Happy Saturday!!! Today I am excited to be joined by Kiltie for a Q&A session as part of her blog tour for A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle
So Kiltie, first off can you tell us about the characters in this book?
My novel, A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle, has three characters who are central to the plot. Sukie McClaren, Pete Wallace and Eduardo di Santo. Sukie and Pete are the good guys. Sukie is an Accounts Supervisor in an office, Pete is the world’s number one rock star. Sukie holds no love for celebrity lifestyles and finds them rather tedious. She is outspoken, pulls no punches and you always know where you stand with her.
Pete is the lead-singer from, now-defunct, world chart-topping boy band, The Astons. His solo career really took off and propelled him to even greater heights of fame. He doesn’t like the fame, however, and shuns the limelight as much as it is possible to do so. Being a ‘celebrity’ has cost him dearly and his trust in people has been badly abused. This has resulted in him now being almost a recluse and rather lonely.
Eduardo di Santo is the bad guy. He is the much older brother of Sofia, a teenager who suffered life-changing injuries at one of Pete’s concerts on his first solo tour. The accident was entirely her fault but Eduardo believes that Pete is to blame and has an ever-growing desire to exact some form of revenge upon Pete.
Who was the easiest to write?
Without doubt, it was Sukie. They say that many first novels are quite autobiographical and I have to say this is true of mine. There is a lot of me in Sukie and many of her expressions are mine and much of her attitude and opinions too. I’m not quite as bolshy or outspoken as she can be but I think I would like to be. She’s far better at standing up for herself than I am.
Who was the most difficult?
Eduardo. As the story progresses his character becomes darker and more intimidating. He was quite challenging because I had to ensure I captured his menacing nature without going over the top and turning him into some kind of caricature.
Do you have a favourite scene from this book? What is it and why?
I absolutely do. It is when Pete and Sukie meet for the first time. Pete has just found out that a photo shoot taking the place the following day is not quite what he was expecting and he’s had a big barney with his manager over it. He’s stormed out of the bar onto the roof terrace and is having a major sulk. Due to the very cold weather, Sukie takes a jacket out to him as all he is wearing is a thin T-shirt. When she offers the jacket to him, he behaves like a bit of a git. Without giving too much away, Sukie doesn’t stand for his stroppy retorts and quickly puts him in his place. It is the start of a beautiful friendship.
This is my favourite scene because this is the point where the story really begins to take off and the dynamics between Sukie and Pete are set.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I like watching movies as this way I can make my mind switch off. I love visiting castles and stately homes with my husband but often find my brain continues to ‘work’ either by plotting storylines on the journeys to and from home, or by ‘taking notes for future reference’ on the places we are visiting.
Chocolate or sweets?
Chocolate! Without question! Milk or white works for me. I especially like Thornton’s chocolate covered fudge and chocolate covered marzipan.
You have a free flight and accommodation to anywhere in the world where would you go?
As tempting as it is to say Salzburg and Austria, on this occasion I will plump for Florida. I’m really a big kid at heart and desperately want to visit Universal Studios with a view to seeing the Harry Potter sights. They look amazing. We’d also go to Disneyland too but the main objective would be Harry Potter.
What is your favourite season?
Winter. I love winter. I have no problem with dark nights and cold weather. I grew up in Scotland when we used to have proper seasons. So winter was very much ‘winter’ when it arrived. I can remember scraping off the ice on the inside of the windows in the house! I function better in the colder weather. Hot weather makes me very lethargic whereas the cold wakens me up.
What do you love about writing?
I love using words as a way of expressing myself. I love how I can become so many different people and live different lives. I enjoy the challenge of pulling my ideas together to create something for other people to read and get pleasure from. And absolutely nothing can beat the buzz I get when I suddenly have a new storyline pop up out of nowhere and I just know it is a cracker! The only downside is that I have far more ideas than I have time to write down the stories.
Do you have a favourite childhood story?
Like most children, I was a big Enid Blyton fan and she most certainly holds the most responsibility for the way I devoured book when I was a child. That said however, my favourite books were Anne of Green Gables and Anne of Avonlea. I still have my childhood copies and, even as an adult, I still read them every couple of years, They look a little bit battered now but the words inside still hold the same magic for me now as they did when I was child.
You have a day off – no children/work/responsibilities…what do you do?
Ideally my husband would be out for the day and I would have the house all to myself. In which case, I would be curled up on the sofa, surrounded by cats and have my nose stuck firmly in a good book. There would be complete silence and the only sound would be the occasional rustle of paper as I turned over the pages.
A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle by Kiltie Jackson on 26th September 2017
Pages: 315
Goodreads
Amazon Kindle, Audible
So who exactly is Sukie McClaren?
A Christmas-loving Cat lover? A Sound of Music Fanatic? A Fiercely Independent Woman?
She is all of the above. And when she is sent to Salzburg for a business trip a few weeks before Christmas, she thinks all her dreams have come true. As she packs her suitcase, the only things on her mind are Christmas markets, lots of snow and finally seeing the Doh-Ray-Me steps. Becoming the new best friend of the world’s hottest rock-star doesn’t even get a look in.
Pete Wallace is a reclusive, reluctant, rock-star and the world’s Number One, best-selling, male solo artist. It’s been three years since his last tour and he’s now preparing to go back on the road again. A week in Salzburg, schmoozing with the music press, is one of his worst nightmares.
He can’t wait for it to be over.
When Pete and Sukie meet, it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Lonely for too long, he begins toremember how it feels to be happy and, for the first time in six years, Christmas feels special again.
Eduardo di Santo however, whose kid sister suffered life-changing injuries at a Pete Wallace concert, is all set on getting revenge. When Pete’s new tour is announced, he begins to make his plans. Plans that will culminate in Pete’s demise.
Will Pete and Sukie’s new friendship die before it has a chance to flourish?
A Christmas tale full of love, laughter, friendship and revenge.
Giveaway
About Kiltie Jackson
Kiltie grew up in Scotland, Glasgow to be precise. A very unique city with a very unique way of looking at life. When she was old enough to do so, she moved to London and then, after several years of obtaining interesting experiences -which are finding their way into her writing – she moved up to the Midlands.
She currently lives in Staffordshire with five cats and one husband. The cats kindly allow her and her husband to share their house on the condition they keeps paying the mortgage!
Her little home is known as Moggy Towers, even though despite having plenty of moggies, there are no towers!
She loves reading, watching movies, and visiting old castles. She really dislikes going to the gym!
Her biggest desire is that one day she can give up the day job and write her stories for a living.
Kiltie first began writing ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle’ over ten years ago. The project was shelved on Chapter Seventeen as she felt the story wasn’t flowing as she would like it to.
In her own words “The images in my head would not come out of my fingers!” Fast forward to November 2016 when, having finished reading Lizzie’s Christmas Escape by Christie Barlow, she read more about the author and was inspired with how Christie herself came to be a best-selling author.
In that thunderbolt moment, Kiltie knew – with a deep certainty- that she needed to reacquaint herself with ‘A Rock ‘n’ Roll Lovestyle’ and begin writing again. She did this in January 2017 and found the words flowed faster than she could type them. Finally, the time was right for her to write her novel.
Her determination to finish what she had started all those years ago was absolute and the first draft was completed on Sunday 16th April 2017.
Since beginning to write again, the ideas have not stopped flowing. She has begun typing up her second book, ‘Of All the Unlikely Places’, and book three (not yet titled) has been worked out and is waiting in the wings for its turn in the spotlight.
She currently has a further ten plots and ideas stored in her file (it’s costing a fortune in USB drives as each story has its own memory stick!) and the ideas still keep on coming.
She now lives her life around the following three quotes:
“I love having weird dreams, they’re great fodder for book plots!”
“Why wait for your ship to come in when you can swim out to meet it?”
“Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!”
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