“To see the world in a grain of sand, and to see heaven in a wild flower, hold infinity in the palm of your hands, and eternity in an hour.”
William Blake
This line (from the book’s dedication) echos throughout the story. I came across it because my daughter’s boyfriend sent it to me. We lost him last year in a car accident, after I had been working on this novel for a while. There were so many parallels that for a bit it was hard to get back to work on the story. In the end, this novel helped me work through things.
This was an emotional project for me but I’m so glad I wrote it – I got to experience music in a new way and explore Sarah and Melody’s friendship. Sarah started out like me: not musically inclined (even though I’m creative in so many other ways). I’ve always wished I was able to sing or play music, so in a way I got to through Sarah in this story.
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Sarah can suddenly, magically make music. Michael thinks she stole Lauren’s last song.
Sarah Austin never had a musical bone to her body…until suddenly she does. A car accident reveals her boyfriend’s darker side and turns her life upside down. She moves in with her best friend Melody and finds herself turning to music, playing the guitar and writing songs like a pro. Melody’s entire life is about music so she’s ecstatic but also confused, and maybe a bit jealous…although this might be what she needs to launch her own career.
Half a world away, Michael Singer, lead guitarist and singer of Mystic Mist, is mourning the loss of a band member when he sees a video of someone singing Lauren’s last song. How did this American girl steal it? With his band falling apart around him, he decides to take matters into his own hands.
Sarah wants to know where her musical ability came from—and if she has any right to use this talent she didn’t earn. Sarah and Michael both want answers for very different reasons. Neither is prepared for how they’ll feel about each other.
A little zing of attraction hit me, irritating me. I was not getting the hots for a rock star, accent or not. He surly had plenty of fan girls out there, all over the world. I had to keep my face blank because Michael looked up at me.
“So how does it work? Do you know chords and progressions and how to read music?”
I shook my head as he talked. “I can just start playing. Well, I knew how to tune a guitar. And when I play, it’s like I understand more.”
“Come here.” He scooted back and patted the cushion between his legs. Oh, no no no. “I want to show you a few things.”
His words rolled off his tongue, sounding fun and flirty like most of the things he said in that Irish voice.
“Why?”
“Just humor me.” His eyes lit up, his lips doing that lopsided smile. Did it work on everyone?
Kristen James 