(Chasing The Dream #1)
Publication date: June 17th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
-Synopsis:
Publication date: June 17th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult
-Synopsis:
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.
-Purchase:
--B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/more-than-music-elizabeth-briggs/1119713319?ean=2940149388080
-Excerpt:
“I need your
help,” Jared said, fixing an intense gaze on me. “We have a live audition
tomorrow for The Sound. Problem is, our bassist quit last night, and we
need a fourth member of the band.”
“What?” Was he
saying what I thought he was saying? No. Impossible.
“I know—worst
timing ever. Can you play bass by any chance?”
“No…”
His face fell
for an instant, and some reckless part of me wanted to lie and say yes or
promise him I’d learn. How hard could it be to learn the bass if I knew how to
play guitar, right? Though I immediately realized how dumb that idea was
because a) I could never learn bass in time for an audition tomorrow; b) I
shouldn’t care about making Jared happy, even if his disappointed face broke my
heart; and c) none of that mattered because he couldn’t possibly be asking me
to join his band anyway.
“That’s okay,”
he said. “I can play bass, and you can play guitar. It’ll work.” His smile lit
up his face again, with a look that could charm any girl lucky enough to bask in
it. Right now, that girl was me. “So what do you think?”
Jared was
asking me—me—to play guitar in his band. In an audition on live TV. In
front of four of the greatest musicians ever, plus millions of people at home.
Mind. Blown. Somehow I’d been handed my secret dream on a silver platter. Next
up, Jared would ask me out, too. Yeah, and then we’d ride off into the sunset
on a rainbow unicorn with our million-dollar record deal.
“You want me to
join your band?” I asked slowly, studying him for any sign that this was all a
joke.
“Just for the
audition. That should give us enough time to find another bass player to take
Becca’s place.”
Ah, there was
the catch. I would only play with them for one day, giving me a tiny taste of
their lifestyle, and then they’d drop me as soon as the audition was over. No,
better to never know what it would be like to play guitar on stage, to be part
of a band, to make music with Jared and Kyle. Besides, I couldn’t play guitar
in front of the world. Guitar was my secret, my fun escape, and nothing more.
My internship started on Monday, and I needed to focus on that—not on silly
dreams of being a rock star.
“I’m sorry, but
I can’t.” I spun around and rushed toward the exit before he could respond. I
didn’t want him to see my face and how much I desperately wanted to do it.
“Wait!” He ran
after me, but I kept going, past other students who watched us with curiosity.
“Maddie, wait!”
Damn his long
legs. He caught up to me, practically jumping in front of me to stop me in my
tracks. I kept my face glued to the floor, to the contrast of his black combat
boots and my green Converse. I couldn’t look up at him or I’d be tempted to say
yes to anything.
He lowered his
voice. “Please, you’re the only person who can help us. You’re an amazing
guitarist, and you already know our songs. We need you.”
I shook my
head, looking anywhere but at him. Hearing him say he needed me with his
whiskey-chocolate-sex voice made my legs a bit shaky, but what he was asking
for? It was too much.
Jared got down
on his knees, right in the middle of the hallway, and everyone stopped to watch
us. He raised his hands like he was begging. “Please, this is our one chance,
but without a fourth member, we can’t do it. You’re perfect and it’ll only be
for a day, and then I’ll owe you. I’ll do anything you want.” He topped it off
with a grin. “Help me, Maddie Taylor, you’re my only hope.”
Damn. How could
I say no to a Star Wars reference from a hot guy on his knees? The word
slipped out before I could stop it. “Okay.”
-Interview:
Where did you get the idea for More Than Music?
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.
What kind of research did you do for More Than Music?
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!
How did you pick the songs in More Than Music?
I tried to pick songs that are
well-known because I wanted anyone who is a fan of rock music to recognize most
of them by name (especially since I couldn’t include lyrics due to copyright
issues). I also chose songs that reflect what the characters are experiencing
in the book, so that each song is like background music for what Maddie and
Jared are going through.
The show in More Than Music is obviously based on The Voice, but were any of the
characters based on particular celebrities?
None of the characters were based on any
particular celebrity, but many characters were loosely inspired by them. The
most obvious one is Jared, who was named after Jared Leto, the singer of Thirty
Seconds To Mars. Both Jareds are flirty, talented, and hard-working, but also
pretty down-to-earth – and both have brothers in their bands, too. And the
mentors on the show were inspired by lots of different musicians all rolled
into one. For example, Dan was loosely based on Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, and
Chris Cornell, but also had a little Adam Levine and Blake Shelton in him, too.
What’s next in the Chasing the Dream series?
First up is Kyle’s prequel novella, MORE
THAN EXES, set at the Battle of the Bands that leads to the gig at the
beginning of MORE THAN MUSIC. Next will be Hector’s novella, set a week after
MORE THAN MUSIC at Comic-Con. After that, I’ll be writing books about Maddie’s
best friends Julie and Carla, but you’ll have to wait a little longer for info
on those, sorry!
-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.
-Author Links:
-Author Links:
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