Title: Rocked (Lost in Oblivion #1)
Genre:New Adult Contemporary Romance
Length: 474 pages
Release Date: April 9, 2014
Book 1 in the NA rock star series, Lost in Oblivion
Love definitely wasn't on the setlist.
Opening for their idols on their first tour, Oblivion is living the dream. Mostly. Frustrated at being shoved out of his mediator role by their new manager, Deacon McCoy loses himself in brutal workouts. He only comes up for air long enough to refuel—and to tease the deliciously cute chef who makes him crave a lot more than what she's offering on her serving plate.
As the child of roadie parents, Harper Pruitt has heard every pickup line twice. To her, musicians are one step above the scraps on her cutting board. All she wants is to get enough experience to run her own catering company, but Deacon and his bottomless stomach are too tempting to resist. He's far from the typical rock star and before long, she finds herself experimenting with him, inside and out of the kitchen.
Apron - and panties - optional.
When Harper sees that Deacon’s dream band with his best friends may be turning into a nightmare, she can't walk away. Deacon's so much more than just a peacemaker and the man behind the bass. But she has her own dreams to chase...even if she's starting to think what she's building with him might be the biggest one of all.
You met Deacon McCoy in SEDUCED, now you can watch just how far a big man can fall.
The air was heavy with the scent of lemongrass and magnolia blossoms. There was a stillness to the moment. Deacon closed his eyes and let it all in. He blocked out the conversations and the sheer size of the venue. Instead he focused on their music resonating through the amphitheater and Simon’s powerhouse vocals shredding the air.
He opened his eyes just in time to see Simon jump into the pit and past the startled security. He ran up the aisle with a whoop of delight. The gasp of surprise from the crowd turned to a murmur of response that spread through the pavilion. People on the lawn stood to see what the commotion was about.
“You like cover songs?” Simon shouted. “Okay, so you may not know our stuff, but everyone knows David Coverdale. At least you should know Whitesnake. And if you don’t? Shame on you.” Deacon shadowed his eyes against the spotlights. Christ, was all the way at the back of the house? He squinted—yep, he was climbing the railing. Son of a bitch. ”Guys…how about a little Tawny Kitaen anthem?”
“Oh, shit.” Jazz hopped off her drum riser and zipped over to the keyboard. “Here I Go Again” was their cover song for the night, but it was later in the set. The drawn out keyboard solo filled the bowl of the venue. The soundboard tech scrambled to catch up, punched the keyboard’s sound up and equalized Simon’s microphone to match it.
Nick and Gray flanked the stage, and the spot in the center where Simon belonged felt too empty. Deacon moved forward and did backup vocals like they’d rehearsed.
The guitars showcased the strengths of Gray’s classical abilities and Nick’s raw edge. Not to mention the song had a built-in guitar duel thanks to David Coverdale’s penchant for two guitarists with egos the size of their hair.
Deacon watched the people warm to Simon. Evidently the jump-in-the-crowd deal worked in the large venues just as thoroughly as Frenzy a few months ago. By the end of the song, there was an uptick in people who were standing and singing along. When the band moved into their current single, the crowd showed a little more interest.
Thank you, radio hit.
Simon crawled onto the stage and owned the next three songs. By the time their thirty minutes were up, they got the all good signal to play the full forty. With “The Becoming”, they held the crowd by the balls.
As his bass resonated through the end of the song, Deacon looked out into the crowd. People were on their feet. They were actually cheering, for fuck’s sake. He felt a small hand grip his and couldn’t stop a smile when Jazz dragged him out to the front of the stage to make their bows.
Himself, Jazz, Simon, Nick and Gray. This was what they’d gone through hell to find. His heart tried to beat its way out of his chest as he sucked in a breath. Exhaustion and adrenaline battled it out through his bloodstream.
They bowed as a unit, waved, and ran to the side stage. Deacon looked over his shoulder one last time at the crowd still cheering for them and laughed.
The Driving Force
Part of it is being current. As Indie authors, we have the capability to jump in, work hard, and get our product out when we want. We aren’t at the mercy of a schedule from a publishing house. This works especially well when writing a series like, Lost in Oblivion. When people are invested in a series they truly hate to wait. We can ramp up our release schedule to suit that. Does that mean we lose quality in our product? Nope. Not with Cari in my corner anyway. She keeps me honest. I get too excited and want to share everything. She drags me back into reality and makes sure whatever we put out is the very best we can be at that time.
Because another part of our driving force is learning from our mistakes. When something doesn’t work, we have the capability of adjusting and correcting, and yet we don’t HAVE to follow the whims of an editor. We are the editor. Even when we use professional editors to clean up our manuscripts we have the final say in what does or doesn’t go in the book. In the end, it’s all up to us whether a story works or not. That’s a heady feeling—terrifying as well, but definitely more on the exciting end. Most of the time. LOL
And as unromantic as it is, the last reason we keep moving so fast in an ever-changing market? Making a living. Cari Quinn is a full time author, and I strive to be one by next year. Being an Indie author actually allows that to happen. At least for us. There’s a helluva lot more pressure, but we both tend to work a little better with that little push. Because at the core of us, we’re also readers and enjoy various forms of entertainment. So when the work gets hard sometimes we just want to go hide with a book and shut out the world. When said world reminds us we have to pay the electric bill, it makes us get back to work.
Thanks so much for having us. We have so many plans for the next few months. Please make sure to check our websites and sign up for our newsletter to stay in the loop about the rest of the men and women of Oblivion, as well as our spin off series that’s developing thanks to such interesting supporting characters.
My question to you…do you like books to link outside the original series? Or do you prefer a finite end and get a fresh roster of characters to love?
Our Proces
How the heck do you co-write? Oh, this question makes me squirm. I’m sure some authors have a better answer—at least a more cohesive one. Because Cari and I hash out an idea over the phone usually. For HOURS. We totally get lost in an idea. Then, because we’re both of the seat-of-our-pants mentality, we take off and running inside the story and sometimes…okay, most of the time…we go off plot.
But that works for us! We’re best friends in and out of the realm of writing. We trust each other to be able to adjust and rework an idea to suit. Does Cari want to use a sledgehammer to my skull sometimes? Suuuure. But the joy of being writers that aren’t a slave to the original plot is that we sometimes find something even more exciting on a re-visit to the storyline.
We also check in with each other all the time. And more trust comes into play because when we have those a-ha moments, the other half gets even more excited about a project. Sometimes after a beating must occur. I kid…sort of. ;)
All in all, Cari Quinn and I just love to jump in the sandbox that is our series of characters and play with them. All sorts of hilarious things happen. Especially to Simon Kagan from Oblivion. His story is going to be a hoot to write!
So, to end this…our process is simply to trust in the story and my partner. I know Cari won’t steer me wrong and vice versa.
If you’d like to hear more about the guys from our Lost in Oblivion series, or learn about the spin off series for supporting characters coming this summer…heh. Then visit our websites and sign up for our newsletter. All sorts of fun happens in the newsletter.
Also, the WORD WENCHES on Facebook is a blast. It’s a reader group that Cari and I have cultivated. Actually more like the Wenches took on a life of their own. And man do we have fun in there.
Thanks so much for having us and giving the Big Guy—aka Deacon McCoy—a chance. ROCKED was a labor of love and I think it comes through in our very first road trip with the boys of Oblivion.
My question to leave you…do you like spin-off stories? Or better yet, do you like series at all?
How Characters Are Born
Which of your characters are you most like? This question was posed on our writer group board. It seemed like the perfect topic for a blog post. YAY Wenches. That’s what we call ourselves. If you want to join a ridiculously fun group of women you should definitely check out the Word Wenches on Facebook. Oh the conversations that go on in there.
Cari and I formed it as a reader group and it totally evolved from there. We talk about all sorts of topics. But I warn you, it’s no for the faint of heart. LOL Things get racy in there!
Anyway, I digress. Characters…now this is my own vision of characters. Cari has a whole different way of doing things. For me? There’s always a little bit of me in there. Whether it’s the person I want to be, what I wished to be, or hope to become…all of it bleeds into the characters I create.
Especially the bad traits. All those little things you know you shouldn’t do make for perfect bits of conflict. In the Oblivion series the characters I created there’s a host of crazy that came along with it.
Deacon McCoy—gets to be the protector. I’m a big sister, so I tapped into the protective side of me. As well as the stubborn parts of me. And the judgmental part of me.
Simon Kagan—the flirty side of me that wishes I could act on my baser instincts. I let that side out of me…big time. Whoosh, that boy is a little bit of a playboy. Actually, no doubt about it. LOL But he’s also genuinely sweet and has a severe soft side for animals. He’s also far more sensitive than he lets on to the outside world.
Harper Pruitt—she’s the independent spirit I strive to be. She’s the proud and brave woman that is out there on her own and making it work. She’s also the one that trips and falls on her face when love steps in and changes her plans. And makes her change her focus for the better. That to be successful, she doesn’t have to be alone.
But those are just the ones in ROCKED. You’ll meet more of my crazy creations as the series goes on. As well as the plans we have for a spin off series. Oh the books we have in mind! It’s good to be an Indie author. I get to try out so many different things!
Thanks so much for having me on the blog. We hope to see you on the road.
I’ll leave you with a question for the comments. Do you need to identify with a character to enjoy a book? Or are you okay with just enjoying the ride?
Music
The story builds out of the playlist we create for each storyline. Sometimes not every song stays on the playlist. It’s as fluid as our plotlines sometimes. LOL
But one thing remains true. It becomes a character in our story. The sounds, he tone, the lyrics, and the emotional punch all drive scenes. Sometimes we have to listen to the same damn song 762 times and then can’t listen to it again, or in the case of Rocked…I’ve listened to the same soundtrack for 8mos and got a little tired of it. But I couldn’t not listen to it when I was writing the draft.
Even the edits needed it as my backdrop.
However, I’m not entirely sure I can listen to Radioactive from Imagine Dragons anytime soon. That one was on rotation…a lot!!
But then there was Keith Urban’s, Cop Car. That will always have a special place in my heart and be forever immortalized in a scene in the Texas chapters of Rocked.
Thanks so much for having me on the blog.
How do you feel about music? Is there a song that makes you smile and crank it? Or snap off the radio so fast you get a wrist sprain? Let me know in he comments!
My playlist for Rocked on Spotify:
ROCKED
After reading Seduced, I never expected to be blown away again by the second book. I was wrong! This story just gets better and more complex.
Once again our author takes us as partners in this journey to stardom. This band called Oblivion has tenuous life...meaning this band is not yet cohesive. They have been thrown together out of necessity and they still lack the cohesiveness of a team.
Our story focuses on Deacon, the bassist. He is the conscience and compass of this band. They all do not know it yet, but it is this steadfastness that keeps them all together even during times where the whole thing might blow up in their faces.
But this is not just about the band. This is also a story of the search for fulfillment, acceptance and love. We are all too lonely and without that anchor in our personal lives, success is just a word.
Well done, Cari! Your story just keeps getting better and better! I am hooked!
About the Authors
Taryn Elliott
I'm from the great state of New York--upstate NY, thank you very much. My family consists of a brother who takes care of keeping the snarky side of me alive and a dog that is more spoiled child than mutt. My writer-friends are the glue that keeps my crazy ideas more in the sane category, and my non-writerly friends are the reason I'm not a complete hermit. I can't go a day without laughing and I truly do fall in love with each and every one of my leading men as I write their book. Music is life and every story has its own soundtrack.
I'm shamelessly addicted to the internet and adore hearing from readers.
Cari Quinn
USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn wrote her first story—a bible parable—in 2nd grade, much to the delight of the nuns at her Catholic school. Once she saw the warm reception that first tale garnered, she was hooked. Now she gets to pen sexy romances for a living and routinely counts her lucky stars. When she’s not scribbling furiously, she can usually be found watching men’s college basketball, playing her music way too loud or causing trouble. Sometimes simultaneously.
The only thing she loves more than writing is hearing from readers!
I'm from the great state of New York--upstate NY, thank you very much. My family consists of a brother who takes care of keeping the snarky side of me alive and a dog that is more spoiled child than mutt. My writer-friends are the glue that keeps my crazy ideas more in the sane category, and my non-writerly friends are the reason I'm not a complete hermit. I can't go a day without laughing and I truly do fall in love with each and every one of my leading men as I write their book. Music is life and every story has its own soundtrack.
I'm shamelessly addicted to the internet and adore hearing from readers.
USA Today bestselling author Cari Quinn wrote her first story—a bible parable—in 2nd grade, much to the delight of the nuns at her Catholic school. Once she saw the warm reception that first tale garnered, she was hooked. Now she gets to pen sexy romances for a living and routinely counts her lucky stars. When she’s not scribbling furiously, she can usually be found watching men’s college basketball, playing her music way too loud or causing trouble. Sometimes simultaneously.
The only thing she loves more than writing is hearing from readers!
Stalker Links
Book Links
Other Books in this Series
Seduced (Lost in Oblivion #.5)
I love reading a good rock 'n roll novel. I look for quality not quantity. This means I want to know the characters, what inspires them, what drives them to succeed in such a vicious and unforgiving industry. Also, I look for a cohesive story that has a rhythm to it and is well written. Well, I found it in this book.
This is the Pre-Quel to the Lost in Oblivion Series by Cari Quinn. It is straight-forward, raw, without the trappings of fantasy. Yes, it is a work of fiction, but the plot line and characters are so real, you can almost touch them.
In this installment of the series, we get the story behind how the current members of Oblivion came together. This is a tenuous union. These individuals are not all friends. In fact right away there is tension and sides taken. They come together out of necessity and accidentally stumble into the perfect union of sound and magic. Together, they come up with a unique mix that enthralls the fans. Now the struggle is to improve on it and keep it together despite what is going on in their personal lives.
Seldom do I find such a detailed story of the journey to stardom. Immerse yourself in this story and enjoy!
Book Links
Future books in the works...
No comments:
Post a Comment