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(caden)
Since being caught by half the town walking out of the ocean in half-siren form, April has taken care to get her morning swimming done before there's much of a crowd on the beach. She's not ashamed necessarily, she's just still not sure how a siren like her fits into this town, how she's supposed to follow the rules. Before Siren Cove, she's never been part of a group of sirens, she's never had a matriarch and if she's honest, she's mostly been trying to avoid the situation.
It just makes things easier.
She's long since finished her swim this morning and she's dressed again, wandering the beach as she dries her hair on her towel. There are plenty of houses that line the beach and there's a part of her that still wonders if she can't give up the nice apartment she has to find a place closer to the water. Being out here, being in the ocean, it's as close to home as she's ever had.
But at the same time, she still doesn't have a job in Siren Cove and she knows moving into a house she shouldn't be able to afford will bring up questions. And given what she's been warned about when it comes to following the rules, she's not sure that admitting she's conned a good number of people out of a fair bit of a money over the past five years is going to go over particularly well. So she stays where she is, but she spends a lot of time on the beach anyway and she checks out the houses as she goes.
There's one home in particular she's looking at today. It looks like someone is moving in and April wanders closer curiously, her towel draped over her shoulder as she catches sight of the man who looks like he might be renting the place.
It just makes things easier.
She's long since finished her swim this morning and she's dressed again, wandering the beach as she dries her hair on her towel. There are plenty of houses that line the beach and there's a part of her that still wonders if she can't give up the nice apartment she has to find a place closer to the water. Being out here, being in the ocean, it's as close to home as she's ever had.
But at the same time, she still doesn't have a job in Siren Cove and she knows moving into a house she shouldn't be able to afford will bring up questions. And given what she's been warned about when it comes to following the rules, she's not sure that admitting she's conned a good number of people out of a fair bit of a money over the past five years is going to go over particularly well. So she stays where she is, but she spends a lot of time on the beach anyway and she checks out the houses as she goes.
There's one home in particular she's looking at today. It looks like someone is moving in and April wanders closer curiously, her towel draped over her shoulder as she catches sight of the man who looks like he might be renting the place.
no subject
Caden's eyes narrow when the guy returns and he looks vaguely confused at the exchange, but it ends up with him blushing again. He really needs to get a handle on his face. This is getting ridiculous.
"Uh." He blinks, a little taken aback. "Sure. Hold on."
He pats his pockets on instinct and lets out a noise of triumph when he finds a pen. He's rarely without one and it's not uncommon for him to jot down notes on the insides of his forearms because while he has a pen, he always forgets paper.
"What's your name?" He takes the book, squirming a little at the attention and wrinkling his nose at the photo of him on the dust jacket.
"Dan," the guy says, watching him with keen interest. Caden nods and rests the book on the railing of the deck and writes out a standard message, signing it with a flourish before handing it back.
"This isn't out yet, so keep it on the hush, alright?" He winks and caps his pen before sliding it back into his pocket. Dan sets the box down to take the book, looking a bit glazed over as he heads back inside. The box of books is at their feet and Caden shifts his weight, biting his lip and wondering if he should over her one. That seems presumptuous. He decides against it and looks back up at her through his eyelashes, chuckling a little. "That's always a little awkward."
no subject
This, though, had been too perfect. And no one gets hurt.
"What kind of books do you write?" she asks, glancing down at the box at their feet. She doesn't recognize his name, but that doesn't mean much. In the past ten years, she's spent too much time moving from place to place, too much time making plans to keep herself afloat to really spend much time reading.
no subject
That's still so weird, to think that he has fans. It's not something he thinks he'll ever get used to, but at least he's a little better at dealing with it now. He bites his lip at her question and reaches up to scratch the back of his neck as he sips from his coffee.
"Supernatural mysteries," he tells her. His last two books made the New York Times' Best Seller list, and he's really proud of that, but he's never figured out a way to tell people that doesn't sound braggy. "You know how the monster - " he does air quotes around the word - "is usually the bad guy? I like to turn that trope on its head, and make them the hero. Sure, there are bad werewolves or whatever out there, but there are bad humans too, right? It's always the big bad wolf, but maybe he's got a family, his own problems, you know? Maybe those three little pigs were dicks."
He realizes that he's rambling and cuts himself off with a quiet chuckle, rolling his eyes at himself. He ducks down to grab a book from the box, looking down at the glossy black cover. It's titled Big Bad and that takes up most of the cover in large white font, and under a pair of glowing golden eyes is his own name. He can't help the rush he feels when he sees that, even still.
"Here," he says, thrusting it out at her. "This is my newest one. It's about a werewolf who has to figure out who murdered his sister's fiance."
no subject
She takes the book -- and she hasn't even had to influence him to give it to her -- and turns it over, looking at the cover before she sets it on the rail of the deck beside her coffee. "I'll let you know what I think," she says and she means it. She'll find the time to read it, which she doesn't imagine will be too difficult, not in Siren Cove. Everything moves at a slower pace here. She has more free time than she expected.
"So how many books have you written?" she asks. "Oh, do people write fanfiction based on your characters? That's when you know you've really made it or so I've been told."
no subject
"This is my sixth," Caden informs her. That means that he's put out a book a year since his first, along with doing signings and appearances. There's even a plan in motion to turn one of his books into a film, which still completely blows his mind. "My editor heavily suggested that I take my time with the next one, which is kind of why I'm here."
When she mentions fanfiction, he cracks up and flushes deeply, laughing a bit. "Yeah, actually. In the book before my last one, the female protagonist had these two male friends, one a werewolf and one a wood nymph. They apparently have quite the following."
He's never read any of the fanfic, but he was pretty obvious with the subtext so he isn't exactly shocked. He knows it exists for all of his books, but that's the most popular pairing. "It's flattering, I guess, that people saw something in my characters that they want to expand on."