Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Before He Was a Secret! Today I'll be sharing some great teasers with you along with an excerpt from the book - and don't forget to enter the giveaway! To follow along with the rest of the tour, click on the banner above.
Before He Was a Secret (Starstruck #3)
Author: Becky Wicks
Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Release Date: February 24, 2015
Description:
Another standalone Starstruck romance from the HarperCollins
author who brought you Amazon #1 bestseller Before He Was Famous and
Before He Was Gone
“What if we can’t choose Every battle we win and lose What if we decided years before, to live this life, to fight these wars And all the dreams we ever thought were ours Were written in the stars”
Waiting tables isn’t exactly what singer/songwriter Stephanie has in mind for her move to Nashville, but memories of the past and a case of writer’s block mean inspiration isn’t coming easy. When brooding pianist Conor Judge opens his mouth in a smoky bar he proves music can heal, and even help you re-write your story, but a history of his own means the one thing he starts to want most is always just out of reach. Stephanie.
Enter Travis Flynn – an upcoming star who won’t take no for an answer, and a record label intent on helping Stephanie shine, without Conor. As fame comes knocking as hard as the ghosts of their pasts, it soon becomes clear that no matter how hard you might fall in love, having the perfect songs doesn’t always mean perfect harmony.
“What if we can’t choose Every battle we win and lose What if we decided years before, to live this life, to fight these wars And all the dreams we ever thought were ours Were written in the stars”
Waiting tables isn’t exactly what singer/songwriter Stephanie has in mind for her move to Nashville, but memories of the past and a case of writer’s block mean inspiration isn’t coming easy. When brooding pianist Conor Judge opens his mouth in a smoky bar he proves music can heal, and even help you re-write your story, but a history of his own means the one thing he starts to want most is always just out of reach. Stephanie.
Enter Travis Flynn – an upcoming star who won’t take no for an answer, and a record label intent on helping Stephanie shine, without Conor. As fame comes knocking as hard as the ghosts of their pasts, it soon becomes clear that no matter how hard you might fall in love, having the perfect songs doesn’t always mean perfect harmony.
‘We’re all good at guitar,’ I tell Poppy quietly. ‘Sometimes you have to branch out, though, right?’ I turn to Conor, see him watching me with an eyebrow cocked but I block everything out, even Poppy, who giggles next to me. I put my fingers on the keys. It’s been so long but everything rushes back to me. I see the police officers telling me the car flipped, telling me my aunt and uncle were on their way, telling me the driver was drunk. My fault. At least I thought it was my fault for a long time. I sent them out there. I made them go.
What am I doing? What am I even thinking? It wasn’t my fault. A quote from The Secret springs into my mind: Whenever you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.
My hands press on the keys as I inhale again sharply. My foot finds the pedal beneath me. I can feel Poppy’s eyes on me, imploring to my side. I start to play. The melody seems to rush in from nowhere as my hands re-find their way over forgotten ground, till I can barely control what I’m playing. The music itself is guiding me, and not the other way around. Some lyrics I’ve been working on, ones I wrote in my book just yesterday start to layer themselves automatically on top. So I sing.
It's twisted arithmetic
Fractions of us
All these multiple signs
Adding up to one love
But the sum of our parts
Is a terrified heart
Beating fast
Heading straight to the middle
of impossibility
It's twisted arithmetic
Me plus you
You plus me
Equal two halves of a mystery
I’m still playing, lost in the song, singing the same lines over and over when I feel a hand on my shoulder and I realize my eyes are clouded with tears. I stop abruptly.
‘She's so good!’ Poppy cries out excitedly.
‘You’re shaking,’ Conor says, right behind me.
I draw my hands from the keys and look at him as he squeezes my shoulder with his big hand. I didn’t even see him walk over. I feel like I’ve just crash-landed from another planet. Poppy’s clapping her hands next to me and I sit still as stone, getting my bearings, just breathing, till something in me forces my legs to move.
I stand up. I’m so wobbly on my feet, but Conor steps to the side of the piano and lightning fast he catches me as I scrape the stool back. ‘You did it,’ he whispers and I can hear the pride and shock in his voice as I practically fall against him, wrap my arms around him. He hugs me tight against his hard chest, scrunching up the hair at the back of my head with one hand. ‘Two halves of a mystery,’ he repeats softly in my ear as my heartbeat thuds against his. ‘We should probably solve that soon, Jackson.’
His lips are so close as I pull away and face him. He smells like peanut butter cookies and looks a lot like he wants to kiss me. I’m about to reply when the door opens behind us and Conor releases me as Emma walks in, still with the kitten draped across her shoulder. She looks at us in surprise and I can feel my cheeks must be beetroot red. I swear I see irritation cross her face.
‘We should go,’ Conor says quickly. ‘Stephanie has to work. Poppy, we’ll be back next week, OK? You keep practicing Katy Perry, you’re getting good! Oh…’ he stops, rests a hand on the back of the couch. ‘Before we split, Poppy, what are your thoughts on Noah Lockton?’
Poppy looks up instantly, but it’s her sister who speaks from the doorway. ‘OMG, he’s amazing. Sue says we can go see him in Nashville on the new tour! Did you know he’s recording a new one right now? I read it on Chloe Campbell’s blog.’
Conor raises his eyebrows. ‘I guess he’s looking for songs for that album, then, right?’
‘Maybe,’ she replies. ‘Why?’
‘No reason,’ he says, throwing me a wink.
Poppy carries on strumming as we pack up the guitars, say our goodbyes to Sue and the kittens. She pushes a Tupperware box of cookies into his hands in the hallway. ‘I hope you’ll both be back,’ she says as we head for the door. ‘I haven’t heard that piano sounding so good in a while.’ She leans in to drop a kiss on my cheek. ‘You’re an inspiration, both of you. And Conor, I hope you know how much we appreciate everything you’ve done. How’s Grace, by the way?’
Her words force my frantic heart to skid to a stop. I notice her squeezing his hands now; and how awkward and uncomfortable he looks as he glances my way.
‘She’s fine, thank you,’ he replies tactfully. Excerpt From: Becky Wicks. “Before He Was A Secret.” March 09, 2014. Amazon.com
What am I doing? What am I even thinking? It wasn’t my fault. A quote from The Secret springs into my mind: Whenever you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right.
My hands press on the keys as I inhale again sharply. My foot finds the pedal beneath me. I can feel Poppy’s eyes on me, imploring to my side. I start to play. The melody seems to rush in from nowhere as my hands re-find their way over forgotten ground, till I can barely control what I’m playing. The music itself is guiding me, and not the other way around. Some lyrics I’ve been working on, ones I wrote in my book just yesterday start to layer themselves automatically on top. So I sing.
It's twisted arithmetic
Fractions of us
All these multiple signs
Adding up to one love
But the sum of our parts
Is a terrified heart
Beating fast
Heading straight to the middle
of impossibility
It's twisted arithmetic
Me plus you
You plus me
Equal two halves of a mystery
I’m still playing, lost in the song, singing the same lines over and over when I feel a hand on my shoulder and I realize my eyes are clouded with tears. I stop abruptly.
‘She's so good!’ Poppy cries out excitedly.
‘You’re shaking,’ Conor says, right behind me.
I draw my hands from the keys and look at him as he squeezes my shoulder with his big hand. I didn’t even see him walk over. I feel like I’ve just crash-landed from another planet. Poppy’s clapping her hands next to me and I sit still as stone, getting my bearings, just breathing, till something in me forces my legs to move.
I stand up. I’m so wobbly on my feet, but Conor steps to the side of the piano and lightning fast he catches me as I scrape the stool back. ‘You did it,’ he whispers and I can hear the pride and shock in his voice as I practically fall against him, wrap my arms around him. He hugs me tight against his hard chest, scrunching up the hair at the back of my head with one hand. ‘Two halves of a mystery,’ he repeats softly in my ear as my heartbeat thuds against his. ‘We should probably solve that soon, Jackson.’
His lips are so close as I pull away and face him. He smells like peanut butter cookies and looks a lot like he wants to kiss me. I’m about to reply when the door opens behind us and Conor releases me as Emma walks in, still with the kitten draped across her shoulder. She looks at us in surprise and I can feel my cheeks must be beetroot red. I swear I see irritation cross her face.
‘We should go,’ Conor says quickly. ‘Stephanie has to work. Poppy, we’ll be back next week, OK? You keep practicing Katy Perry, you’re getting good! Oh…’ he stops, rests a hand on the back of the couch. ‘Before we split, Poppy, what are your thoughts on Noah Lockton?’
Poppy looks up instantly, but it’s her sister who speaks from the doorway. ‘OMG, he’s amazing. Sue says we can go see him in Nashville on the new tour! Did you know he’s recording a new one right now? I read it on Chloe Campbell’s blog.’
Conor raises his eyebrows. ‘I guess he’s looking for songs for that album, then, right?’
‘Maybe,’ she replies. ‘Why?’
‘No reason,’ he says, throwing me a wink.
Poppy carries on strumming as we pack up the guitars, say our goodbyes to Sue and the kittens. She pushes a Tupperware box of cookies into his hands in the hallway. ‘I hope you’ll both be back,’ she says as we head for the door. ‘I haven’t heard that piano sounding so good in a while.’ She leans in to drop a kiss on my cheek. ‘You’re an inspiration, both of you. And Conor, I hope you know how much we appreciate everything you’ve done. How’s Grace, by the way?’
Her words force my frantic heart to skid to a stop. I notice her squeezing his hands now; and how awkward and uncomfortable he looks as he glances my way.
‘She’s fine, thank you,’ he replies tactfully. Excerpt From: Becky Wicks. “Before He Was A Secret.” March 09, 2014. Amazon.com
Becky Wicks lives in Bali and scribbles books, and she’s
mostly powered by coffee. Her first book in the Starstruck Series,
Before He Was Famous, recently reached #1 in Amazon’s Coming of Age and
New Adult & College categories, and her three travel books,
published by HarperCollins are online to make feet nice and itchy.
Mostly though, she loves to write love stories. She blogs most days at beckywicks.com and always welcomes distractions on Twitter @bex_wicks. Especially if you have photos of cats.
Author Links:
Tour Wide Giveaway (Open INT):
(5) copies of Before He Was a Secret, plus a character named after them in Becky's next book!
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