(Center Stage!, #1)
Publication date: September 14th 2015
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Allison Burch’s wildest dream is to become a famous singer. She can hardly believe her own good luck when she auditions for the reality television singing competition, Center Stage!, and is chosen as a contestant. She finally has a legitimate shot at fame, fortune, and a chance to go on tour as the opening act for her favorite boy band on their world tour.
However, Allison wasn’t counting on one of the celebrity coaches being Chase Atwood, the famous rock star father of her former best friend. Allison’s terrified that Chase is going to find out that she and his daughter have been in a fight for months, and it’ll ruin her shot at the grand prize. Making matters worse, Allison’s own coach, Country Western star Nelly Fulsom, intends to groom her into a Nashville superstar.
As Allison struggles to decide if she really wants to win on the show if it’s by resorting to dirty tricks and assuming the image that Nelly wants to create for her, she find herself falling hard for her biggest competition on the show: a brooding songwriter named Elliott Mercer. She’s not sure if Elliott’s interest in her is genuine, or if he’s just playing along with the producers’ strategy.
It’s up to Allison to decide: how much is she willing to lose in order to win?
Fans of Caitlyn Duffy’s The Rock Star’s Daughter will enjoy this tale about Taylor’s friend Allison and her journey to fame.
Goodreads
Amazon
What inspired you to write about a reality show?
I was inspired to write about a reality show because I was a huge fan of American Idol when it first debuted on TV in the USA (go Kelly Clarkson!). Since my first book, The Rock Star’s Daughter, came out four years ago, readers have frequently reached to me to ask whatever became of Taylor’s best friend, Allison, after they had their blow-out argument. Their friendship was one of the loose ends that I wanted to resolve in the book’s sequel, but the more I thought about Allison’s position, the more tempted I was to dedicate an entire book to her.
I think a lot of girls can relate to Allison’s dream of becoming famous, or at least of being recognized for her talents, which is exactly why reality shows are so popular. I live in Hollywood, and here it often feels like no matter what aspect of the “industry” you’re in, there’s always someone encouraging you to look or act differently to be more commercially viable. It’s kind of like bullying-lite. Setting Allison’s story in a situation where she felt like she had to pretend to be someone else in order to win seemed like a great opportunity to explore her personality. Unlike Taylor, the narrator of The Rock Star’s Daughter, whose relationship with her parents is somewhat strained, Allison’s very close to her parents. They can’t understand her fascination with becoming famous, so her decision to audition for the show is really the first time in her life when she experiences what it’s like to be venturing out on her own.
Also, one of my good friends from college is a producer on a reality show about teenagers (I don’t dare mention which one, but it’s been on TV a long time). It’s always struck me as amazing how much effort producers of those shows put into constructing narratives out of the footage they gather. The honest truth is that unless you’re a senator or a CIA agent, reality is pretty boring. Much of what we see on reality TV shows is formulated and not at all true. We’ve entered an era in which the majority of TV watchers under the age of 40 have come to think of reality TV as a reflection of real life, and unfairly judge their own lives in comparison. So Center Stage is an attempt to peel back the layers of reality television and remind readers that people you see on television are actually people—with normal problems like zits and embarrassing parents who buy hemorrhoid pads at the drug store when hot boys are around.
However, Allison wasn’t counting on one of the celebrity coaches being Chase Atwood, the famous rock star father of her former best friend. Allison’s terrified that Chase is going to find out that she and his daughter have been in a fight for months, and it’ll ruin her shot at the grand prize. Making matters worse, Allison’s own coach, Country Western star Nelly Fulsom, intends to groom her into a Nashville superstar.
As Allison struggles to decide if she really wants to win on the show if it’s by resorting to dirty tricks and assuming the image that Nelly wants to create for her, she find herself falling hard for her biggest competition on the show: a brooding songwriter named Elliott Mercer. She’s not sure if Elliott’s interest in her is genuine, or if he’s just playing along with the producers’ strategy.
It’s up to Allison to decide: how much is she willing to lose in order to win?
Fans of Caitlyn Duffy’s The Rock Star’s Daughter will enjoy this tale about Taylor’s friend Allison and her journey to fame.
Goodreads
Amazon
What inspired you to write about a reality show?
I was inspired to write about a reality show because I was a huge fan of American Idol when it first debuted on TV in the USA (go Kelly Clarkson!). Since my first book, The Rock Star’s Daughter, came out four years ago, readers have frequently reached to me to ask whatever became of Taylor’s best friend, Allison, after they had their blow-out argument. Their friendship was one of the loose ends that I wanted to resolve in the book’s sequel, but the more I thought about Allison’s position, the more tempted I was to dedicate an entire book to her.
I think a lot of girls can relate to Allison’s dream of becoming famous, or at least of being recognized for her talents, which is exactly why reality shows are so popular. I live in Hollywood, and here it often feels like no matter what aspect of the “industry” you’re in, there’s always someone encouraging you to look or act differently to be more commercially viable. It’s kind of like bullying-lite. Setting Allison’s story in a situation where she felt like she had to pretend to be someone else in order to win seemed like a great opportunity to explore her personality. Unlike Taylor, the narrator of The Rock Star’s Daughter, whose relationship with her parents is somewhat strained, Allison’s very close to her parents. They can’t understand her fascination with becoming famous, so her decision to audition for the show is really the first time in her life when she experiences what it’s like to be venturing out on her own.
Also, one of my good friends from college is a producer on a reality show about teenagers (I don’t dare mention which one, but it’s been on TV a long time). It’s always struck me as amazing how much effort producers of those shows put into constructing narratives out of the footage they gather. The honest truth is that unless you’re a senator or a CIA agent, reality is pretty boring. Much of what we see on reality TV shows is formulated and not at all true. We’ve entered an era in which the majority of TV watchers under the age of 40 have come to think of reality TV as a reflection of real life, and unfairly judge their own lives in comparison. So Center Stage is an attempt to peel back the layers of reality television and remind readers that people you see on television are actually people—with normal problems like zits and embarrassing parents who buy hemorrhoid pads at the drug store when hot boys are around.
Caitlyn Duffy is a private boarding school survivor and the author of The Treadwell Academy Novels, a series about privileged girls in an elite boarding school setting and the challenges they face. The series addresses issues common to teen readers including eating disorders, divorce, grief, heartbreak, first love, drug addiction and disagreements with parents. It was Caitlyn’s dream to create a series that mixed glamour and celebrity with the real-life problems that kids endure that could be enjoyed by readers of all ages. Her writing experience includes freelance editing for publishing houses and copywriting in the advertising industry.
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When she’s not writing about the girls of Treadwell, she’s walking her semi-famous dog Maxim around Park Slope, Brooklyn and drinking too much coffee.
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Giveaway:
Tour-wide giveaway (US/CAN)
1 Grand Prize Winner will receive:
- 1 Sol Angeles t-shirt
- 1 pair of Monroe sunglasses by Wild Fox Couture
- 1 bottle of Malibu Blue nail polish by Lauren B of Beverly Hills
- 1 signed paperback copy of Center Stage
4 Runners-Up will receive:
- 2 bottles of LA-themed nail polish by Lauren B of Beverly Hills
- 1 signed paperback copy of Center Stage
Tour-wide giveaway (US/CAN)
1 Grand Prize Winner will receive:
- 1 Sol Angeles t-shirt
- 1 pair of Monroe sunglasses by Wild Fox Couture
- 1 bottle of Malibu Blue nail polish by Lauren B of Beverly Hills
- 1 signed paperback copy of Center Stage
4 Runners-Up will receive:
- 2 bottles of LA-themed nail polish by Lauren B of Beverly Hills
- 1 signed paperback copy of Center Stage
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