Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Goddess Fish Virtual Book Tour & Giveaway for Before He Was Famous by Becky Wicks


Welcome to my stop on the Virtual Book Tour, hosted by Goddess Fish Promotions, for Before He Was Famous by Becky Wicks.  Please leave a comment or question for Becky to let her know you stopped by.  Becky will be awarding an eCopy of Before He Was Famous to a randomly drawn commenter at each stop during the tour, and a Grand Prize of an eCopy of Before He Was Famous , as well as a print copy of Latinalicious, Becky's last travel memoir (HarperCollins) to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. (International winner).  You can follow the rest of Becky’s tour here, the more stops you visit, the better your odds of winning.



Before He Was Famous author Becky Wicks discusses why exactly we love rock stars so much, and what influenced the writing of this new adult romance!

Becky Wicks is a HarperCollins author going indie with her new adult romance, Before He Was Famous. This emotional thrill-ride sends us behind the scenes of rock star Noah Lockton’s journey into fame after winning a TV talent show, and how he juggles being a celebrity with falling for his best friend Chloe. We had a few questions…

Why do you think we love reading about rock stars?

What’s not to love about rock stars?! They’re usually hot, chiseled, passionate and determined, and usually they’re out there following their dreams. Anyone who has the courage to follow their dreams and stick it in the public eye these days has to be incredibly brave. Good looks and ripped abs are nice, but bravery is even sexier. I think also, rock stars are viewed as unattainable to many people. How many chances do we have to meet them, let alone get into a relationship with one? It’s fun to dream about what might be, with a little spark of luck and maybe fate on our side!

What inspired this particular book?

Well, I guess we see talent shows all the time, in a hundred different languages now, and with all these instant-celebrities being swept up and spat out I always wonder what really goes on behind the scenes, you know? How do they feel, how does all this madness affect their relationships and the people around them? I guess I wanted to look a bit deeper into all that and with Chloe and Noah I tried to give them a seemingly unshakable base from which to have it all go wrong! We can see from the news/gossip sites/TV that fame isn’t always a good thing, even if it’s exciting.

How did you research for this book?

I went out and observed a LOT of sexy bands (tough job, huh?) But to get a proper idea of a rock star’s/pop star’s real life I watched a lot of YouTube clips… such as a tour Katy Perry gave of her tour bus – that’s how come I could describe Noah’s. I also watched as many documentaries on fame as I could, and scribbled the consequences of it; every bad pap shoot, every negative Tweet, every invasion of privacy. It was like venturing into a whole new world and some of it was pretty scary. I tried to look at the pros and cons of fame for all involved and constructed the story around both.

Why is Noah Lockton (the star of this book) a rock star we should love?

I like to think Noah has a softer side. The fame thing was thrust upon him and it spiraled out of control, which pleased his label but kind of freaked him out for the most part. He’s a genuinely nice guy who’s struggling with wanting recognition for his passions and talent, and not really knowing how best to deal with everything that goes along with that. Oh and obviously he is totally in love with Chloe. He wants to be with her but doesn’t want to see her hurt as a result of his fame. Hopefully readers will love his sincerity – I tried to make him as real and honest as possible in every situation!


Before He Was Famous
By Becky Wicks
Starstruck, Book 1

Publisher: Becky Wicks
Release Date: May 25, 2014
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Length: 279 Pages
ASIN: B00KKS2TQU

Add to Goodreads

Buy Link:  Amazon




About the book:

Falling in love with your best friend isn’t always a great idea, especially when he’s Noah Lockton - the sexiest, most famous new talent on the planet. When 21-year-old small-town photographer Chloe Campbell is offered the chance of a lifetime – to join her celebrity childhood friend Noah on tour as an exclusive blogger for a New York magazine – she’s certain both have put what happened four years ago behind them. But his eyes still burn; his voice is still a jackhammer to her heartstrings; all his songs are about her. Is it possible that that night still haunts them both?

The music industry is a machine, spinning hype and rumors as much as his records. It’s not just Noah’s girlfriends who’ve got it in for Chloe (there’s no stopping the Twitter-obsessed, cat-loving pop-star Courtney Lentini for starters). Pretty soon, the jealousy and media frenzy surrounding these so-called-friends takes a life-changing turn and it seems making love means making enemies at every turn. When tragedy threatens to pull the final curtain on their relationship, both Chloe and Noah must make a choice. As much as this world leaves them starstruck, is living their dream really worth living without each other?

A story of lifelong friendships, love and hope, set in a world of celebrity, fame and social media gone very, very wrong.



EXCERPT


Noah. Chapter 21

I study her face; the gashes, the bruises darkening her skin. I reach for her Tinker-Bell necklace, run my fingers over the tiny silver wings. Our eyes meet and I don't look away and neither does Chloe.

I get another flashback, from out of nowhere, of when we were kids at aunt Madeline's house in The Bronx. A huge thunderstorm kept us up in the middle of the night and I crept into her room to find her lying there, eyes wide open, raindrops thrashing at the huge brown-house windows. I knew she was waiting for me to arrive because without me she was too scared to get out of that bed. That house is so old and creaky. We switched places without speaking and she started trying to capture the lightning with her camera.

She spent more than an hour in the window, working silently, determined, clicking the camera over and over. Something about her was mesmerizing. I watched her from the bed and wrote a song in my head about how she lit up every time the lightning struck, and when she climbed in beside me she was wriggling under my skin as much as the covers. Chloe became the lightning then, for me at least, lighting up every room. And so began the storm in my head.


AUTHOR Bio and Links:

Becky Wicks is a HarperCollins author going indie! Itchy feet has led her to live and work all over the world since leaving England at age 21, including NYC, Sydney, Bali, South America and Dubai. Right now she’s scribbling the second book in the HotFlush series in Vietnam, and will soon be in Vancouver if any hot Canadian men want to make her a cup of tea?

Becky has also written three funny travel books about her time in Dubai, Bali and South America (HarperCollins). Her first book, Burqalicious - The Dubai Diaries, her second book, Balilicious - The Bali Diaries and her third, Latinalicious -The South America Diaries are out now as ebooks.

Becky has also written a comedy romance with author Sarah Alderson under the name Lola Salt, called The Extraordinary Life of Lara Craft (not Croft) which should raise a giggle or two... think Bridget Jones if Jackie Collins had written it!

Follow her on twitter @Bex_Wicks and her blog www.beckywicks.com

LINKS


Twitter: @bex_wicks







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