June was approaching quickly, and the summer of 1961 was exceptionally hot. As a result, sales of miniskirts surged once again, and the trend gradually spread. Angels Apparel Company had even opened stores in Pennsylvania. In Los Angeles, thanks to Homan's negotiations, they had also secured distributors. Business was booming.
But Catherine's ambitions lay elsewhere; the textile industry was only a springboard.
Given her advantage of having been reborn, why limit herself to just one industry?
This was America's golden age—how could she not make something of it?
Catherine's most important focus was electronics. Not a single niche, but the entire industry.
From integrated circuits and televisions to video game consoles and computers,
Catherine arguably understood the electronics industry better than anyone else. Whether hardware or software, she had a significant edge over the rest of the world—so why not make full use of it?
Within electronics, her primary focus was on video games and on personal computers and operating systems that had yet to be developed. She even aspired to replace the future Microsoft of Bill Gates…
Tabletop role-playing games were, in fact, the precursors of video games, and of course they could expand into other areas as well. They were suitable for accumulating initial capital, though their long-term profits were relatively limited.
Her second priority was likely the television and film industry. After all, she had studied directing techniques, read countless books over her lifetime, and had even auditioned for a film. If nothing unexpected happened, this industry would also be a solid choice.
As for the third option, it was probably the current novel-publishing industry.
To be honest, Catherine saw it as a preparatory industry for the first two.
For example, once she wrote a novel, it could be adapted into a film or a video game.
The textile industry was also a supporting business. She could use it to launch products, but it could only really be considered "side income." Moreover, Catherine only held a partial stake in Angels Costume Design Company; strictly speaking, it belonged to her small group. Of course, Homan was an exception.
As for other news, The Blair Witch Project was scheduled to premiere on June 30 this year, though it would only be shown in 72 theaters. Catherine wasn't worried. "Historically," this low-budget horror film had originally been planned for just 100 theaters in its first week, but the audience response was so enthusiastic that the number jumped from 31 theaters in the second week to 1,100.
Still, Catherine wasn't focusing on that right now.
It wasn't her strategic center, but that didn't mean it wasn't important.
She still needed to refine the Harry Potter TRPG. If it continued smoothly, her first tabletop game could at least capture a large share of an untapped market.
After all, as long as there's a monopoly, there's no industry that can't make money—even digging mud can turn a profit.
Barbie had already captured a huge share of the U.S. market for similar products. Although the company had only been founded a little over three years earlier, Barbie was already extremely popular among children.
Maybe she could even collaborate with the Barbie company?
The company was called Mattel Toys. In fifty years, it would be a Fortune 500 company, with Barbie as its flagship product.
Suddenly, an idea crossed Catherine's mind.
No—
Suddenly, a possibility occurred to her.
Could she… acquire the company?
This was the peak of Mattel's rise; up until 1964, it would experience explosive growth. Wouldn't it be better to acquire it now?
"Forget it. I'll think about that later."
Even as someone reborn with knowledge of major historical events, Catherine's energy was still limited—after all, she was only one person.
Barbie represented a culture, and commercial means alone couldn't fully control it, especially given her current lack of capital.
Sometimes, Catherine wondered if she could split herself into a dozen different people…
Things had to be done step by step. She didn't want to overextend herself, so it was better to focus on what was immediately in front of her. After all, model production was the final step of the game set, and she currently had more pressing matters to handle. The stricter rules for the professional version hadn't even been designed yet.
Still, Catherine created a demo—a test version.
The so-called model assembly was rushed and was only the initial version for the public edition; potential issues hadn't yet been discovered.
This demo version would be included with buyers of the deluxe edition, along with a feedback survey to help Catherine refine her rules.
June 1.
It was Catherine's birthday—and also the release date of The Prisoner of Azkaban.
Having already gone through her first book signing, the second one felt much easier.
Compared to the previous event, the atmosphere this time was far more enthusiastic, and the crowd was much larger.
Although the original Harry Potter series had been aimed at children, Catherine's version was different—she had readers of all ages in mind.
Perhaps due to the promotional effect, in its first week of sales, the hardcover edition of The Prisoner of Azkaban sold more than twice as many copies as The Chamber of Secrets, demonstrating its immense popularity.
The paperback edition also saw a significant increase in sales, showing that the Harry Potter phenomenon was gradually taking shape. Of course, this was also thanks to the publisher's relentless promotion of the paperback.
Now, some people were comparing the Harry Potter series to The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which spoke volumes about the novels' quality.
After all, Tolkien back then was basically the European and American equivalent of a 1960s internet literary legend.
By mid-June, sales were nearly on par with The Lord of the Rings.
Meanwhile, rumors about The Blair Witch Project had been circulating for more than six months, and some tabloids were even reporting on it quite seriously.
With the release of Catherine's third Harry Potter book, mentions of The Blair Witch Project were becoming more frequent.
In Catherine's novels, the Blair Witch was a witch who had been imprisoned in Azkaban years earlier. However, Catherine used the year 1970—so the Blair Witch was still "at large."
June 1961 felt a bit longer than usual…