Let's start with the blurb, shall we?
Wealth. Fame. Gold record. Hookers and Cocaine front man Henri Lafontaine has it all…including a control freak manager, band members who smile as they sharpen blades for his back, and last but damn well not least, a fan out to steal his heart. Literally. Trying to write hit songs and plan a comeback in the midst of the hi-fi white noise of LA feels more like watching his world implode, until he’s offered a month in the Colorado Rockies for vocal coaching.
Sebastian Unger’s rich, classically trained tenor inspires wicked thoughts. More than a pretty choir boy, he cracks the whip without hesitation to drive tattooed bad-boy Henri to give his all to his music. Working, fighting, and finally establishing a fragile peace, they find inspiration and perhaps more in each other. But the clock is ticking. Time will pull Henri back to the grit and gold of LA’s mean streets and fame machine, while Sebastian must return to the opera circuit, where a mysterious man known as “the patron” holds far too much sway. Only the trust they've built on a handful of notes bridges their two worlds...and shields them from malice.
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I'm saving leads Henri and Sebastian for last. Allow me, then, to introduce the secondary characters, starting with the members of Henri's new band, Mismatched Delusions.
If you've read Naked Tails, Duet, Settling the Score or Corruption, you know I like to mix in strong, supportive female characters. A Matter of When is no different. But while Erica from Settling the Score and Monica from Naked Tails were very in-your-face, and Loretta Johnson from Corruption was a muscular, imposing woman, twenty-eight year old Tessa Eklund is smaller in stature and has a quieter strength that rocker bad boy Henri depends on. Henry pictures her as a fairy, and indeed, she does appear in fairy costume on a few occasions.
A meditation therapist by trade, Tessa comes to Henri's attention during his stint in rehab. She doesn't fangirl, but impresses him with her nurturing spirit. Need your tarot cards read? Or to relax to the soothing sounds of her Tibetan bowls? The five-foot nothing whirlwind reaches out to Henri, and becomes more than a therapist, she becomes a friend, and one of the few people Henri trusts.
A trained percussionist who idolizes 80's star Sheila E., she's Henri's first pick when his old band crashes and burns and he needs to rebuild. What she lacks in experience as a drummer, she more than makes up for with determination and style.
"Meditation, not medication!" is her mantra. She brings calm to Henri's world and becomes the heart of Mismatched Delusions.
What? You've never heard of Tibetan bowls? While this gentleman is a far cry from petite Tessa, you'll get the idea. On a side note, I listened to so much of this music while writing that I broke down and bought my own Tibetan bowl.
A Matter of When, now available for pre-order from Dreamspinner Press.
I loved Tessa, she was one of my favorite supportive characters in A Matter of When. She's so real I can almost see her!
ReplyDeleteThanks. I'd love to have her as a neighbor. Wouldn't she be fun on flea market trips? Come to think of it, I'd love to have you as a neighbor too!
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