My eleventh Superromance, NO ORDINARY HOME, is currently on bookstore shelves. I can’t believe I have eleven books out and ideas for more stories continue to pop into my head!
One of the themes I explore in this book is the question of how much of themselves celebrities owe to the public.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a celebrity? To be so famous that most people would recognize you when you walked down the street?
I know I would find it a nightmare to live in that kind of fishbowl, and to have paparazzi follow me everywhere I go.
I can understand why some child stars have trouble navigating through tumultuous teen years into adulthood…and why so many of them lose their way. Unfortunately for them, their breakdowns are all too public. The media seem to relish exposing their flaws.
My heroine, Gracie Travers. has experienced the nightmare of living in a fishbowl and has gone to great lengths to preserve her privacy and sanity as an adult. In the end, through the hero, Austin Trumball, she just might lose it all. Her fear of exposure is tangible. In her own words…
“Do you know the press likes nothing better than for you to screw up? They love child stars who become drug-addicted. It’s juicier copy than those who stay little goody-two-shoes like I did. So they dig and dig and dig for dirt. They are relentless, poking into every corner of your life.
“These six years away, on the road and on the run, have been my escape, instead of drugs or alcohol. This has been my delayed teenaged rebellion.”
Austin tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. His tenderness had her yearning for what-ifs again. “I get it now. I understand why you’re on the road. Sort of. I’m guessing there’s still more to the story.”
She nodded. “Imagine what they would do if they found out the child star who is supposed to be worth millions is homeless, and that I’ve CHOSEN to live this way? I would be hounded to death. I can’t do it again. I can’t go back to the glare of the spotlight. It would kill me.”
Austin stepped forward. “No it wouldn’t.”
He didn’t get it at all. Nothing in his life could compare to her experience. “I’m not being hysterical. I’m not exaggerating. You don’t know what it was like. Hell, you’re a quiet man. Private. Imagine them doing that to you.”
“I can’t. I didn’t mean it wouldn’t be as bad as you say. I meant it wouldn’t kill you because you’re strong.”
“No, I’m not.” She moaned. “I’m really not. I can’t go through it again.”
He touched her face with a sweet caress of affection, while his gaze burned into her. “You would survive because you’re tough. You made one simple, wrenching decision to give up a life of luxury and to live on the road. Come on, Gracie, you think everyone could have done that? No. Few would and few could. You are exceptional.”
Many movie stars handle the pressure with grace. Recently, a friend saw Benedict Cumberbatch at the Toronto International Film Festival and managed to get his autograph. She said he was incredibly friendly and gracious.
Would you like to be famous? Do you think you would handle it well? Or would you run for the hills to hide? I know I would buy a cabin somewhere and probably become a recluse. Thank goodness, I’m able to write anywhere. LOL
Speaking of cabins, I’m currently working on a short Christmas story to send out in my December newsletter. I’m fascinated by many of the romance ‘clichés’ including the one I’m using for my short story…a man and woman trapped alone in a cabin in the middle of a raging snowstorm…no electricity…the only heat is supplied by the fireplace, so…a shared quilt in front of the fire and, before you know it, one thing leads to another. ☺
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To thank Fresh Fiction for hosting me, and you for reading this blog, I would like to give away a copy of NO ORDINARY HOME to someone who comments today!
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