Today I'm delighted to be a part of the blog tour for Portia MacIntosh's upcoming release, 'How Not To Be Starstruck', organised by Gosling Girls Book Tours!
Nicole Wilde’s life is one of sell-out gigs, bunking on tour buses, trashing hotels and partying with the band all night long. But she’s not in the band. She is a music journalist, paid to be the world’s greatest groupie– and she loves it!
Nicole has the party lifestyle – and the hangovers to prove it – but no one stops her in the supermarket on a bad hair day. Until she is papped in an incriminating position with recently married mega-star Dylan King of The Burnouts and the tabloids start hounding her. This isn’t so fun. Especially when her make-up is a mess and she hasn’t yet had a chance to clean her teeth.
Dylan accuses her of ruining his marriage. His handsome PR agent, Charles, calls her a tart. She has to take gorgeous Luke from Two For the Road to hospital after a drug incident. And she’s dropped her mobile phone in the bath! Too much celebrity lifestyle for one week? Time to slow down and take stock? Maybe for somebody else. But Nicole Wilde is going to come out fighting!
Thanks to Portia for writing this guest post to tell us a bit more about the characters in 'How Not To Be Starstruck'!
If there's one thing I want to make sure people know before they read my books, it's that they are fictional. When people find out that my novels are inspired by my time touring with bands and working in the music industry, they assume that everything is real and that I have just changed a name here or an instrument there, but that is not the case. ‘How Not to be Starstruck’ tell the tale of music journalist Nicole Wilde, and the situations she finds herself in thanks to her famous mates, newsworthy relationships and generally chaotic lifestyle.
I want my books to give people a fun yet honest insight into the music world so I took inspiration from real events and real people, but the thing I want to stress is that the people in my books are not based on anyone in particular, they are the embodiment of a particular type of person that I often encounter.
Here are some of the characters from ‘How Not to be Starstruck’ and the prequel ‘Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place’…
Nicole Wilde is the main character in ‘How Not to be Starstruck’. Like so many girls I meet, Nicole just wants to be in with the in crowd. She has grown up around rockstars, which is something she and I have in common, so I know just how messed up that can leave you. These people want to have fun, they don't want to grow up and settle down. If you spend enough time in a world where that is normal, you're going to get out of sync with the "real world" and that can be tricky to deal with.
Dylan King is a rockstar, and I don't just mean a star in the rock genre. I'm talking 1980s style, out of control. He thinks he can do what he wants, sleep with who he wants and drink as much as he wants, so long as he shows his face on stage every now and then, he can live his life in this fun blur. I know hundreds of Dylans in the real world, and they range from the truly despicable type that make your skin crawl, to the charming loveable rogues who you can't help but laugh at. I tried to make Dylan a mixture of both, just to show you what the Nicoles of this world are up against.
Troy Reeves was a character in ‘Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place’, who is briefly mentioned in ‘How Not to be Starstruck’. He represents TV talent show musicians, the kind that are thrust into fame after a stint on the likes of X Factor. Troy is such a down to earth and sweet person, because in my experience most reality stars are. I'm not sure if it's because they enjoy success very quickly, they don't have that smugness you often see in people who have spent years achieving their recognition, but they're the nicest people you could hope to meet. I have been fortunate enough to spend time with the likes of One Direction and Olly Murs (to give a few super-sexy examples) and they are just so enthusiastic and fun. They have so much love and time for their fans, and that's what you need to succeed in this industry. People complain about TV talent show stars flooding the market, but I'm all for them.
Luke Fox is your typical newly famous musician on the scene. There are two periods when a band member is at their worst – when they have been famous for a long time like Dylan, and when they are thrust into the limelight like Luke. Nicole was friends with Luke’s band before they were famous, so when they start doing well she can see how it changes them. Sadly, this happens a lot. Fame goes to their heads, they start overdoing all things sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll and they often forget who their friends are. It often takes a bit of a reality check for them to level out, or they’ll stay that way and eventually turn into a Dylan.
‘How Not to be Starstruck’ is out 31st March (click here to pre-order it now on Amazon UK), and is Portia’s full-length follow-up to ‘Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place’ (out now)!
Today I'd like to welcome author Portia MacIntosh to the blog! Her novelette 'Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place' is out now and I've had the chance to ask Portia a few questions about her new release and writing in general!
About the Novel
Behind the music…
Being best friends with a mega-star has its perks and Nicole Wilde, music journalist, laps them up. But when said friend, Dylan King, gorgeous lead singer of The Burnouts, has zero sense of self-preservation – once a drop of alcohol hits his blood stream ‒ and an inability to keep ‘little Dylan’ in his pants, it also comes with responsibilities. Now, Nicole has to track down Dylan in time to play a charity gig tomorrow. Half a dozen groupies, a haunted hotel, a tattoo parlour, a reality show runner-up and a crazy bed-hopping, sleepless night later – will she find him before the tour bus leaves town? And when she does, is it time to head home? Or to jump on the tour bus and go along for the ride!
Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place is the fun and fabulous prequel to Portia MacIntosh’s How Not to be Starstruck. Look out for it March 2014!
About the Author
When she was fifteen-years-old, Portia MacIntosh fell in with a bad crowd… rockstars.
After disappearing on tour and living the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle for a few years, Portia landed a job in the music industry – but only so that she didn’t have to join the real world just yet.
Now in her twenties, Portia is ready to spill the beans on the things she has witnessed over the years. Well, kind of. If her famous friends knew that she was borrowing their lives to inspire her fiction, they would stop inviting her on tour and banish her from the inner circle. Then she really would have to rejoin the real world, and she’s still not ready.
Portia only started writing novels to share her secrets, but then she realised she actually quite liked writing – maybe even more than she likes living on a bus with a bunch of smelly boys – and has since tried her hand at writing about other things.
For more information, visit Portia's website by clicking here!
Author Interview
Can you tell us something about your upcoming release, ‘Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place’?
Well it's a novelette being released ahead of my first full-length novel, How Not to be Starstruck. My stories tell the tale of music journalist Nicole Wilde, and her adventures working in the music industry and touring with bands.
Where did you find the inspiration for ‘Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place’? Is it in any way based on your own personal experiences?
The only reason I started writing was so that I could tell my tour stories anonymously. I have been working in the music industry for over ten years - since I was a teenager - so I have a lot of tales to tell. My books are heavily influenced by my experiences, and I hopefully use them to give readers an interesting insight into a fascinating industry.
Do you have a personal favourite rockstar?
I think Jon Bon Jovi is one of the ultimate rockstars. From his 80s big hair and spandex days to now, even though his style has changed he still commands an audience with ease. Jared Leto is a great example of a modern-day rockstar. He's got the look, the talent and the charm.
When and how did you decide you wanted to be an author?
It was never my dream to write books. I just wanted a way to tell my stories anonymously, and novels seemed like the best way to do that. As soon as I started doing it I fell in love with writing, that's when I decided I wanted to be an author.
Can you perhaps tell us something about your future plans as an author? Are you already working on a next novel?
I have four books coming out with Carina UK. Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place is the first, followed by How Not to be Starstruck which is out next month. Keep your eyes peeled for info on the others.
Do you have any tips for aspiring writers?
Write in a way that works best for you. Don't feel like you have to plan you book before you start writing, but if you want to then plan the heck out of it. There's no right or wrong way to do it.
What is the last book you read that you’d like to recommend to others?
I recently re-read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. Everyone needs to read that book.
And last but not least, if you had to describe ‘Between a Rockstar and a Hard Place’ in just three words, which words would you pick?
Rock and roll.
Thanks so much, Portia, and good luck with the release!
