Published" June 17th, 2014
Description:
Music major Maddie Taylor seems to have her life all figured out. She’s just finished her junior year of college, has a summer internship lined up with the LA Philharmonic, and plans to go to grad school to write movie scores. Only her roommates know she practices guitar every night and secretly dreams of a louder life. But geeky girls like her don’t get to be rock stars.
Tattooed singer Jared Cross has a new girl every week, but when he catches Maddie playing one of his songs, she attracts his attention in an unexpected way. His band needs a fourth member for The Sound, a reality TV show competition—and he wants her. Though Maddie refuses to be another notch on Jared’s bedpost, she agrees to risk everything for the chance to be a rock star.
Once on the show, Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared behind his flirty smile, and with each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore. When the show pressures Jared to flaunt his player image, they’re forced to keep their relationship secret, but Maddie can’t help but want something real.
As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.
I went to high school for a short time with Adam Levine and Maroon 5, back when they were called Kara’s Flowers. They played at our school dances and I sat behind them in class and was completely in love with them. Of course, they had no idea I existed! Many years later I saw Adam Levine on The Voice, and had the idea of a geeky girl joining an up-and-coming rock band at her school and going on a show like The Voice, and the book grew from that.
Most of the research I did was on the music in the book, because I really wanted to get that right. I play the guitar but I’m not great at it because I don’t have time to practice regularly. Still, I tried to learn many of the songs that Maddie performs so I could describe the way it feels when you’re actually playing them. I studied a lot of guitar tutorials, live performances by the original bands, and covers by other bands. I also watched documentaries on what it’s like to be in a band, especially in high stress situations. And of course, I watched many episodes of The Voice!
EXCERPT
Jared’s guitar was beautiful,
with a smooth white faceplate, gleaming struts, and a shiny fingerboard. My
fingers itched to touch the silvery strings, to form a chord and let it ring
out through the amp, to hear what it sounded like without all the other
instruments accompanying it. And if I was honest, I wanted to close my eyes and
pretend I was on stage, playing for a crowd, hearing them scream for me. The
longing I felt every time I went to a concert stirred up in me again. It
wouldn’t hurt if I played one chord, right? That was it. One chord, and I’d put
it back. No one would ever know.
Before I could stop myself, I
picked up the guitar and threw the strap over my head. It settled against my shoulder,
and with one hand on the fret board and the other on the strings, I was home. I
closed my eyes, picturing Jared when he was on stage and how his talented
fingers had moved across the guitar. I imagined him singing my favorite song of
theirs, “Behind the Mask,” and the words and notes melted together in my head.
I strummed the guitar, the sound ringing from the amp, the vibrations traveling
up the ground and into my feet. God, I loved this guitar. It sounded just as
good as my own, if not better.
Now that I had the guitar in my
hands, the compulsion to play was irresistible. What was one more chord, right?
I was alone and the room was soundproof. The door had locked behind me. Kyle
was dealing with Becca, and he’d given me permission to come in here anyway.
I knew it was a bad idea. I knew
I should put the guitar down and walk out of the room. But I started strumming
anyway.
I was hesitant at first, but once
I started, I couldn’t stop. My hands found the chords automatically, and the
words flowed out of me with the music. Exhilaration swept through me with each
note, and I closed my eyes and let the song take me away. Soon I was belting
out the words, shredding the guitar like I was on stage playing for a massive
crowd. I’d never do this in front of anyone else, but here, alone with this
guitar, I could pretend. I could let myself go.
And then I opened my eyes and
wanted to die.
Jared stood in front of me, his
eyes wide and mouth open slightly. He must have come in while I was playing.
How much did he hear? Or worse, see?
My fingers slipped off the
strings with a screech, and I nearly dropped the guitar. Thank god for the
strap. “I’m so sorry. Kyle gave me the key and I was just—”
There was no way to explain what
was going on, so I shut up. I’d been singing his lyrics, playing the song he’d
written. Not to mention, I’d been using his guitar. That was like
wearing someone else’s underwear. You didn’t just play another person’s guitar
without their permission.
I yanked the guitar off and tried
to put it back, but knocked the stand over instead. Hands shaking, it took me
two tries to right it again, all while Jared stood there, gaping at me. Why
didn’t he say anything? Was he so angry he couldn’t speak? I set the guitar
down carefully, then backed away like it was on fire—and ran straight into the
drum set. Cymbals crashed as I fell against it, knocking the equipment all over
the floor. Great, now he must think I’m a stalker and a complete klutz.
I jumped up too fast, and my legs were so unsteady I started to topple over
toward the table. Jared caught me before we had another disaster, his hands
gripping my arms to balance me.
“You okay?” he asked, his blue
eyes holding mine and making my heart pound even faster. If I stared into those
eyes too long, I’d fall into them completely.
******
Our ten minutes were up too soon,
and we were directed down a brightly lit hallway and into the backstage area. The
Sound used a special kind of rotating stage that I’d also seen at music
festivals, with a platform on each side so bands could set up and break down
their equipment while another band was performing. Then the stage rotated, and
it began again. This saved a lot of time with so many bands playing
back-to-back.
I couldn’t see the band currently
on stage, but their music pounded under my feet as the crowd cheered for them.
We were about to be in the exact same spot, in front of that same crowd, with
our music blasting through the speakers. No, I couldn’t think about that or I’d
run straight back to that waiting room.
We rushed onto the back side of
the stage, which had already been cleared by the previous band. Our gear was
waiting for us, and some roadies helped us get it unpacked quickly. After hours
of waiting, everything was happening so fast. I didn’t have time to think; I
just shoved my earpiece in and grabbed my guitar to check the tuning while the
other guys handled their own instruments. I got my distortion pedal and mic set
up just as the band on stage finished their song. I heard the mentors
commenting but couldn’t tell if the band had done a good job or not. Either
way, it meant we had to hurry.
Kyle got behind his keyboard,
Hector sat at the drums, and that left me and Jared up front. My sweaty fingers
dropped my guitar pick, and when I went to grab it, my knees nearly gave out
from under me. When I straightened up, Jared stood right in front of me, his
bass hanging from his neck.
“Ready?” he asked.
“Um, as ready as I’ll ever be.”
Which was to say, hell no. I smoothed my hair and yanked the bottom of my dress
down, wishing I had a mirror to check how I looked one last time.
“Just have fun. It’ll be over
before you know it.” He brushed a finger against my cheek, making me shiver.
“Stray eyelash,” he explained. “You look amazing, by the way.”
Our eyes locked, and for a
second, it was only the two of us on stage, about to make music together. He
offered me one of his heart-stopping smiles, and it gave me the strength I
needed to go through with this.
The stage began to turn, ending
the moment. Jared and I moved back to our positions in front of our mics as the
roar of the crowd grew louder and spotlights flashed in our eyes. My heart
pounded as an entire sea of faces stretched before me. And in front, the four
musicians who would decide our fate.
This was our one shot to change
our futures forever. Our one moment to lose ourselves in the music and hope we
brought the audience along with us. Our one chance to turn our dreams into
reality.
I was ready.
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About the author:
Elizabeth Briggs is a full-time geek who writes books for teens and adults. She plays the guitar, mentors at-risk teens, and volunteers with a dog rescue group. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a pack of small, fluffy dogs.
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3 comments:
I love the colors on the cover! It's really beautiful.
The cover looks awesome :) I´d really love to read this book!
-Jenna
Nice looking book and great cover thank you
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