Welcome to Character Interview
Welcome to day 2 in Foster an Author week.
Author Carol Pavliska wants you to meet rock star hero - Julian from Color Me Crazy.
Hi everyone! I write contemporary rock star romance for Entangled Select. COLOR ME
CRAZY released in May, so I think it’s time to touch base with my hero, Julian. Honestly, I’ve missed him.
 |
| Available on Amazon US & Amazon UK |
I’m sitting in a coffee shop, and as soon as he arrives, I’ll conduct a little interview so
you can all get to know him. I admit I’m getting a bit worried, because Julian is running about ten minutes late, and he is NEVER late.
Ah! Heads are turning. I glance at the door and…what is he doing here? It’s not Julian.
It’s his friend and minion, Sheik. He’s a former professional offensive lineman who is now
basically Julian’s manny, although neither one of them would ever admit it.
He yanks out a chair and sits. “Hey, mama.”
Sheik likes to call me mama because he knows it irritates me. “I’d prefer you think of me
as your creator,” I say. “It’s more impressive than being your mama.”
Sheik snorts. “You just said yo mama.”
“That was so not hilarious. Where’s Julian?”
“A group of morons with guitars and drumsticks have held him up at the recording
studio. He’ll be here soon enough, and after he’s finished with your nonsense we’re heading to Austin to pick up some new recording equipment for Soundbox.”
“My nonsense? If it weren’t for my nonsense, you wouldn’t even be here.”
Sheik glances at the door and shakes his head. “My, my, my. The princess has arrived.”
The room goes silent as Julian weaves his way through the tables. He’s tall, heavily
inked, and wearing vintage black mod hipsters and a tight-fitting Pussy Riot T-shirt.
Julian swears he hates attention, but I know better. Dude soaks it up like a thirsty sponge.
At the neighboring tables, female necks have gone pink and splotchy, fingers rush up to
straighten bangs, and tongues are wetting lips.
As for me, I swallow loudly and yank my ponytail
“Really?” Sheik asks.
“Shut up.”
“I can’t be around to watch this,” Sheik says. “I’m going to step outside and make a
phone call. You two make this quick—we’re burning daylight.”
Sheik leaves as Julian leans over and kisses me on the cheek. “Hello, love. You look
gorgeous.”
Oh God. The accent. It was such a good idea to make this bad boy British.
“Thanks for agreeing to the interview, Julian. Have a seat.”
“Like I have a choice about doing interviews. Or even sitting, for that matter.”
“True,” I say. “I know you enjoy your privacy, but it’s not like I’ve written anything
about you…you know…lately.”
“You’ve been blabbing about me every second of the day since COLOR ME CRAZY
was released.”
“Nice T-shirt,” I say with a grin, changing the subject.
“Thanks for giving it to me,” he responds with a wink.
It’s our little joke. My publisher has a thing against the dreaded P-word.
Julian’s eyes widen as he glances into my mug. “Is that cream in your coffee? You’re just
as bad as Cleo in that respect, although at least she doesn’t refer to herself as vegan.”
“I’m a bad vegan,” I say. “What’s Cleo up to today?”
“Boot shopping. Hopefully non-leather, but I doubt it.”
“How are things going with you two?”
Julian smiles and then his eyes darken. “Things are going extremely well. It’s one of the
reasons I’m running late today. It’s hard to get out of bed in the mornings when it’s full of curvy redhead.”
“As much as I’d love to hear what happened in your bed this morning, I’m switching the
topic to synesthesia. Readers seem terribly interested in it.”
“Do we have to talk about my unpronounceable neurological disorder?”
“You have some other issues we could discuss,” I remind him. “There’s at least one
skeleton hanging in your closet amongst your ridiculous vintage jackets.”
“Right, then. Let’s talk about synesthesia. There are quite a few people walking around
with varying degrees of it, you know.”
“True,” I say. “But you’re special.”
“Thanks for that. There’s no moderation with you, is there?”
“You love being special. Admit it.”
Julian narrows his eyes, but there’s a glint of satisfaction. Somebody does, in fact, enjoy
being special.
“Synesthesia just means my senses are mixed up a bit. Mostly, I see sounds as colors. It
could have been enjoyable, but you made it crippling for me.”
“I also made you a virtuoso guitarist.”
“And a prodigy violinist, because again—no moderation,” Julian says. “But I ditched
violin for guitar at a young age. It was more fun, and the chicks loved it.”
“Did you just say chicks?”
“Of course. Because God forbid you have me say anything that might indicate I know
what decade it is.”
I take a sip of coffee. Because he’s totally right. “Tell us about the colors.”
“I see each sound as a distinctive color. But since sounds are rarely heard in isolation, my
colors get mixed up and blend. Then they take over my head. Especially if I’m tired or
stressed—which I often am.”
He gives me an adorably sarcastic salute.
“And playing guitar helps you control the colors,” I say.
“Yeah. Playing guitar forces all the colors to stay where they belong. I control them,
instead of the other way around.”
“And when you can’t control them?”
“Things go just as wrong as your wicked little mind wants them to,” Julian says.
I dab daintily at my mouth with a napkin. “Why yes. Yes, they do.”
A dark shadow falls across the table. Sheik is back. “You two done blabbin’? We have
things to do.”
Julian looks at me expectantly, wanting to know if he’s free to go.
“The interview’s over,” I say. “Run along with your little friend, and try to stay out of
trouble.”
Julian rolls his eyes as he stands. He and I both know he has no choice in the matter. He
turns and motions for Sheik to follow.
“Julian, wait…” I say.
He pauses, and something warm and tingly works its way into my cold author heart. “I
did give you a happily ever after, didn’t I?”
His eyes soften. ”Yes, you did, baby. And I’ll always love you for it.”
He walks away—for good?—and I open up my laptop in search of the next hero.
Blurb
Never fall for a rockstar…
Julian Wheaton views the world through a kaleidoscope of
synesthesia, seeing the colors of every sound he hears. His life as an iconic
rock guitarist was a stressful psychedelic trip that nearly destroyed him. Now
he’s abandoned the rock ’n’ roll lifestyle for the peaceful sanctity of his
recording studio, but when fiery Cleo Compton comes to work for him, she brings
chaos with her.
Cleo Compton has had her flings with rockstars—and it’s
left her wary and bruised. Julian may have those sexy bedroom eyes and
drool-worthy tattoos, but Cleo is determined to keep things strictly
professional—until Julian turns out to be every dream she’s ever chased. When
he risks it all to hit the road with a band again, Cleo fears he’ll return as
the one thing she can no longer abide—a rockstar.
Author Bio
Carol Pavliska began her writing career as a family humor columnist and blogger, a pursuit she abandoned when her children grew old enough to realize they were being exploited. To save them from further embarrassment, she turned to writing fiction. Her debut novel, COLOR ME CRAZY, is a steamy contemporary romance. The kids are still embarrassed.
Carol and her husband, both diehard Red Hot Chili Peppers fans, raise their vegan brood of
mortified offspring on a cattle ranch in south Texas. No lie.
******
Thank you for stopping by. Please share your comments, so Carol knows you stopped by. It gives me great pleasure to read your views.
You remain unforgettable.
Love
Stella
Flirty & Feisty Romance
Our promise...is to deliver an intensely emotional experience you'll never forget.
No comments:
Post a Comment