Hollywood Zenith

The trip went as expected. It was more like a field trip than a shooting trip. With the backing of luxurious R.V., Samuel's was smooth without any discomfort.

They roamed around for a few days, visiting several locations and meeting with locals previously contracted to help with the production. Speaking of production, the Production team was amazed to see the behemoth, too, primarily the executive producer, who shared the same hobbies with the director.

They would occasionally drink from the drink collection that came with the R.V.

After returning from the trip, Samuel met up with his mother. He was not happy about how things turned out. Laura knew about it, but she kept quiet because of her mother. It took great effort before she could mend her relationship with her son.

But not everything was bleak; Thomas visited the estate with the first copy of the new book. He was excited to show it to Samuel and congratulate him on getting his first role as an actor.

" We went with a more ominous setting with the cover." He gave Samuel a copy of the finished product.

The book had golden letters stating the name of the book. His name could be seen at the top of the book while a large encompassed the centre signifying a strange eye symbol. It was not an accident, but Samuel consulted the designer for the cover page.

They had to make it pop out and appeal to passing-by customers. Just looking at it, you would feel the urge to open it to look inside it. There were also strange symbols drawn everywhere; they had to create their own letters to hide a cryptic message inside those symbols.

" LORD OF THE RINGS

The Fellowship of the ring

Book I: The ring sets out. "

The cryptic message was ' one ring to rule them all '. It would be a good puzzle for regular readers. Samuel knew this series would inspire countless online debates; he was only adding one more topic to the mix.

" Nice, It is very well done."

" I agree; the team worked very hard. We had to hire cryptographers to devise those symbols; it would take some time for regular people to crack the code."

" Hmm, what about the release date?"

" We have been running a promotion for the past few months. The market is ripe now that the hype for the Harry Potter series has subsided a little. That's why we thought it would be good to release it next week."

" I am fine with it. We have to churn out a book every year to maintain the hype. Ideally, I wanted to release one every six months."

" It would saturate the market. My team already went and did some surveys to back that claim. Besides, others would doubt if you started releasing books like crazy. Normally, an author works few years on a single book."

" You are right. You have the whole manuscript for the series, and I trust your judgement." Samuel had already finished the whole six books last year. He was not worried about how the publishing company handled the rest as long as they were making bank!

" With that sorted, We have another matter to discuss. I have been getting a lot of inquiries about the right for the Hobbit book. With its massive success, many studios are an eye for the adaptation rights."

" Deny everyone. I don't want anyone touching the series before we publish some more books. Also, with the upcoming Harry Potter series, it would be vain if we did things half-heartedly."

" You are saying that the movie will make some waves?"

" What? You don't trust me, Uncle?"

" I am not saying that, but you must remember that it is geared toward children. I don't know much about that industry, but we share some similarities."

" You are thinking with emotions. Children can't go to theatres alone, so it would be right to label the movie as a family movie. I know several adults who enjoy such stories, and seeing it live action is a different experience altogether."

" You may be right, but I heard it will release around Christmas next year. It will have competition."

Samuel just smiled; he didn't want to spook him too much. He knew preciously how much the movie would end up making but with his intervention, it would definitely surpass the billion-dollar mark worldwide.

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Next week the book debuted on the market, and fans were excited about delving into a new adventure in Middle Earth. They had optimised their supply chain, which allowed them to stock up the book before the release date. It was a worldwide release with countless manpower put into it.

But there was some problem; some vendors and bookstores decided to sell it in the black market a few days before the release. It was a logistic oversight but a massive blow to the publishing company's reputation.

It also resulted in some leaks, which was the effect of poor handling. Thomas was very mad with his subordinates; the relationship between Samuel and him was never legally binding as they operated on trust.

Samuel could ask any publishing company or, better yet, buy the whole company to publish his books. He contacted Donald as soon as possible before the situation escalated.

Fortunately, they didn't lack resources and hired specialists to deal with the issue. These people would investigate the source and sue them for damaging the company's reputation. All these stores went bankrupt within a few days; just mentioning the damages incurred due to their digression was enough to buy them ten times over.

Other bookstores that were on edge about it completely abandoned the idea. They saw what happened to the ones who decided to make some side money; it was not worth losing your livelihood.

The company also offered to return money to people duped by it. They were given a little extra on top to sweeten the pot. After the slight hiccup, everything else went smoothly.

The negative sentiment of the public was dispelled when the perpetrators were apprehended. Now, people were more concerned about the book itself.

Was it any good?