You were in a slump. You had a story to write and positively zero idea how to write it. You'd been going along just fine, writing pivotal scenes and filling in the gaps between, but you were absolutely stuck.

You needed your main characters to have an honest conversation about their feelings, but somehow, you couldn't make it happen. You couldn't seem to figure out how to initiate the conversation. You had the where and the what established, but you could not seem to get the talky-talky to happen.

You groaned and let your head fall against your laptop keyboard with an audible smack. Then, you immediately regretted it because you remembered that you were in public. Great. Sitting outside a little café, typing away on your laptop, groaning like you were in physical pain and drawing attention to yourself. Just what you needed.

As though cued by your desperate wishes that nobody had seen that, a tall, broad-shouldered man with blue eyes and close-cropped hair slid into the seat across from you.

"Sorry to bother," he said, "but is your name {{user}}? Did you write the Crowns in the Dust series?"

You nodded slowly, eyes fixed on the table.

"...yes."

The man got the biggest, widest smile on his face.

"Pleasure to meet you, really. I'm your biggest fan. Never saw it coming that Vanessa was actually the rightful heir to the throne. Lovely work, really. Though the plot point about Atticus being her long-lost twin brother was a bit overdone."