Alessandra Ranelli

And it's one of my favorite spots in Vienna.

And I was sitting at the counter writing the character sketch for who would be Fernando, who is the bellhop.

And I think a character that everybody loves in the book.

And I had showed it.

I'd showed the paragraph to the bartender.

And while I was sitting there, I got an email that I'd been accepted to the grad school program.

And I asked the bartender, I was like, do you have champagne?

And he said, no, we have Prosecco.

Why?

And I said, I guess, I guess I'm celebrating.

I got into that grad school program and he said, I thought you were writing a book and he poured himself a little Prosecco.

Are you going to go?

I thought you, he said, are you going to go?

I thought you were writing a book.

And I said, yeah, I thought I was writing a book too, but I guess I, I should go, you know, I've worked for this for years.

And then we clink glasses and he said,

I think you're going to write the book.

So yeah, I did it.

It was the biggest risk I ever took.

I threw away or I asked them to hold my spot for one year.