Blitz: Too Many Rock Stars by Candy J Starr

I don’t date rockers. Don’t sleep with them. Don’t even swap spit. I’ve been working as a band booker at Trouble — the coolest indie rock club in town — long enough to know what a bunch of screwed up, egotistical jerks they are. Some of them might seem okay at first but that’s just because they’ve learnt to hide it better than others.

That would be fine if Razer didn’t keep popping into my office, making himself so annoyingly attractive. And he only gets more insistent when the leather-clad Alex hits town.

While they compete for both rock glory and my affection, I get stuck in the middle but all I really want to do is save my job and the club.

That’s the trouble with my life: too many rock stars.

Too Many Rock Stars by Candy J. Starr 

(Access All Areas, #1) 

Publication date: October 30th 2015

Genres: New Adult, Romance

I checked that creep was well away from the club before I left. Violet didn't need guys like him hanging around her and I sure as hell didn't want him at the club either.

He'd definitely taken off and I needed to kill some time before heading back to the club. I’d be back as soon as the place opened to get the bitter taste of that loser out of her mind. Who was he and where had he popped up from?

I didn't like surprises. I didn't like my plans being thwarted either.

I headed to the guitar shop. That was my place. The place where everything was happy and my heart felt at ease. Who wouldn't feel good surrounded by guitars?

Heat rose from the pavement in waves that went through the soles of my boots. A day like this would almost melt the rubber. Some kids on the street threw water balloons. I kept to the side of the footpath so I didn't get accidentally hit. One of those little buggers had a devilish look in his eyes and I had no intention of ending up saturated.

I hated that my plan had failed. It'd been a good plan. I'd get into Violet's office and she'd have no chance but to give me some of her attention. The woman had to feel the heat between us. Hell, those sparks were flying out in all directions, worse than the time Bill plugged his bass into a faulty amp and ended up in the hospital. The air crackled around us. She tried to avoid it by doing that thing where she lowered her head so I couldn't see into her eyes.

She just had some crazy prejudice about dating rockers. And I won't lie, most rockers I know aren't good enough to be the dirt under her feet. Not that I'm top notch or anything, but I worshipped that woman. She's the sun to my star, the words to my melody, the jam to my peanut butter. All I wanted was a chance to prove myself and I'd be everything good – kind, loyal, loving. I'd make her breakfast in bed and massage her feet. I’d never wake her from her nap ever again.

Since the day I first met Violet, she'd been the only one for me.

Sure, she went on with all that "get out of my office" talk but she didn't mean that. Well maybe that bit about her hating to be woken up was true. I rubbed my head. That boot had hit hard. But she'd been coming around to the idea when that knob jockey turned up.

If I couldn’t be with Violet for the rest of the day, I’d check out my baby. Because the one thing I loved in this world almost as much as Violet was that guitar. Maybe I loved the Les Paul more. If Violet showed some sign of returning my love, she'd make it to the number one slot for sure, but there's only so far you can get in a man's heart when you don't requite. My baby, now she requited. She requited like a bitch on heat, responding to my touch and giving back as much as I gave her. On a good day, the best of days, she was my world.

Still, a guitar is cold comfort in the middle of the night. And I knew if I got half a chance with Violet, she'd requite too.

They were a lot alike, my two loves. The reddish-brown of Violet’s hair almost the same colour as the cherry wood. Both with curves I wanted to run my hands over. Violet had brown eyes that flashed when she got angry. It was almost worth getting her angry to see the way her eyes gleamed. She had the kind of face you wouldn’t call pretty but more strong and fierce. I’d rather a girl who looked like Violet than some boring pretty girl any day.

Phil's Music World. Not only full of fucking sweet axes but also air conditioned. Just the smell of the place comforted me. Those fresh, virgin guitars and the older well-loved ones. The wood, the metal. I wandered around the shop, taking my time, not overly anxious, working my way up to my baby. The one guitar I coveted. That bitch hanging on the wall, I'd kill a man if I could make her mine.

You couldn't walk straight in and go to her though. There was a system, a way of working up to it.

It's called foreplay.

It took me a full hour to look around the shop before approaching her. Phil, the owner, had no beef with me getting her down and playing her. He'd offered to let me have a payment plan but I didn't hold with that kind of thing. I'd save and I'd work my guts out but I couldn't let her be packed off to some back room for who knows how long until I got my shit together. I just don't do it like that.

A girl like her needed to be on display and appreciated.

It was tough at the moment though. Things were slow at the site so the boss had given me some time off. That left me free to pester Violet but didn’t help the savings anyway.

My baby would have to wait.

A shudder of anticipation went through me as I reached up to her, easing my way in with a gentle touch, when the shop bell rang. Instinctively, I turned.

Holy fuck. It was that poser. Alex Shithead. In my guitar shop.

For some reason, I retreated. I didn't want to see that guy and I definitely did not want to talk to him. I'm not the kind of man to run and hide but he'd got my back up and I didn't want trouble. I left my baby and hid behind a shop display. I'd watch him, wait for him to leave then get back to business.

He strode through the store. That's the kind of poser he was, the kind that strode, not walked.

I hoped he just wanted to get some strings or something and then leave. He'd be off my turf.

The creep barely looked around the store, just went straight to the back. He obviously wasn't a man who knew about foreplay.

He stopped just before the counter. Near my baby. Awfully close to her.

My heart jumped up to my throat and my fists balled. Get away from her, I wanted to scream. I kept pretending to look at oboes though. Fixed my gaze on them and tried to control my breathing. I could see him out of the corner of my eye. You should never take your eyes off a snake in the grass like him completely.

That poser reached up. His hand was near my baby. He grabbed her, just went straight in for the grope. What an animal.

He picked her off the wall. His filthy hands were all over her. He held her like she was nothing.

I wanted to rush him then. Inaction made my blood throb in my veins like fuel through a V8. I'd smash that fucker to bits.

Except I couldn't hurt him without harming my baby. My baby was in his arms. If I threw him to the ground, she might break or get dented.

Before I could do anything, he was at the counter, wallet out. He hadn't even played her. He'd not caressed her. He'd not known the gentle joy of her. How could you even buy a guitar without playing her first?

That traitor, Phil, smiled and nodded. He didn't care that she was going to bad home. A home where she'd never be loved like she needed to be loved. A home where she'd not be precious.

The fucker just handed over cash and took her, like she was some cheap whore on a street corner. My baby should be treated better than that.

I'm not a man who cries easily. I'm not a man who cries often but, when I saw that wanker walk out with my baby, I had to wipe a tear from my eye.

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Candy J. Starr used to be a band manager until she realised that the band she managed was so lacking in charisma that they actually sucked the charisma out of any room they played. "Screw you," she said, leaving them to wallow in obscurity - totally forgetting that they owed her big bucks for video equipment hire.

Candy has filmed and interviewed some big names in the rock business, and a lot of small ones. She's seen the dirty little secrets that go on in the back rooms of band venues. She's seen the ugly side of rock and the very pretty one.

But, of course, everything she writes is fiction. 

Want to know about new releases and secret fan only offers? Join her mailing list - http://bit.ly/160V44m

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Blitz: Live Me ~ a Pieces of Broken by Celeste Grande

Broken…

Shattered…

How can you begin to live again when you’ve already been forced to…die?

Evangelina Ricci is trapped in a world that’s a never-ending nightmare, a constant ache in which consumes her every breath. Unable to bear the torture any longer, she does the one thing she can to take back control.

Run.

With her best friend Jace in tow, Evangelina attempts to escape her darkened past by leaving for college and diving head first into an aggressive schedule, determined with everything she is to make a name for herself. There’s only one problem—she can’t run away from the demons she struggles with. The demons that’ll forever be there, locked inside, battering her soul. Hiding behind a flawless façade, Evangelina faces her ghosts until her world is turned upside down, invaded by…him.

Blake Turner. Sweet, witty, flirtatious and drop-dead gorgeous, he finds Evangelina at every turn. Scared he’ll uncover the truth she keeps so well guarded, Evangelina tries her best to put on her act, deterring him like she has so many times before—only this guy’s different. He’s relentless. Utterly, absolutely and completely relentless. He sees her and he wants her and won’t stop until she’s his.

Will Evangelina succeed in pushing Blake away? Or will he break down her walls and be the person to make her realize life is worth living?

Live Me ~ a Pieces of Broken novel by Celeste Grande 

Publication date: October 27th 2015

Genres: Contemporary, New Adult

I drew my knees into my chest and began to sing. In hysterics, my fingernails gouged holes in the flesh on my shins. The words barely made it past my lips as salty tears invaded my mouth. Right here, I wanted to forget the person who did this to me, who made me this way.

You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

God help me. I couldn’t do this anymore. I just wanted to end it. That would be the only way to make it better. Free myself of the agony. Living this way just wasn’t worth it anymore. I might as well finish myself off all at once instead of shutting down one cell at a time.

            I ripped the portals of torment from my ears and threw them down in disgust. “Please, God. Give me a sign. Something. Anything. What am I supposed to do?” I shivered, a weeping lump of flesh.

            The silence around me was deafening. The only sound was the sporadic hitch of air that came from your chest after a good bout of hysterics.

            Breathe in. Breathe out. Hitch.

            Breathe in. Breathe out. Hitch. Hitch.

            Frantically wiping up and down my face, I dragged myself off the lounge chair. Going to the perimeter of the roof, I peered down, wondering what it would feel like to free fall to the bottom. Take hold of my fate and say fuck it. Break these chains and finally be free.

I pulled myself up and over the cold cement rail and settled my back against it. Holding on, I stared down at the tiny cars as I inched up on my tippy toes and leaned forward. Maybe I could fly like a blackbird. Dragging my bottom lip between my teeth, I creeped further, teetering on the edge. My stomach lurched, and I swallowed hard.

            Pussy.

            Another breath and I pushed back, unable to go through with it. That prick wasn’t worth ending my life over. He’d already taken too much of me; I couldn’t allow him that as well.

You were only waiting for this moment to be free.

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Celeste Grande grew up loving words. From an early age, it was easy for her to open her heart through pen and paper and come away with something poetic. She never thought anything more than releasing her emotions would come of it though. A workaholic that can’t keep still, in her ‘real’ life, she’s a Certified Public Accountant who dreams of writing sexy books all day long. When she isn’t working, she’s reading, writing, mommying and being a wifey to the love of her life.

She lives in New York, still putting pen to paper and anxiously awaiting the debut of her first novel, Live Me, a new adult romance, in October of 2015.

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Release Day: Need to Love You by Megan Smith

Just when you thought you had it all.

Chloe Cahill’s dreams changed after becoming pregnant in high school. She married her high school sweetheart just after graduation and together they welcomed a handsome son into the world. Now that Alex, her son, is in school she sets her eyes on finding the perfect job. Chloe feels the need to grow dependent upon herself instead of always relying on her husband.

But what happens when her husband’s eyes start to wander?

Jackson Cahill thought he did the right thing by marrying his pregnant girlfriend just out of high school. Lately he’s been feeling restless in his marriage. One late night of drinking turns his life upside down but it just doesn’t end there. Jackson’s got himself in a real mess, both at home and work. The dilemma may just be too big of a disarray for him to get out of.

Can Chloe and Jackson keep their marriage from falling apart? Or will they decide to veer down different paths?

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USA TODAY bestselling author Megan Smith is a New Jersey native creating the memorable characters her fans have grown to adore. Smith is a wife and mother, who makes time for her family, professional life and the creation of her fictional characters. Fans of The Love Series— Trying Not To Love You, Easy To Love You, Hard To Love You, Let Me Love You and Made To Love You — are captivated by relationships, special bonds and family ties pervasive in Smith's emotional, energized and engaging work. Smith is also the author of the 2014 releases, Finding Us (Finding Series), Forever Light (Forever Love) and a few top-secret projects. Literary Agency Representation: Jamie Bodnar-Drowley of Inklings Literary Agency   

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Review: Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson

Completely revised and updated throughout, Bryan Peterson's classic guide to creativity helps photographers visualize their work, and the world, in a whole new light by developing their photographic vision.

     Fully revised with 100 percent new photography, this best-selling guide takes a radical approach to creativity by explaining how it is not just an inherent ability but a skill that can be learned and applied. Using inventive photos from his own stunning portfolio, author and veteran photographer Bryan Peterson deconstructs creativity for photographers. He details the basic techniques that go into not only taking a particular photo, but also provides insights on how to improve upon it--helping readers avoid the visual pitfalls and technical dead ends that can lead to dull, uninventive photographs. This revised edition features a complete section on color as a design element and all new photographs to illustrate Peterson's points. Learning to See Creatively is the definitive reference for any photographer looking for a fresh perspective on their work.

 

Well-written, accessible and helpful. Learning to See Creatively is a great book for both new and experienced photographers. I think beginners could gain more knowledge by reading this book in a few hours than you would in hours of reading tips online. It is clear and simple. As a photography student, it opened my mind to different thinking and approaches. I enjoyed all the beautiful photos and plan to incorporate much of the information into my own work.

I would recommend it to any aspiring photographers, or anyone who just wants to learn more about creative photography.

*I received this book free of charge from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Bryan Peterson is a professional photographer, internationally known instructor, and founder of www.PPSOP.com, The Perfect Picture School of Photography. He is also the best-selling author of Understanding Exposure, Learning to See Creatively,Understanding Shutter Speed, Understanding Close-Up Photography, Understanding Digital Photography, Beyond Portraiture, and, most recently, Bryan Peterson's Understanding Photography Field Guide. His easy-to-understand writing and teaching style breaks down the complex and often confusing aspects of photography, translating them into what his students routinely describe as "aha" moments. In addition, he has been a commercial photographer for over 30 years, shooting annual reports for many Fortune 500 companies, and his trademark use of color and strong, graphic composition have garnered him many photographic awards, including the New York Art Director's Gold Award and honors from Communication Arts and Print magazine. He currently splits his time between Chicago and France.