Rock to the Top Chapter 3

Becky shook her hands and took a deep breath. She was dressed in her favorite leather mini
skirt and green short sleeve shirt with a V neck. The black boots she wore were her favorite kind,
covering her legs up to just below her knees. She absently played with her long, teased hair. The butterflies in her stomach were going crazy. This was a big day, not only in her career, but personally.

She was going to meet the band Black Ice, and actually sing with them! It would also be the first time in
months since she had seen Michael Lowrance at the Grammy’s. Her heart sped up like a racing train at
the thought of it.

“Ashley Beth, they are ready for you.” The receptionist behind the counter pointed to her left. Becky took a deep breath and walked down the hallway, going through the door on the right,
with her mother right behind her. Becky didn’t want her mom there with her. After all, she was 17,
almost 18 and didn’t feel she needed a chaperone anymore. But her mother was very insistent and Becky
figured she will be an adult in just a few months, and then she can do whatever she wanted.

Becky and her mother walked into the studio. “Ashley! Great to see you again.” Michael flashed a smile that reached his eyes and he held out his hand as soon as he saw her. She shook his hand and felt that same electricity that she felt the night of the Grammy’s. Her stomach churned and she was glad it was loud in the room with the other band members tuning up their instruments.

“Great to see you too. Please, call me Becky. Ashley Beth is my stage name.” She explained
when she saw the confused look on Michael’s face. “Michael, this is my mom and manager, Felicia.”
Becky introduced her mother who was standing behind her.

“Nice to meet you. You can have a seat in the control booth if you like. We only allow the artists
in the studio.” Michael showed Becky's mom the door to the control booth, where she then made herself
comfortable by the window to watch.

“How about you meet the rest of the band before we get started?" Michael nodded toward the rest of the band in the room.

 Becky couldn’t tear her eyes away from his. She had to clench her hands together to keep them from shaking too much. She loved how blue his eyes were; it was like getting lost in the blue ocean. She could drown in that vast ocean of his eyes forever. When he smiled, his eyes twinkled and her heart melted. And
his hair- she just wanted to reach up and run her hands through his long hair. When she was standing
near him, his scent, a mixture of cologne and cigarette smoke, intoxicated her. Her knees grew weak. She had never felt like this before. Sure she had crushes before, but those were harmless, baby crushes. This seemed like so much more than a crush. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but it threw her for a loop.

She met and shook hands with the other band members: Tim Miller, the cute bass player, Aaron
Diamond who was amazing on drums, Matthew Kenny, who played chords on the guitar like she had
never heard before, and Jeff Jordan, the lead singer of the band whom she would be singing with.

Jeff helped to calm her nerves. He was so easy to talk to and very laid back and easy going. He
joked around, making Becky laugh through her nervousness. It also helped that she wasn’t working
one on one with Michael. If she were, there would be no way she would be able to sing well and hold
it together. Jeff asked her questions about what she had worked on, her albums, her voice range. She
wasn’t surprised he didn’t know her music, but she was surprised Michael did when he piped up a few
times about her voice and her songs.

“You have an amazing voice.” Michael came up to talk to her during a break in recording.
Immediately self conscious, Becky smiled shyly. “Thank you.” Why on Earth was she being so shy
for? It wasn’t like her. She normally was a very outspoken, outgoing person, but being anywhere near
Michael made her feel so self conscious.

“What made you pick me for this duet? You could have had your choice of any female artist.”
Becky felt her face flush as she asked the question. What was it about him? His amazing and intoxicating
scent? The way his eyes shined when he spoke to her? His nice, firm ass when he bent down? Now
Becky was horribly blushing. What has gotten into her? She couldn’t keep her wits about her.

“You were our pick. You don’t realize how good you are? You have incredible talent. Any artist
would find it an honor to work with you.” Michael put one foot on the chair and leaned his elbow on his
leg, watching her with intrigue. It just made Becky even more nervous.

“I don’t really consider myself that wonderful I guess. I just sing. That’s all. Just doing what I love
to do.” She twisted a piece of her hair around her finger.

“But you are so much better than ones like Madonna. You are a great role model for girls. You
don’t go stripping or stupid crap like that.” Aaron commented, walking up to Becky while twirling his drumsticks. Aaron was a handsome man with long black hair and brown expressive eyes. Becky
immediately felt comfortable with him from the time she met him. One could almost see his big heart
just by looking at him.

“Thanks. I really appreciate that.” Becky shifted her feet. Was it getting warm in there? She
glanced back at the control booth and saw her mom’s expression. Her heart sank. She could only
imagine what she was thinking.

“Alright kiddos, let’s get back to work!” Jeff entered the room, a black bandana on his head,
holding back his blond hair. He wore jeans that had more holes in them than a golf course, old tennis
shoes, and a blue t shirt. As nervous as Becky was, it only seemed to be because of her seeming crush
on Michael. She got along really well with the band, especially Jeff, who joked around with her between
takes, and sometimes during takes. He got her laughing pretty easily, sometimes to the point she could
barely sing. As the day went on, she lost her anxiety and self consciousness, and let loose, even talking
to Michael in between takes while looking him in those baby blues.

Becky was actually quite happy it was going to take several days to record the song, as she
didn’t want it to end. It was the most fun she had recording a song, and the most comfortable she had
ever felt with any artist. Whoever said rock bands were bad tempered didn’t know a thing about Black
Ice. Not only did she get along with them, but they got along well with each other. She was pretty sad
once the song was recorded. She wasn’t sure when she would see them again.

***I feel like this scene needs to be longer. I was trying to establish that Becky feels very comfortable with the band from the start, outside of her nervousness because of her crush on Michael. I wanted to establish that she becomes friends with these men and they have a great time recording the song. However, I'm wondering if it's too short/quick? Maybe I need to add in some dialogue between Becky and Jeff to establish a good working relationship? Something to think about and work on. Thoughts?? 

Rock to the Top Chapter 2

Becky’s life became increasingly busy since she won the Grammy. It seemed everyone wanted
a piece of her. In the month following her win, she did interviews and performances for TV shows, talk
shows, morning shows, night time shows, radio shows. Becky was exhausted and she had no time to
even think about her offer of a duet.

One morning when she finally had some down time, Becky and her mom sat down for a cup of
coffee in a local coffee shop on Milwaukee’s East side. A handful of patrons recognized her and asked for her autograph, but the majority of the place didn’t know who she was. She was the latest teen sensation,
Ashley Beth, who went to the top in just a few years. But she wasn't always like that. When she was 13 she convinced her mom to let her try out for Star Search, a TV show looking for new talent. She won! A producer saw her there and offered to take her on his record company. Her first record was recorded within a year and it was in the top 5 pop charts. She was expected to be the next up and coming star. Her second album, recorded last year, brought her the first number one hit, which also received the Grammy. She was flying high on such success. Now at 17, she was the country’s biggest teen pop princess. It was everything she ever wanted. More importantly, she made something of herself, something her jailbird brother could never do.

“We need to discuss what the next plan of action is.” Becky’s mom took a drink of her black coffee and looked at Becky pointedly.

Becky rolled her eyes. Ever since Becky got into the business and her mother became her manager,
she was all about business. She was a good manager, Becky will give her that. But somehow in the
process her mom lost sight of having fun and enjoying it and became a “stage mother”. Becky started out
in the business at a fairly young age and needed the guidance, but now she’s almost an adult, and she
sometimes got annoyed with her mother’s constant advice on life direction.

Becky listened to her mother absently as she discussed more interviews and performances lined
up in the next few weeks. She stirred her tea and looked around the coffee shop. It was buzzing
with excitement as the early commuters came in to get their caffeine fix. She couldn’t
help but let her mind wander as her mother went on. She thought back to Grammy night and what an
amazing night that was. She still couldn’t believe she was on top, the biggest pop singer of the year.
Everything she worked so hard for has finally paid off. Becky’s heart skipped a beat as she thought about
Michael Lowrance. She was still shocked that he wanted to do a duet with her, much less talked to her.
Becky still didn’t feel like she was anything special really.

“Rebecca! Rebecca are you listening to me?” Her mom's frustrated voice burst through Becky’s
daydream.

“Oh yeah.” Becky shook her head slightly. “I was just thinking, that’s all.” She played with
her long auburn hair, the same color as her mom's. Becky was the spitting image of her mother in the looks
department, but are complete opposites in personality.

“What about sweetie?”

“I received an offer to do a duet a few weeks ago. I was thinking of maybe taking the offer.”

Becky had never really told her mother what she wanted to do as far as her career. It was usually the
other way around, her mom taking over the mother and manager positions. But this time Becky mentioned
it because she really wanted to do this. She wasn't sure if it was because she would be the
first pop star to collaborate with a rock group, or if it had more to do with seeing Michael again. Either
way she was determined to do this.

“Oh?” Her mom leaned forward, her elbows resting on the table. She looked beautiful in the beige
jacket and matching skirt, making her look professional, yet exotic at the same time. “Tell me about this
offer. Who is it from?”

“It’s from Black Ice. They want me to collaborate on a song and sing a duet with them. Wouldn’t
that just be totally rad?” Becky couldn’t help her excitement that bubbled over.

Becky heard her mother gasp. “Black Ice?”

Becky rolled her eyes. “Yes mom! They are a rock group….”

“I know who they are Becky. I just don’t understand why they would want to do a duet with
you.” she interrupted.

Becky sank back in her chair, her mouth turned in a frown. She didn’t realize her own mother,
even acting as manager, would have such little faith in her.

“What I meant, dear, is that they are a rock band. You are a pop star. Two very different genres.
Did they mention at all why they want to do a duet?” Becky could hear the suspicions raise in her mom's voice.

“No he didn’t really state why specifically. Just that they have a specific song in mind for a movie
and want to work on it together. They think with the two worlds brought together it will be a big hit and
get twice the listeners.” Becky held her breath. She really wanted this.

“Well, that does make sense. I don’t know, Becky.” She took a drink of her coffee and thought
it over for a minute. “I don’t like you around those kind of influences. It’s not good for you or for your
image.” She frowned.

“Mom you don’t even know them.” Becky stated. She worked hard to keep her voice from rising, but the frustration was plain.

“Neither do you.” Her mother pointed out.

“Well no, but I’ve heard of them. And it’s only for one song, Mom. It could do wonders for my
career!” Becky fell into the teenage daughter roll, begging for this one chance. She knew the pouty lips and the sad eyes would eventually work. There was a long pause as her mom had this faraway look in her eyes.

“So Mom? What do you think?” Becky tilted her head, making the puppy dog eyes.

“Yes I suppose it would be acceptable. Just be careful.”

Becky could feel the new hope and excitement building in her. She squealed in delight and hugged her

mom. She was looking forward to a new chapter in her career.


*****Editors note: This chapter was a mess!! Unfortunately I had to take out half the chapter because it had a huge POV error in it (half the chapter was in her mom's POV, which didn't work when starting off with Becky's POV). It was important info though so I'll have to figure out where to rework that. 

Rock to the Top Chapter 1

Becky never expected to be such a star. She had no idea she would end up with a number one
hit when she first asked her mom to let her audition for Star Search. Becky always wanted to be a
famous singer one day, but she never really expected it to come true. Now she was sitting in the middle
of it all; at the Grammy Awards waiting to see if she would win the award for best new pop singer. It was
all so surreal to her. It was like being a kid in a candy store. She had come such a long way in a short
amount of time, it was hard to take it all in at times.

Becky caught herself biting her lip, and her heart rate was through the root. Anxiety was at an all time high,
not only to see if she won, but to be around so many popular and famous celebrities. She still didn’t consider herself one of them. After all, she was only 17, still lived with her mom, who managed her. She still had a typical teen life outside of the craziness of music. The days she couldn’t go to school, she had a tutor come in. She still did homework, still did chores. A lot was still expected of her. Her mother always said that just because you were a teen superstar doesn’t mean you should act like one. She saw how the kids from the Brat Pack acted and her mom would tell Becky she should never act that way. Never let the world see you act like your better than anyone, because you could always fall flat on your face at any given time.

Becky didn’t really need her mom telling her those things though. She already knew that. She
never took a moment of this for granted. She never expected to make it this far, so each moment was
extraordinary and special.

And being at the Grammys- wow! She was start struck and really had no idea what to expect.
She couldn’t wait to get dressed up and meet all the superstars there. Her dress was long and blue.
It was strapless and had diamond sequence all over the bodice. It was definitely not her mother’s first
choice, but Becky didn’t care. She loved it and it made her feel older and more sophisticated.
It was now time. The category of new pop artist just came up. MC Hammer and Tiffany were
the presenters and the video screen showed a clip of each video of the song that was nominated. It was
still strange for Becky to see herself up on that screen, her voice filling the room. She didn’t think she’d
ever get used to that. She held her breath while the drum rolled. Her name was called and as everyone
clapped she gasped for air. A huge smile fell on her face and she jumped up from her seat, barely containing
her excitement. She actually won! Becky had to fight to keep herself in control, lest she scream and shout
like the teen she was.

From that moment until she left the stage after her acceptance speech was all a blur. She
felt like she was floating on air. She had a speech prepared but didn’t end up using it as her mind was
fluttered with so much during the 2 minutes she had to speak.

While Becky was backstage after accepting her award, she looked around at all the celebrities
floating about. She received a hug from MC Hammer and Tiffany. She couldn’t believe she was
chumming it up with Tiffany, one of her idols! The night was the most amazing one yet. Once Becky
caught her breath, she started to make her way to get back to her seat and enjoy the rest of the award
show. That’s when she saw them. The band Black Ice was standing just a few feet away! She totally
idolized them. They also won an award tonight, but under the anxiety she felt earlier she hadn’t
paid attention. Now she saw them standing not too far from her and she froze. They were all hot but
the keyboard player caught her eye. He was a few inches taller than her, maybe about 5’9”, long flowing
blonde hair, sparkling blue eyes. He was dressed in tight black leather pants and a white shirt buttoned
half way down. Becky almost squealed with delight just looking at him. He was so much hotter in person
than in the videos. She couldn’t help herself from staring.

Becky must have been staring too long because just then the keyboardist left his band mates
and stood right next to her.

“Hey! You must be Ashley Beth?”

“Hi. Yes.” Becky had to work to control her mouth from dropping to the floor. He not only was
talking to her, he knew her name! Well, sort of. He knew her stage name. Her mom, as her manager, felt
that Becky shouldn’t use her real name. Too many complications her mom said. So she came up with an
alter to use. It took a while for Becky to get used to a different name, but by now it was interchangeable.

She held out her hand to shake.

“I’m Michael Lowrance from Black Ice. Congrats on your win! It’s very exciting.” He shook her
hand and immediately she felt an electricity run through her, starting at her hand from his touch moving
all the way down to her toes. It was like nothing she ever felt before in her life. It could just be nerves
from speaking to this hot guy and the high of winning though.

“Thanks. It’s a whirlwind, for sure!” She tried to hide how excited she felt, though she was sure
the whole world could see it. Her face felt flush and she had to work to keep herself from fanning herself.

“I was wondering if you wanted to do a duet with myself and my band sometime.” Michael’s
eyes sparkled and Becky thought she would pass out from shear excitement. She tried very hard to keep
herself in check.

“That would be awesome! I’d love to.”

Michael smiled his famous smile. “Great! I’ll give you a call and let you know the details.” His
hand brushed against her arm and she felt that electricity again. Was she floating? Or dreaming? She
couldn’t even put into words what she felt. She watched him walk back to his band before she headed
back to her seat for the rest of the show.

Wow. A duet with a rock band. That will be a first for her, and would be a first for the music
industry. Many musicians stayed within their own genres. Very few ventured out, so it was a great
opportunity for her to pass that stereotype. Pop Princess meets Rock band. It will be interesting indeed.

Rock to the Top

I've spent some time thinking about what I want to post. I looked through various books of poetry, short stories, and looked at a few books I've written too.
Sure, I could post a bunch of stuff I've written in the past. But would that be worth it? How would that help my writing along now? Bottom line: it wouldn't. I would just be typing up things I have already written years ago. Finished products. While nice, and I would love to get my work out there, I've decided to post things I'm working on. That way it gets my butt in gear to actually write while posting.

I don't have the time right now (nor should I start since I'm in the middle of a project) to just come up with something off the top of my head to write while I'm posting. It sounds simple, but believe me, it's really difficult to just come up with stuff off the top of my head. Especially if I'm not feeling incredibly creative at that point. However, I decided to post a book I wrote for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) a few years ago. I never got past the first initial draft of this book that I wrote during NaNo. I've been meaning to work on it, but you know how life goes. Plus, I'm still working on the main book I'd eventually like to self publish (I've been working on that book for nearly ten years lol).

This book is called Rock to the Top. It's the first book in a trilogy about a woman named Becky who has high dreams of being a pop star and falls in love along the way. I will post in chapters. As I post the chapter, I will (hopefully) be editing along the way. My NaNo's first drafts always tend to be very stream-of-conscious writing, and half the time don't make sense. Hopefully I can clean it up a bit so it won't be so scatty!

Hope you enjoy it. Any questions, concerns, comments, feel free to let me know! Comments are always welcome!

Welcome!

Hi!

Welcome to my Creative Corner!

This is an outlet for me to post different things I have written, both past and present. I may post things I have written twenty years ago, and things I may be currently working on. I figure if I have a blog to post to, it might keep me more motivated to actually do some writing.

Writing is a huge passion of mine. I don't even remember when I first started writing, as it seems it has always been part of my life. But I do remember when I first fell in love with English and realizing that was where I was at my best. My 5th grade teacher. I loved it when she read books to the class. I just fell in love with books at that point. Maybe that's when I started writing, I'm not sure.

I have written stories, poems, books. I can post any of those. Hoping I can keep up on this!!

Stay tuned......