Love Burned, She Rose Unscathed novel Chapter 381

Madge was speechless, her expression a mix of amusement and exasperation.

Always manages to bring himself into the compliment.

At one o'clock in the afternoon, Owen was ready to leave.

Norris was busy gardening on the porch when he heard the news. He called out to his daughter, "Anne, would you mind seeing Uncle Owen out?"

Owen stumbled slightly and stiffened at the title.

Roseanne quickly got up from the couch, "Dad, let's not mess up the family titles. Mr. Reynolds, I'll walk you out."

"Sure."

As Roseanne escorted him, Norris muttered under his breath, "Talked about making him an honorary uncle last time, and now we're getting all mixed up..."

...

Before long, Norris and Madge had been in Lumina City for a couple of weeks. Roseanne felt it was the right time to arrange a meeting between her mother and Stoner.

"Mom, there's actually another reason I wanted you and dad to come to Lumina City."

"What is it?"

Roseanne pulled out a manila folder and pushed it towards her mother, "This is the contract you signed with Nadine. I asked you for a digital copy before, printed it out, and had it reviewed by a couple of publishing professionals and an intellectual property lawyer..."

Madge was taken aback.

Roseanne gestured for her to open it, "The parts marked in red are the unfair terms. For example, the publishing house on the contract is actually controlled by Nadine, with her family having shares in this literary studio..."

It couldn't even be considered a proper publishing house.

A legitimate publishing house has the credentials to issue books with official ISBNs, while this studio could only deal with illustrations, audiobooks, and digital publications.

Norris was shocked.

Meaning, the contract didn't specify the revenue share for any of the previously published books.

Nadine could give all the earnings to Madge, or none at all.

Madge interjected, "Over these ten years, I've only received royalties five times, the highest being $80,000 and the lowest at $5,000."

Roseanne internally sighed, "As I suspected."

It was harsh, but necessary for Madge to face the truth, "I checked the domestic book sales rankings over the past decade. 'The Weapon' and 'The Abandoned School' consistently ranked in the top 20."

Madge nodded, "I knew that. I asked Nadine about it. She said the publishing market has shrunk in recent years, leading to a significant drop in book sales, and consequently, the royalties I received."

Roseanne replied, "It's true that the publishing industry has faced a downturn recently, which might be a big reason affecting the income. But did she mention how 'The Weapon' and 'The Abandoned School' performed internationally?"