Tamara Carlisle: Sneak Peek - The Call of the Limelight

My upcoming novel (to be published in early 2013) tells the story of the romance between a young Irish musician, Niall Robertson, and a somewhat older businesswoman, Kate Maxwell, from Los Angeles. They meet in Glasgow, Scotland, when she is on vacation with her then-fiancé.

Niall and Kate spend a romantic, but fairly platonic, evening together. They exchange contact information, but do not remain in contact. While they remain out of contact, Kate breaks it off with her fiancé and Niall’s band is signed. Kate contacts Niall after hearing his band on the radio. They meet again when Niall’s band is in concert in Los Angeles. The story then detail’s the couple’s struggle to maintain the relationship between the increasingly famous and itinerant musician and the woman looking to settle down and start a family.

Here's an excerpt:

The very next morning, I had a text waiting for me, apparently sent not long after I had sent mine. I smiled excitedly as I opened the message, supposing that, if Niall hadn’t remembered me, he wouldn’t have replied. “On the road. It’s one big blur & I couldn’t tell u where I am right now. I made arrangements & will have a ticket for u at will-call in Los Angeles. It will be wonderful to see u again, Kate. – Niall.”

I noted his use of the singular, “ticket.” Clearly, he wasn’t inviting Alan or perhaps he did note the use of my maiden name. Confirming that I would be there, I replied, “I’ll see you in 2 months. It will be wonderful to see you again too. Take care of yourself on the road. And, remember, no supermodel girlfriend at dinner, please. ;-) – Kate,”

In light of the fact that he was on tour, I didn’t expect to hear from Niall again. Nevertheless, he replied almost immediately. “So you really think I’m living the cliché? No supermodel girlfriend. I told u – I am rubbish with women. A hit record hasn’t changed anything. – Niall.”

I couldn’t help but reply, “I do believe that a hit record hasn’t changed u, but I don’t agree with your opinion of yourself with women. U were good with me & I’m a woman – at least I appear to have all the right parts. Let me check . . . Yep, they’re all there. C u soon. – Kate.”

Sure enough, I received a reply again almost immediately, “I nearly choked when I read your text. I am quite well aware of your girl parts. No need to remind me. But you must be a married woman by now & I should not be thinking about them. I do have some scruples. Okay, so I’m a musician & I don’t have many, but I do have some. – Niall.”

I replied again, enjoying the banter, “Alan & I broke up months ago. Not married. Barely dating, if u could call it that. Maybe it’s me who is crap with men? – Kate.”

Again, I received a reply almost immediately. “U should see the smile on my face right now. I need to talk to u, to hear your voice. When can I ring u? I’m in your American South right now so, with the time difference and my promotional commitments, it means I’ll have to plan it. Have to run now. Let me know when & I’ll phone. And you are in no way crap with men. I speak from experience. – Niall.”

I sat there for a moment, holding my phone in stunned silence. I couldn’t believe that I had meant anything to Niall. In fact, I had wondered if he even would remember me. With the passage of a year and a half after one mostly platonic evening together and with the events surrounding The Breakthrough’s rise to fame, I couldn’t imagine that the memory of me wouldn’t have been locked away somewhere as unimportant and promptly forgotten. . . .

I hope you enjoyed the excerpt and that you’ll continue to check my website (www.tamaracarlisle.com) for updates regarding the publication date. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy my currently-published novel, Away from the Spotlight.

In the comments below, tell me what you think! Be sure to comment on this post or on my earlier post (click on link here) for a chance to win a $10 Amazon gift card (in addition to the Goddess Fish Amazon gift card giveaway).

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