Karen Booth
If you haven’t heard me squealing about it on Facebook or Twitter, ’80s Mix Tape is out now! This incredible collection includes seven (yes, seven!) all-new novellas about love in the ’80s, each inspired by an iconic song from the decade. It’s such an honor to have my story, Save a Prayer, alongside the work of so many brilliant authors. (For fans of Bring Me Back, SAP is set against the backdrop of the Banks Forest heyday and tells Graham and Angie’s love story.) In the mood to reminisce about one of the greatest musical decades ever? This anthology is all you need, and it’s only 99 cents in eBook format! That low, low price is a limited time thing, btw. Take a hint, darlings. Buy it in a timely fashion! And now that my sales pitch has come to its logical conclusion, allow me to welcome my guest for the 87th installment of Rock ‘n’ Roll High School–Becky McDonald, the heroine of Need You Tonight from ’80s Mix Tape. She filled it out prior to the opening scene. Poor Becky. Sounds like she’s having a hard time letting a certain guy go.
Becky McDonald, Silver Pines High, Silver Pines, WA, Class of ’83
Currently: It’s 1986 and I’m a nurse at Olympic Peninsula General
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: ZZTop! The Eliminator album came out senior year. We listened to it so many times I wore out my cassette tape! Also, the videos were amazing. We used to watch MTV all night long waiting for “Legs” to come back on. We loved the makeover the mousy girl got. Especially since most of us were mousy like she was.
Jacob, my boyfriend at the time, could play all the songs.
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: My ex-boyfriend’s Van Halen concert shirt. I still have it. I wear it to bed every night. I haven’t seen Jacob in two years, but he’ll always be the one, you know?
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: I pretty much liked all music, but Jacob could not handle Madonna at all. But he was a rocker, a real bad boy.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: Jacob took to me to a lot of concerts and shows. Journey, Van Halen, Scorpions…but my favorite was always him. I loved watching him play and sing. He and his friends used to jam a lot, and I always thought they were going places. They finally named themselves in 1984—Ironwing. But I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Just like Jacob and I weren’t meant to be. He’s actually on the run from the law now. He did…well…it’s a long story. But I’ll never see him again. Part of me knows it’s for the best, I suppose. But I can’t listen to rock bands without wondering what could have been for him. For us.
Best high school make-out song: I lost my virginity to “Waiting for a Girl like You” by Foreigner, but our song was “Open Arms” by Journey.
Read Becky and Jacob’s story in Need You Tonight by Gwen Hayes in ‘80s Mix Tape. For more information about Gwen Hayes, please visit gwenhayes.com or hang out with her on Twitter @gwenhayes.
Last week, I reached a milestone in my romance writing career with an amazing review from RT Magazine for ‘Pregnant by the Rival CEO’, the highlight of which, reads:
“This captivating romance appeals on many levels, from the forbidden lovers angle to the strong, dynamic characters.”–4.5 stars and a Top Pick, RT Magazine
The Top Pick from RT is the sort of validation that keeps an author going for a long time. Since writing this book nearly killed me, the accolade is all the sweeter. The plot was a mess for what felt like months, and I was sure I was never going to figure it out. Only some serious mental gymnastics could help me, and in the end, I ended up with one of my most twisty-turny plots (that’s the technical term). So yay!
‘Pregnant by the Rival CEO’ comes out January 1st in digital formats, and will be in stores in mass market paperback January 5th. I have a Goodreads giveaway going if you’d like the chance to win a copy before it hits shelves! You might as well try, right?
Welcome to the final day of the ’90s Playlist RNRHS party! If you’re playing catch-up, this collection kills it with six all-new novellas about sex, love, and being young in the ’90s, inspired by some of the most iconic songs from the decade. And it’s available for a steal at 99 cents! Don’t be silly about it any longer. Please, pick up your copy now! Today’s post is from author Lorelie Brown, who was fortunate enough to have a friend in high school with a Ford Escort hatchback, complete with flames. As if that detail wasn’t damning enough, she also managed to see No Doubt by accident, for free, back “in the day”. We must all bow now to her superior cool factor.
Lorelie Brown, Costa Mesa High School, Costa Mesa, CA, Class of ’98
Currently: I write contemporary and historical romance, and as a day job I work for a local Parks & Rec department. No, I haven’t seen the show. Not even a little.
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: Sublime, absolutely and the song Santeria in particular. It reminds me of riding in my best friend’s Ford Escort hatchback, which had flames painted on the nose because we were ironic before ironic was cool. And in my memories we are always ditching AP English Lit to go to Huntington Beach for a couple hours before swim team practice. (Sorry, Dad!) (But it’s okay, because I got a 5 on my exam.)
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: I didn’t have any music memorabilia. Fail, I know. I decorated my room with surfers, mostly. Can you really blame me though? Surfers are hot.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: 311. So many yawns. Plus there was this really annoying guy named Travis who loved them, so even if I had been inclined to give 311 the benefit of the doubt, he’d have tipped me over into hate it land.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: I went to Lillith Fair & had a great time, but I think the coolest show I saw was No Doubt. It was 1995 and I’d just been to the movies at Triangle Square, a mall in Costa Mesa. When I came out of the movie, there was this band playing to a medium sized crowd. The lead singer was a tiny blonde who danced like she was on a trampoline. I only had time to listen to a couple songs before I had to get home, but I looked them up when I got home. Tragic Kingdom had just come out but no one outside Orange County, CA was listening to them yet. That changed quickly.
Best high school make-out song: You Were Meant For Me by Jewel. What can I say, I was one of those girls who fell in love super quick. (Frankly, my slight “please love me” desperation is probably why I didn’t get asked out a lot in high school.)
Lorelie Brown is the author of Creep, from the Romance Rewind Anthology, ’90s Playlist. You can find out more about Lorelie and her other books, including her latest, Ahead in the Heat, at loreliebrown.com.
Welcome to Day Three of the ’90s Playlist RNRHS party! If you’re just now getting in on the fun, this collection rocks six all-new novellas about sex, love, and being young in the ’90s, inspired by some of the most iconic songs from the decade. And it’s available for the kick-ass price of 99 cents! Do yourself a favor and pick up your copy now! Today’s post is from author Jennifer Blackwood, who’d love to lure you in with vivid imagery of high school tennis and Eminem.
Jennifer Blackwood, Class of ’05
Currently: Author/Teacher
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: Eminem reminds me the most of high school. During tennis team practices, we used to blare his music (I imagine how silly we probably looked as we rapped Just Lose It while practicing volleys). Another song that was integral to every high school dance was Hot in Herre by Nelly. It was the ultimate grinding song, and I distinctly remember being at an after-football dance in tenth grade dancing with my girlfriends, trying to make my ex jealous with my sweet dance moves. I look back and cringe, but then again, half my high school existence was cringe-worthy.
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: Hmm I had A LOT of music memorabilia from middle school (Nsync posters, marionettes, magazines, etc…) but not a whole lot from high school. I’d have to say my favorite was probably my Usher poster. He was shirtless and it was glorious.
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: I absolutely hated Jimmy Eat World. COULD. NOT. STAND. THEM. And everyone else in high school adored them. Whenever someone blasted it in the car, I just wanted to bang my head against the window. For real.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: I saw Coldplay in concert my senior year and it was at the Gorge Amphitheater. I went with my two best friends and an Abercrombie model I met at choir camp—I shit you not. It was the first time I’d gone to a concert without my parents (because they were overprotective and thought I would get into trouble) and I totally got into lots of trouble after the concert.
Best high school make-out song: Anything by either R. Kelly or Usher!
Jennifer Blackwood is an English teacher and contemporary romance author. She lives in Oregon with her husband, son, and poorly behaved black lab puppy. When not chasing after her toddler, you can find her binging on episodes of Gilmore Girls and Supernatural, and locking herself in her office to write. You can find more about Jennifer, including her latest release, Foolproof, at jenniferblackwood.com.
Tune in tomorrow for another RNRHS ’90s Playlist installment, this time from author Lorelei Brown!
It’s Day Two of our slate of RNRHS posts celebrating the release of ’90s Playlist, a Romance Rewind Anthology! If you weren’t here yesterday, this collection includes six all-new novellas about sex, love, and being young in the ’90s, inspired by some of the most iconic songs from the decade. Did I mention it’s available for the amazeballs price of 99 cents? Do yourself a favor and pick up your copy now! Today’s post was dictated to Audra North, a past contributor to RNRHS, by Jill Kramer, the hero in her story Worthwhile.
Jill Kramer, Hickory High School, Class of ’93
Currently: I’m a junior at Penn State, just starting a semester abroad in Leeds, England
Band and/or song that reminds you the most of high school: U2! I listened to their Achtung Baby album pretty much nonstop during my senior year. I hope I get to see them in concert someday. They’re not touring now which totally sucks.
Favorite piece of music memorabilia (poster, t-shirt, etc.) in high school: Does a Wayne’s World poster count? I loved that movie and I thought the poster was hilarious, so I bought one and stuck it on the back of my bedroom door. It’s still there, I think, unless my parents took it down. (They better have saved it if they did.)
Band that you hated that everyone else at school seemed to love: Ace of Base. I mean, yeah, the songs are catchy, but they’re also bad. Like, I could probably hum one right now from memory but I’d end up hating myself for it.
Best show or concert you saw in high school: My parents didn’t let me go to concerts, but one night there was a ska band playing in this coffee shop I used to go to with my bff and they were pretty good, so…yeah, I know. That was a sad answer.
Best high school make-out song: Not like I want to be too obvious, here, but definitely Depeche Mode’s I Feel You.
Jill Kramer is the heroine in Audra North’s Worthwhile, from the Romance Rewind Anthology, ’90s Playlist. You can find out more about Audra and her books, including her latest, In The Fast Lane, at audranorth.com.
Be sure to come back tomorrow for author Jennifer Blackwood’s installment of RNRHS!
