Genre: New Adult Contemporary Romance
Series: Chasing the Dream #1
Release date: June 17th 2014
Series: Chasing the Dream #1
Release date: June 17th 2014
Music major Maddie Taylor seems to have her life all figured out. She’s just finished her junior year of college, has a summer internship lined up with the LA Philharmonic, and plans to go to grad school to write movie scores. Only her roommates know she practices guitar every night and secretly dreams of a louder life. But geeky girls like her don't get to be rock stars.
Tattooed singer Jared Cross has a new girl every week, but when he catches Maddie playing one of his songs, she attracts his attention in an unexpected way. His band needs a fourth member for The Sound, a reality TV show competition—and he wants her. Though Maddie refuses to be another notch on Jared’s bedpost, she agrees to risk everything for the chance to be a rock star.
Once on the show, Maddie discovers there’s more to Jared behind his flirty smile, and with each performance their attraction becomes impossible to ignore. When the show pressures Jared to flaunt his player image, they’re forced to keep their relationship secret, but Maddie can’t help but want something real.
As the competition heats up, Jared will do whatever it takes for his band to win, and Maddie must decide if following her dream is worth losing her heart.
Guest Post
With
a book called More Than Music, it’s obvious that music will be pretty important
to the story – and not just because the characters play songs on a reality TV
show. Maddie and Jared bond over their shared love of rock music, and at one
point Maddie realizes: “Jared was the first guy who truly got me, who
understood that music coursed through my blood and crept into every single
thought – because he was exactly the same way.”
In
More Than Music, Maddie and Jared go on a show called The Sound, which is a lot like The
Voice but with bands instead of individual singers. Two of the songs they
perform on the show are "Somebody Told
Me" by The Killers and "Uprising"
by Muse.
I love the guitar in both these songs and thought they would be fun for Maddie
to play, plus they have great vocals I can imagine Jared belting out.
When
not on the show, Maddie and Jared also play songs for fun in their spare time. One
of these is "Blitzkrieg Bop" by The Ramones, which they practice together
in his hotel room, while he's trying to show her how to loosen up on stage. I
chose this song because it's a punk classic that is easy to play but also
really fun. In fact, I like to use it as a warm-up when I play guitar. Hey! Ho!
Let's Go!
Jared
also likes to sing to Maddie, and at one point sings "I'm Not Okay (I Promise)" by My Chemical Romance to
cheer her up before their audition on The Sound. This song then
becomes a running theme for them throughout the entire book.
Another
song that Jared sings to Maddie is “Stay” by Rihanna, which leads to things
getting a bit steamy...because what girl wouldn't melt hearing a
guy sing this to her? I was actually inspired by the cover of “Stay” by Thirty Seconds To Mars, along with their version of Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance.” That song starts out as
something that Jared and Maddie sing together for fun and later becomes pretty
important in the book. I knew I had to use this song after hearing Jared Leto sing,
"I don't want to be friends."
So now when you read certain scenes in the book you can also listen to those songs and watch those videos for the full experience!
Interview
Where did you get the idea for More Than Music?
I went to high school for a short time
with Adam Levine and Maroon 5, back when they were called Kara’s Flowers. They
played at our school dances and I sat behind them in class and was completely
in love with them. Of course, they had no idea I existed! Many years later I
saw Adam Levine on The Voice, and had
the idea of a geeky girl joining an up-and-coming rock band at her school and
going on a show like The Voice, and
the book grew from that.
What kind of research did you do for More Than Music?
Most of the research I did was on the
music in the book, because I really wanted to get that right. I play the guitar
but I’m not great at it because I don’t have time to practice regularly. Still,
I tried to learn many of the songs that Maddie performs so I could describe the
way it feels when you’re actually playing them. I studied a lot of guitar
tutorials, live performances by the original bands, and covers by other bands.
I also watched documentaries on what it’s like to be in a band, especially in
high stress situations. And of course, I watched many episodes of The Voice!
How did you pick the songs in More Than Music?
I tried to pick songs that are
well-known because I wanted anyone who is a fan of rock music to recognize most
of them by name (especially since I couldn’t include lyrics due to copyright
issues). I also chose songs that reflect what the characters are experiencing
in the book, so that each song is like background music for what Maddie and
Jared are going through.
The show in More Than Music is obviously based on The Voice, but were any of the
characters based on particular celebrities?
None of the characters were based on any
particular celebrity, but many characters were loosely inspired by them. The
most obvious one is Jared, who was named after Jared Leto, the singer of Thirty
Seconds To Mars. Both Jareds are flirty, talented, and hard-working, but also
pretty down-to-earth – and both have brothers in their bands, too. And the
mentors on the show were inspired by lots of different musicians all rolled
into one. For example, Dan was loosely based on Kurt Cobain, Eddie Vedder, and
Chris Cornell, but also had a little Adam Levine and Blake Shelton in him, too.
What’s next in the Chasing the Dream series?
First up is Kyle’s prequel novella, More Than Exes, set at the Battle of
the Bands that leads to the gig at the beginning of More Than Music. Next will
be Hector’s novella More Than Comics, set a week after
More Than Music Comic-Con. After that, I’ll be writing books about Maddie’s
best friends Julie and Carla, but you’ll have to wait a little longer for info
on those, sorry!
Excerpt
“I
need your help,” Jared said, fixing an intense gaze on me. “We have a live
audition tomorrow for The Sound. Problem is, our bassist quit last
night, and we need a fourth member of the band.”
“What?”
Was he saying what I thought he was saying? No. Impossible.
“I
know—worst timing ever. Can you play bass by any chance?”
“No…”
His
face fell for an instant, and some reckless part of me wanted to lie and say
yes or promise him I’d learn. How hard could it be to learn the bass if I knew
how to play guitar, right? Though I immediately realized how dumb that idea was
because a) I could never learn bass in time for an audition tomorrow; b) I
shouldn’t care about making Jared happy, even if his disappointed face broke my
heart; and c) none of that mattered because he couldn’t possibly be asking me
to join his band anyway.
“That’s
okay,” he said. “I can play bass, and you can play guitar. It’ll work.” His
smile lit up his face again, with a look that could charm any girl lucky enough
to bask in it. Right now, that girl was me. “So what do you think?”
Jared
was asking me—me—to play guitar in his band. In an audition on live TV.
In front of four of the greatest musicians ever, plus millions of people at
home. Mind. Blown. Somehow I’d been handed my secret dream on a silver platter.
Next up, Jared would ask me out, too. Yeah, and then we’d ride off into the
sunset on a rainbow unicorn with our million-dollar record deal.
“You
want me to join your band?” I asked slowly, studying him for any sign that this
was all a joke.
“Just
for the audition. That should give us enough time to find another bass player
to take Becca’s place.”
Ah,
there was the catch. I would only play with them for one day, giving me a tiny
taste of their lifestyle, and then they’d drop me as soon as the audition was
over. No, better to never know what it would be like to play guitar on stage,
to be part of a band, to make music with Jared and Kyle. Besides, I couldn’t
play guitar in front of the world. Guitar was my secret, my fun escape, and
nothing more. My internship started on Monday, and I needed to focus on
that—not on silly dreams of being a rock star.
“I’m
sorry, but I can’t.” I spun around and rushed toward the exit before he could
respond. I didn’t want him to see my face and how much I desperately wanted to
do it.
“Wait!”
He ran after me, but I kept going, past other students who watched us with curiosity.
“Maddie, wait!”
Damn
his long legs. He caught up to me, practically jumping in front of me to stop
me in my tracks. I kept my face glued to the floor, to the contrast of his
black combat boots and my green Converse. I couldn’t look up at him or I’d be
tempted to say yes to anything.
He
lowered his voice. “Please, you’re the only person who can help us. You’re an
amazing guitarist, and you already know our songs. We need you.”
I
shook my head, looking anywhere but at him. Hearing him say he needed me with
his whiskey-chocolate-sex voice made my legs a bit shaky, but what he was
asking for? It was too much.
Jared
got down on his knees, right in the middle of the hallway, and everyone stopped
to watch us. He raised his hands like he was begging. “Please, this is our one
chance, but without a fourth member, we can’t do it. You’re perfect and it’ll
only be for a day, and then I’ll owe you. I’ll do anything you want.” He topped
it off with a grin. “Help me, Maddie Taylor, you’re my only hope.”
Damn.
How could I say no to a Star Wars reference from a hot guy on his knees?
The word slipped out before I could stop it. “Okay.”
About the Author
Elizabeth Briggs is a full-time geek who writes books for teens and adults. She plays the guitar, mentors at-risk teens, and volunteers with a dog rescue group. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and a pack of small, fluffy dogs.
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