Blog Tour - TYLER & STELLA by Heidi Joy Tretheway Excerpt + Giveaway

Tyler & Stella Synopsis:

Stella Ramsey always says bad boys can’t break your heart. They don’t call, don’t cuddle and don’t send flowers—but what do you expect? For Stella, no strings means no regrets.

When the biggest story of her fledgling career as a music journalist nearly ruins her relationship with her best friend, Stella has one chance to redeem herself. Tyler Walsh could be that chance.

Stella promises the bassist for the rock band Tattoo Thief anything in exchange for behind-the-scenes access. But Tyler doesn’t want anything. He wants everything—and that’s more than Stella is prepared to give.

When Tyler’s explosive secret thrusts Stella into the media spotlight, she must choose between the selling the story and telling the truth—and exposing the truth about herself as well.

Tyler & Stella (Tattoo Thief #2) is a sizzling story of lust, lies, and sacrifice, revealing how much love can forgive.

Heidi Joy Trethway  Bio:

Heidi Joy lives in Happy Valley off Sunnyside Road. She swears she did not make that up.

Heidi’s obsessed with storytelling. Her career includes marketing, journalism, and a delicious few years as a food columnist. Media passes took her backstage with several rock bands, where she learned that sometimes a wardrobe malfunction is exactly what the rock star intends.

You’ll most often find Heidi Joy with her husband and two small kids cooking, fishing, exploring the Northwest, and building epic forts in their living room.

She loves to hear from readers via messages at facebook.com/author.heidi.

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Excerpt:

Setup: Stella struggled for more than a year to make it as a music journalist at The Indie Voice in New York City. When her best friend, Beryl, falls for Gavin Slater, lead singer of the rock band Tattoo Thief, Stella covertly forwards the video of a love song Gavin made for Beryl to herself. Will she use the stolen video to write the most explosive story of her career?

I replay Beryl’s video, the one Gavin made for her birthday. This song shows the real Gavin, I’m sure. He’s vulnerable, exposed, and screams sex appeal. I close my eyes and listen to the rasp in his voice, hear the way his mouth forms the words, feel the music as his voice rises to carry a note before he lets it fall.

I play the video twice more until I know what to write. I start by describing how Tattoo Thief’s music has a driving, predatory nature to it, especially on their last album, Beast. But this song is a retreat, a recovery from loss, and a promise of renewal.

It’s the most honest thing I’ve heard from Tattoo Thief since their tracks became over-engineered. On Beast, you don’t even hear a unified performance, just stitched-together vocals based on the producer’s taste.

Did you know Adele sings off-key? It’s a musical embellishment called appoggiatura, an Italian term that means to lean. What Adele did with “Someone Like You” is what Gavin is doing with “Wilderness,” hitting a note on-beat but slightly off-key at first, then leaning into the melody to resolve the dissonance and reach the harmonious note.

If producers Auto-Tuned Adele, she wouldn’t sound like herself. Her song would be flat. The discord is what makes her music feel more alive. That’s how I feel when I listen to Gavin Slater perform “Wilderness.”

I read over my story, tweaking a few typos and rewriting some awkward sentences. I make the lead sentence snappier and more provocative. I wrap up the story with a song-lyric kicker.

Seven hundred and twenty-four words. That’s sharp work in a little over two hours and I’m ready to file my story. I drop the text and video files in my email and put my bastard editor’s name in the send-to field, with the subject line: Tattoo Thief’s next hit single? Exclusive video, just to be sure he opens it tomorrow.

I mean today. It’s three a.m. on Sunday and I’m unfortunately sober, but I’m high from the rush of writing. This story could go big if it’s picked up on the wire by other publishers. It could go national in a matter of hours.

My mouse hovers over the send key and I stop. I should close my laptop and walk away to give myself breathing room. Can I do this do to Beryl? To Gavin?

I scuttle to the kitchen and yank open the freezer. I pour myself two fingers of vodka, knock it back, and then another couple fingers for good measure.

Sober feels like shit. I need to smooth down my rough edges. I take the glass and vodka bottle back to my room.

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