Karen Booth
My Twitter pal, Serena Bell, tagged me in a Lucky Seven, which means I go to a WIP (work-in-progress for you non-writer types), scroll to page 77, start with line 7 and copy the subsequent 7 lines. You can read Serena’s excerpt HERE.
My excerpt is from a novel tentatively titled Hiding In the Spotlight, which I’m currently revising and polishing before submission (sounds so naughty). This exchange is between David and Andi. They’ve known each other since high school and David’s carried a torch for her all this time, but she has no idea. Andi married David’s best friend, but is in the process of getting a divorce as her husband is nowhere to be found. (Just a hint: he doesn’t stay gone for long.) “The Weatherman” is David’s nickname for her divorce attorney.
She blushed. “You’re wrong. He’s totally into Lisa.” She began to rinse the tomato, rubbing her thumb against its shiny red skin. “I’m not that girl.”
“You’re right. You’re not that girl. You’re better.”
She turned. “Yeah, right—”
David held up his finger. “You need to listen.” He lowered his hand and she wore a quizzical smile, which made his gut twitch in anticipation. “I don’t think you know how incredible you are. I don’t think you have any idea how beautiful and sexy you are. That’s why The Weatherman can’t keep his hands off you.”
And here’s my Lucky Seven:
•Karen Stivali
•Margaret Ethridge
•Sidney Bristol–her 7 is HERE.
•Keri Ford
•Tiffany Reisz–her 7 is HERE.
•Lily Harlem
•Piper Trace
The Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (crazy) train is back, with Author/Twitter King/Master Media Manipulator Andrew Shaffer in charge. Good thing I asked him to guest back when he had a spare hour or so on his hands, far before he became, um, highly interested in the 50 Shades of Gray hullabaloo. If you haven’t had a chance to read his clever dissection, 51 Shades, you should do so. If you haven’t heard his stories about Marilyn Manson and high school in Iowa, well, that makes me happy. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be here and I do so love the sight of your face.
Andrew Shaffer
Prairie High School, Cedar Rapids, IA, Class of ’97 , Currently: Literary Bad Boy
The first concert I went to was Nine Inch Nails, with opening acts
Marilyn Manson and the Jim Rose Circus Sideshow, in Iowa City. This
was the beginning of my gothic cross-dressing phase (see photo). Trent
Reznor was probably at his musical peak, at least as far as the album
went (he was touring in support of “The Downward Spiral”), but on stage
he was a drunken mess. It didn’t matter; rock shows tend to thrive on
chaos. The opening acts stole the show, anyway: Manson masturbated
with a rubber strap-on, and one of the Jim Rose “freak show”
performers hung a cinder block from his penis. Juvenile stuff, but I
was fifteen and thought it was the greatest shit I’d ever seen.
The local paper reviewed the concert the next day under the headline, “Long on Trash, Devoid of Art.” After my parents read the review, they told me it was the last concert I was ever going to see. (It wasn’t.)
I wore the Marilyn Manson t-shirt I bought at the show to school the
next day. You can imagine what my fellow students thought of this. “A
dude with a chick’s name? What are you, some kind of [insert
homosexual slur here]?” If you didn’t like Garth Brooks, you were an
outcast at my high school. And you couldn’t get much further from
Garth Brooks than the makeup-wearing Marilyn Manson. This was before
the Internet, so it was a pretty lonely time to be a teenager with
somewhat deviant musical taste. Nowadays, the freaks can congregate
online on My Space or Tumblr or whatever kids are using.
I met Manson at a Danzig concert the following year. I have a picture of me (wearing a skirt) with his bassist somewhere. Fortunately, I couldn’t find it for this blog post, so you’re at least spared that eyesore. I told Manson my mother wasn’t the biggest fan of his work, and he signed a naked photo of himself for her, which I selfishly kept for myself. And which I also can’t find at the moment, so you’re spared that eyesore as well.
Andrew Shaffer is the author of Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love. You can be further entertained by Andrew at evilreads.com or follow him on Twitter via @andrewtshaffer and @evilwylie.
Today, I enter the ranks of the published. (Please, allow me my SQUEE moment.) My critique partner, Karen Stivali, and I are extremely proud of Long-Distance Lovers and are excited to have it out there in the world. Funny, but my last read-thru held just as much satisfaction as the many before it. My pulse raced when Tim and Jenna had their first kiss, I giggled when Tim sat mesmerized by Jenna eating a cannoli, my chest ached when things went wrong, and of course, my heart made all kinds of funny flutters when things turned around.
None of this happens without the help of some amazing people, our editor Jillian Bell near the top of the list for Karen and me. A mountain of thanks to everyone who has helped us along the way. I also want to thank my incredibly supportive friends and family, most importantly my hubby, Steve.
Enough talking! You need to be reading! Long-Distance Lovers is available from:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Ellora’s Cave | All Romance E-books
Talk about worlds funnily bumping into each other. When I began writing romance and women’s fiction, I never expected anyone from my former music biz life to crop up. Those circles seemed too disparate, no matter how hard I may have tried to bandage them together with my blog. Lo and behold, I discover that Megan Frampton, whom I first met when she was Editor at CMJ (College Music Journal) and I was lowly college radio promo girl, has long been hanging in this neck of the woods. She is author, online mega-guru, defender of Doc Martens and has my kind of taste in music, also known as awesome. Rock it, Megan…
Megan Frampton
Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School, Cambridge, MA, Class of ’82, Currently: Community Manager for HeroesandHeartbreakers.com, Author
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: The Jam—I first was into the Clash, of course, but found Paul Weller’s lower-class anger towards the ruling classes was closer to my own frustration and aspiration than the Clash’s broad socialism. Setting Sons was the album I listened to a lot.
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: Bauhaus tour poster from The Channel. I didn’t go to the show—too young (and no fake ID at the time!)—but it was a stark black and white poster with Peter Murphy’s skeletal form.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: Led Zeppelin. I have since seen the error of my ways (thank you, Soundgarden!), but I didn’t get it at all.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: So many! I got a fake ID, plus had a dad who was a music journalist, so I saw Gang of Four many times, The Clash, The Jam, UB40 (didn’t know the singer was white until he walked on stage!), X, XTC, the Cars, Mission of Burma (many times—I was in the Boston area).
Best high school make-out song: See, I didn’t make out a lot during high school, so I can’t answer this myself. But my friend was trying to get her boyfriend to like something other than disco, so she played Cheap Trick’s Heaven Tonight, side a, whenever they made out. Sort of a Pavlov’s dog thing. So I guess “Heaven Tonight.”
Megan Frampton’s newest book, Vanity Fare, will be published by William Morrow December, 2012. You can learn more about Megan at meganframpton.com. Also, be sure to check out heroesandheartbreakers.com.
Here it is…my latest blog experiment. Indulge me or not–it’s my blog. The rules are simple. Fangirls answer questions, readers vote. Everyone gets one vote, voting goes for one week. That’s it! Remember, this is for FUN!
Jennifer Anderson will be defending New Kids on the Block. Karen Booth will be defending Duran Duran. (This sounds official and legally binding on purpose.)
Question #1: What song best symbolizes your love for the band? What is so awesome about that song?
Jennifer/NKOTB: I have to start out by stating this is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever made. How do you pick just one? I mean, besides having several regular albums they also did a rockin’ Christmas album. But I think the one song that really sums up my love for the band is “Tonight”.
The song recaps some of their favorite songs and their life as a group. “Remember when we said, girl please don’t go. And how I’ll be lovin’ you forever.” “Buttons, the pins and the loud fan fare.” The song was about how much fun they had; the memories. The fans.
Karen/DD: Agreed, Jen. This is a super hard question and I thought it up so you can blame it on me. Alas, we must be good fangirls. I’m going to go old-school and say, “Save a Prayer”. It’s a singular song, especially the way the keyboards and vocals play off each other–dreamy and sexy and ooey gooey oh-so-good.
I know it’s a cliche, but SAP takes me back to my teenage days in a profound way. I hear the opening strains and I can remember exactly what it felt like to be immersed in adolescent longing–especially that deep desire for the most perfect guy ever to fall out of the sky. Preferably a tall, lanky Brit with a dangerously square chin.
Question #2: Video that best represents the true essence of your band and why.
Jennifer/NKOTB: The Right Stuff. First off, it showed all the guys having fun driving around and chilling…hello…fun which was the basis behind the group. They were friends from BeanTown, making music and making all the girls fall in love with them. Then we’re treated to dancing which any girl at the time was imitating.
And if you’re a Joey Mac fan, which we all are, he takes off in the car which shows his true artistic ability. You see, he’s the baby of the group and by far, I think, most talented. And he made all the little girls scream his name when he smiled. Awww.
Karen/DD: I have to pick Rio! It was voted the best video of all time by MTV, after all. It has everything a girl wants in a DD video. Awesome song, exotic locale, funny sub-plots, and the band in suits on a yacht.
Don’t forget the goofy arty bits (broken mirrors, splashing paint, models as tropical birds) and the fact that they’re making fun of themselves for the whole thing. There is nothing more devastating than a self-depricating rock star, mostly because it almost never happens. And the part when the lyrics say, “Tell me something, I know what you’re thinking” and JT is asleep on the boat deck? Fainting now.
Question #3: Favorite member of the band and what you adore about this person.
Jennifer/NKOTB: Joe McIntyre. He was the youngest which put him closer to my age and in my young mind, attainable. Next, you had his sweet boy charm and dimpled smile. He was the quiet shy guy who lived next door and would do anything for you. And his voice. Oh goodness. We watched him grow into his voice and when he did he was like a young Frank Sinatra (which I do believe he was referred to by a time or two).
Karen/DD: John Taylor, heretofore referred to as JT. Ah, le sigh. How do I adequately capture this in such a small space? I will try. First off, insanely good musician. Even non-DD adoring musicians bow to him. References available upon request. A close second, we have the deadly JT smile. Melts me into a puddle on the floor. Did I mention the chin? I suppose I did. Let me mention it again. The CHIN. He’s going to kill someone with that thing if he isn’t careful. After that, the brilliant eyes, the photo-shoot pout, the velvety British accent, the clever witticisms. Le sigh. Again.
Question #4: Craziest thing you ever did as a fan of this band.
Jennifer/NKOTB: Joe loved hats. Weird, crazy hats. My best friend and I bought a straw gambler style hat; something you might have seen someone from around 1904 wearing. We painted the hat and put a big peace sign on the top so when he wore it, yes we thought he’d wear it, he’d look down and share a message of peace to his fans.
Karen/DD: I paid forty dollars for a DD book that was written entirely in Japanese. I bankrolled it by babysitting, and at $1/hour, working only on the weekends, it took forever to save enough. I regularly called the record store to see if they still had it. I’m sure the guys behind the counter had an unkind nickname for me. The highlight of said Japanese DD book? A photo of JT in a teeny tiny bathing suit, standing in a pool, holding a camera. Yep.
Closing Arguments: (Again, legally binding)
Jennifer/NKOTB: New Kids on the Block became a phenomenon. I have the sheets to prove it. They opened the door for the future boy bands of America. You want to hate these groups but we all know you dance around your bedroom naked to their music. With NKOTB, they weren’t fake or pretend to sing like some groups. No they were all musicians, successful musicians with most of them branching out into the music biz on their own. They loved and adored their fans and best of all, they liked each other. They were a family.
Karen/DD: Over 100 million records sold, 21 singles in the Billboard Top 100, 14 singles in the Top 10 of the UK Singles chart. At their height, Duran Duran were a force of change in music, innovating with music videos and technology, fusing fashion and music in a way that few artists have. But now, 34 years after they started, they are still together, putting out their own records and making some of the best music of their career. The line-up is 4/5 of the original, they pack stadiums throughout the world, and have inspired countless contemporary artists. But more than any of that, they love their fans to the ends of the earth and we love them right back.
[poll id=”3″]By a handsome landslide (and I do mean handsome), the winner is Duran Duran! Woot! Thanks to everyone who voted. Stay tuned for more goofy fangirlieness sometime soon.
Jennifer Anderson isn’t just the ultimate NKOTB fangirl. She is also a kickass author! You can learn more about her at jenandersonauthor.com. Karen Booth is occasionally more than a Duran Duran fangirl. Learn more by clicking “About Me” on the top banner of this site.
