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The Story Behind Leigh Court’s Rock Star Romance Series (and the Bad Week That Started It All)
What happens when real life takes you from the flashing lights of rock concerts to the quiet moments that change everything? Today’s guest, romance author Leigh Court, gives us a peek behind the curtain, both at the glitzy rock star world that inspires her books and one unforgettable week that changed her life forever.
I’m thrilled to turn things over to Leigh so she can share how her love of writing romance first began.
Thank you for hosting me today, Michelle!
I write rock star romances. They’ve been inspired by my husband, who spent his entire career in the music industry and toured with some of the biggest bands in the world, like The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Bon Jovi, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson and many, many others. As a result, I’ve traveled the world with him and been backstage during countless rock shows. All the background information in my rock star romances about planning a tour, rehearsing for it and hitting the road are accurate. Only my band is fictional. The books are a backstage peek at the crazy, glamorous rock star world!pThe first book in the series, Rock Star, features my singer Sebastian, who is shot during a concert, and the therapist brought in to help him overcome his PTSD and get back on stage. Except – he doesn’t know she’s the reason he was nearly killed!
Here’s a quick peek at my book, and then I’ll take you back to where it all began.
Sebastian Roe lived for nights like this one – the roar of the audience echoing in his ears, the wail of Nick’s guitar making his body vibrate, the pounding of Trevor’s drums pulsing like a living heartbeat.
In concert, Sebastian gave every ounce of energy to his fans, every drop of sweat, everything he had. They loved him for it, and he fed off that love. Hell, he mainlined it.
The first notes of “Can’t Live” launched into the air, and the roar of the crowd became thunder. Even with his in-ear monitor, Sebastian could hardly hear Nick’s guitar to listen for his cue to start singing. But he knew this song as well as he knew his own name, so he strutted to the front of the stage, throwing open his arms in a show of embracing them all. Every single person out there in the audience.
The roar got even louder.
“The sands of time run through my hands, my dreams and hopes and all my plans,” he crooned, his voice cracking to convey the sad emotion of the song. “I can’t live without you.”
It was his biggest hit. But Sebastian’s favorite music by far was the sound of the crowd’s deafening approval.
He grinned widely, and then felt an odd sting in the vicinity of his left shoulder. It pushed him back a few steps, as if a ghost had just shoved him. He looked around, but clearly nobody else was onstage except him and the band.
The sting became a burn, but he ignored it. Had he pulled a muscle? He straightened and then noticed a commotion in the seats near the front of the stage. A fight, maybe. People were running, shoving each other, climbing over chairs.
Whatever the problem, the band knew enough to keep playing. Sebastian took a breath, readying for the next verse, but he was distracted by an odd warmth spreading across his chest. He looked down and tried to make sense of what he was seeing – a stain on his shirt where he’d felt that stinging burn. It was a dark shade of red.
Blood. His blood.
His head started to spin and he sank to his knees. The wail of Nick’s guitar stopped. The pounding of Trevor’s drums stopped. Everything went eerily quiet in a venue built for sound.
The heat of the spotlights were still trained directly on him, and as his vision started to fade, Sebastian’s last thought was that he’d lived his life on a stage and tonight he was going to die on one.
Sound like an interesting beginning? I hope so!
I started writing romances after one very bad week at work. I was a television news reporter in New York. At the beginning of that “very bad week” I had to cover the story of a good friend of mine, a reporter for ABC News based in Detroit, who died on his way to a story. He was in a helicopter that crashed, killing him, his cameraman and the pilot. You can imagine how traumatic it was for me to report on his death, but my News Director insisted I do it, since I had known Joe and his family so well.
At the end of that same week, I was sent to cover an incident on the New York State Thruway. State Troopers in New York wear these ten-gallon Stetson-looking kind of hats, and there used to be a game played by semi tractor trailer truck drivers back then called “dusting” where if the trucker happened to see a Trooper who had pulled over a speeder on the highway, for instance, the trucker would see how close he could get to the Trooper as he passed by, hoping to blow off the Trooper’s hat with the wake of the truck. Well, you might be able to guess that this particular trucker got too close and splattered the Trooper all over the highway. And that was my story at the end of the week.
I got home Friday night very depressed, thinking “all I do is bad news.” I picked up my first romance novel that weekend – it was “Mistress” by Amanda Quick – and finished it in two days. And I realized something – romance novels are cheaper than therapy, LOL! It cheered me up so much that I thought: I basically write a ‘story’ every evening for the nightly news, so I wanted to try my hand at a romance. I wrote a historical, sent it off to Harlequin, and was immediately rejected. (Not a surprise, because at that time I didn’t know the ‘structure’ of a romance novel.) But I kept reading romances and writing more of them, and eventually I sold my first book in 2005. I’ve written seventeen novels since, selling to four different publishers as well as trying my hand at Indie publishing.
If you enjoyed the preview of Rock Star, I hope you’ll check out my website at www.leighcourt.com where you’ll find links to all my books. In addition to the rock star romances, I write historical and contemporary stories, and also sexy sci-fi under my pen name of Jenna Ives (www.jennaives.com). You can find me on Facebook and Instagram, too!
Thanks so much for hosting me today, Michelle!
About Leigh Court
Award-winning romance author Leigh Court’s career in broadcast journalism led to a fateful meeting and her own happily-ever-after with her music industry husband. She writes contemporary, historical, and sci-fi romances.
Author Links
Website – www.leighcourt.com
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/leigh.court/
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/LeighCourtAuthor
Purchase Link
“Sexy, intense and emotional!”
– Cynthia Eden, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author
“… you will fall in love with Sebastian Roe from the first page.”
– Fierce Romance
What a journey! From backstage passes and rock star tours to one unforgettable week that changed everything, Leigh Court’s story reminds us that inspiration can strike in the most unexpected ways. If you’re ready to dive into her world of swoony rock stars and gripping romance, grab a copy of Rock Star today and don’t miss following Leigh for more stories that will keep your heart racing!
Thanks for joining us today with Leigh! If you loved this peek into the world of rock star romance, don’t stop here. Explore more guest author stories, check out my own cozy mysteries, and discover even more heartfelt, suspenseful tales waiting for you on the site.
As always, thanks for stopping by for some Salty Inspirations!
Thanks so much for letting me be your guest today, Michelle!
It was such a treat having you, Leigh! Thank you for sharing your story (and a peek backstage 😉). My readers are going to love this one!
Oooh, I love rock star romances and can’t wait to read this one!
It sounds like such a fun twist on romance, and Leigh makes the backstage world feel so intriguing. 🎸 I can’t wait to dive in as well!
I’m sorry that two people had to die that week in support of your journalism career, Leigh. But writing romance is surely less grisly! Unless you write it yourself, of course. I really enjoyed the book, and this article too.