don't give me that, 'your books are bad and nobody wants to read them' nonsense Faith."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/iKQjTzz.png
"Your books were great when you were writing regular romance novels..."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/OxR3pbv.png
"Wait. What did you mean by 'regular romance novels'?
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/XqFLUUk.png
"You no longer write 'boy meets girl, boy wins girl's heart' stories."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/CZFspWM.png
"You have a problem with me being a lesbian and writing about love from that perspective?"
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/yNp6315.png
"I didn't say that. I said you don't write normal romances."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/5SUq0KN.png
"You just did it again, Faith."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/veG0SUA.png
"What do you want to hear?"
"The truth!"
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/2oWOqkk.png
"You want to talk me about truth? How about when you signed your book deal you didn't tell me you were going to start writing this...stuff. I signed you to that deal because you wrote lovely stories where the man sweeps the girl off her feet and whisks her away."
"Well pardon me for not having my moment of awakening beforehand. I wasn't ready to confront the truth about who I am. My lovely wife unlocked my heart and set me free. I can see how you truly feel about me written all over your face when I said 'my lovely wife'. By the way Faith, if you think the women in any of my stories are weak and were easily swept off their feet you weren't paying attention when you read my books."
"I will take this moment to remind you that you are under contract to me and that you still owe me two more books! If you think you can insult me and get out of that contract you are sorely mistaken. I will see to it that you fulfill your contract or I will sue you for breach of same! I would suggest to you that you don't waste a lot of time or energy writing them, because I will see to it those two books never see the light of day!"
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/IfFBpgp.png
https://i.imgur.com/BJAR4Sw.png
https://i.imgur.com/BJAR4Sw.png
"I've been listening to all of this! You've hurt her and trust me, people are going to hear about this. You picked the wrong woman to make mad."
https://i.imgur.com/T4b50RL.png
"Come here, hon. I've got you. I'm sorry you had to meet someone like Faith. I'm proud of you. You stood up for yourself and you fired back. Your strength and vulnerability only makes me love you more. The truth about her is going to get out, I will see to it."
Spoiler
https://i.imgur.com/9qLkG8Y.png
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