Greetings, Love Bytes! I’m Ro and I’m grateful to be here to chat about my contribution to this year’s Road to Rocktoberfest, an mm rockstar romance shared world series set at a fictional metal music festival in the desert. Feuds and Interludes was a book I’d started to write a couple of years ago for another project. I’d been tasked with writing a Rivals to Lovers tale, and boy howdy did I have fun creating the characters of Shane and Boone. The project was only meant to be a novella, however, and when I got to the maximum word count for the project, I wasn’t even halfway through. I’m grateful to pal Ari McKay for introducing me to TL Travis and being given the opportunity to finish writing this book.
I’d had this juicy plotbunny for years inspired by the song “Layla” by Derek and the Dominoes. In case you don’t know the history, Eric Clapton wrote the song about George Harrison’s wife Pattie Boyd, who he ended up married to later on. In fact, the two men wrote several hit songs about her including “Layla, “Wonderful Tonight” by Clapton, and Harrison wrote the Beatles hit songs “Something,” “For You Blue,” and “I Need You.” I’d always wondered wow, who was she that she sparked a feud between two of the biggest musicians of their era? I listened to her audiobook and she had a fascinating life (Wonderful Tonight by Pattie Boyd). What a time to be alive, and after writing You Can Save Me, I was fresh off my research on that era. I’d also recently watched the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony, and all of these inspirational pieces melded together.
Feuds and Interludes tells the story of the grandsons of two rock legends who were in love with the same woman. Here’s an introduction to set the scene: John Boone and Bruce Duncan were members of a massive 70s rock band called California (think The Eagles or Derek and The Dominoes), and back in the day, John won the hand of British actress Vera Jean Collins. It’s now 2024, and John has passed away. He’s being posthumously inducted into the Rock Hall, and his former frenemy Bruce is giving the induction speech. Bruce lets it slip in his speech that he wrote their biggest song, “Paisley,” about Vera Jean, letting the whole world know that he was in love with her, unbeknownst to John’s grandson, Boone.
Boone and Bruce’s grandson, Shane, have been rivals since they were kids. They’ve both become frontmen of their own bands, Boone an alternative rocker in his band Stellar(Stone Temple Pilots later stuff or Muse) and Shane’s band Wicked Soul leans more toward metal. After Bruce’s pronouncement, the septuagenarians decide to start dating, which throws their grandsons into a tizzy. How do they support their grandparents’ happiness and ensure they don’t get hurt?
Then the grandsons are thrown together as a scheduling snafu has them working at the same recording studio compound at the same time. Proximity has a way of breaking down walls, and soon the two find they have more in common than they thought.
If you’re new to my world of Rock ‘n’ Romance, welcome! If you have been around for a while, you will recognize many of the characters who orbit around our heroes. For example, the recording studio is owned by none other than Morrison Jones and Lydia Pride (Bolder Breed Studios books) and once they get to Rocktoberfest, they make sure to check out the reunion set of Maggie’s Bones (Haunted series). They also are paid a visit by two rock journalists you may recall from previous books. I had so much fun bringing all of my people together! That’s got to be one of the coolest things about being an author. There’s a list in the book of all the characters and which books they’ve been mentioned in previously.
Thanks for stopping by and thanks again to Love Bytes for having me. Stay Tuned for more…
From the award-winning author of Hurricane Reese, Summer of Hush, and You Can Do Magic comes a new rock star romance series inspired by legendary rock ‘n’ roll love affairs. Feuds and Interludes is a rivals-to-lovers, hurt/comfort love story complete with adorable septuagenarian lovebirds and beloved characters from Merrill’s previous rock-inspired series.
Boone Collins and Shane Butler are two of rock music’s brightest stars today. Their grandfathers founded a powerhouse rock supergroup that ruled the airwaves in the late 1970s, and the grandsons grew up in their shadows to become frontmen of their own successful bands. The epic rivalry between Boone and Shane is notorious, and it’s about to blow up.
When Shane’s grandfather Bruce inducts his deceased bandmate into the Rock Music Hall of Fame, he admits to the world that he wrote the band’s biggest hit about his best friend’s widow—Boone’s grandmother Vera Jean. The two want to rekindle their relationship, and their grandsons are determined to keep them apart. Only, working together for a common goal reveals surprising similarities between the rock stars as well as a chemistry they cannot ignore. Shane sees behind Boone’s glittery facade to the secrets he hides from his bandmates, and Boone is there to pick up the pieces when Shane’s professional world implodes. Together, they plot a musical collaboration to celebrate their grandfathers’ accomplishments instead of fighting—a star-studded tribute at the storied Rocktoberfest event in the Nevada desert—but will being in the spotlight prove to be too much for their fledgling romance to handle?
About the Series:
Feuds and Interludes is part of the multi-author Road to Rocktoberfest 2024 series. Each book can be read as a standalone, but why not read them all and see what antics our bands get into next? Hot rockstars and the men who love them, what more could you ask for. Kick back, load up your kindle, and enjoy the men of Rocktoberfest!
Universal Buy Link
Amazon
R.L. is giving away $25 Amazon gift card with this tour:
“Boone, honey, will you zip me up?”
Vera Jean Collins had the kind of beauty that turned heads, the grace of a royal, and the unshakeable poise to shrug off even the most rabid paparazzi. And tonight, all those characteristics would be put to the test.
I’d never get over how beautiful my grandmother was. The only constant in my life, she was my home, my role model, and my best friend. Wearing a form-fitting, sleeveless black dress adorned with iridescent rainbow sparkles, she had a youthful glow about her at sixty-eight years old and still commanded attention. A statuesque former actress, beleaguered rockstar wife, and now passionate philanthropist, Vera Jean Collins carried herself with an elegance that belied her years spent married to my lovable scoundrel of a grandfather.
“That tuxedo is very flattering,” she said as I stepped behind her and carefully zipped her dress to the nape of her neck. She’d pulled her long silver hair into a twist that looked professionally done, and with her heels on, she stood nearly eye-to-eye with my five-eleven frame. “I love the vest, too.”
I looked down at the navy velvet suit and gold brocade vest and smiled. “The tailor did a nice job taking it in. I think Papa would get a kick out of me wearing this. He loved this one.”
I held up the matching tie and she took it from me, gesturing for me to let her tie it. She looped it over my head and went to work, a wistful smile on her face.
“He certainly did. He bought it to irritate me, and then was frustrated when I told him that I loved how it brought out the blue in his eyes. He was always trying to pull a fast one on me.”
“And you’d always call his bluff.”
She handed me her diamond choker to fasten, and I winced when I noticed her hands were shaking. She was so brave, no matter the challenge before her, but I’d learned to notice the subtle traces of her struggles. Tonight her task would be smiling and waving at her deceased husband’s adoring fans and colleagues as he was posthumously inducted into the Rock Hall. I knew she missed him terribly. We both did.
“Kept things fun,” she said with a little shrug. She ran her fingers over her choker and relaxed her shoulders. “Always kept him guessing.”
I had my own reason for being nervous. My band, Stellar, was chosen to lead the tribute performance. In a few hours, I would be performing for an arena full of my musical heroes. With Bruce Duncan. I usually did my best when under pressure, but this was ridiculous.
“It was weird seeing Bruce at rehearsal.”
I’d grown up hearing the stories of when he and my grandfather ruled the world, but I hadn’t seen him in years and had no idea what to make of him as a person.
“Oh? How so?”
Gran stopped what she was doing and turned to face me.
“He talked to everyone else in the room but me. Well, he scolded me about the timing on one of the songs.”
“Relax, darling,” she said as she fastened her bracelet. “He’s probably just as nervous as you.”
“I’m not nervous. I know these songs like the back of my hand.”
“Right,” she said as she looked me up and down. “And that’s why your shirt is misbuttoned.”
I ran my hand down my shirt, and sure enough, I’d missed a button and the thing had a big bump in the middle sticking out from my vest. I went about undoing and redoing my shirt and vest. You’d think by the age of thirty, I’d be able to dress myself. You’d be wrong, apparently.
“Yeah, well, his infuriating grandson has probably told him terrible things about me.”
“Oh, nonsense. Shane is a good boy.”
“Boy? He’s two years older than me.”
“You two have more in common than you’d think.”
“He’s determined to be rude to me, so I guess I’ll never know.”
She was right in the sense that we came from similar backgrounds, but that’s where the similarities ended. I put together a band of unique artists interested in playing smart rock music with a point and a backbone. Shane was a hotheaded, brilliant musician who, instead of following in his grandfather’s virtuoso footsteps, had chosen to while away his time in a mediocre albeit popular metal band, making record after record of predictable drivel. He could do so much better.
“Maybe if you two walked a mile in each other’s shoes, you’d get along better. Speaking of which, do you have to wear those shoes?”
I looked at my feet and back at her. “My Chucks? Of course, I’m wearing my Chucks. They’re custom-made. Most comfortable shoes I own.” I’d chosen my gold sparkly ones tonight to match the tuxedo, so they really stood out.
She exhaled through her nose and raised an eyebrow at me. “You’re lucky you’re so handsome,” she said as she fastened her dangly diamond earrings. “You get away with a lot more that way.”
“And you wouldn’t let just anyone escort you tonight. Right. You said that already.” She could tease me all she wanted. I knew how much she loved me.
“Are you almost ready? Or do you have more metal to put in your head?”
She smiled sweetly at me and I rolled my eyes. I adjusted my septum piercing and ran my fingers over the thick silver rings in both ears. I had a stud through my tongue as well.
“I think I’m good.” I crossed my eyes at her and she wrinkled her nose. Then her smile morphed into that grandmotherly look I recognized.
“How about you, Boone? How are you feeling?”
“I’m okay. All good.”
I’m not changing the shoes, though. I mentally stuck my tongue out at her.
Gran slipped her hand through my offered arm and I leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.
“Chin up, tits out,” she muttered.
“I’ll try to remember that.”
She subtly hip-bumped me and put on her most dazzling smile, no doubt practicing for the evening ahead.
I loved this woman, owed her my life, and I would stand by her side no matter what. I wanted her to be happy. She deserved happy.
As for me? I just needed to survive without making a fool of myself. I knew I was good enough to keep up with the likes of Bruce Duncan, but he’d rattled me more than I let on at that rehearsal. The idea that I wouldn’t do my grandfather’s music justice terrified me.
Papa taught me everything I needed to know to launch my career. I would do him proud tonight.
And if that meant dealing with the likes of Bruce Duncan or his aggravating grandson, Shane Butler, so be it.
Whether she’s writing contemporary romance featuring quirky and relatable characters or diving deep into the paranormal and supernatural to give readers a shiver, R.L. Merrill loves creating compelling, diverse, and inclusive stories that will stay with readers long after. Winner of the Kathryn Hayes “When Sparks Fly” Best Contemporary award for Hurricane Reese, Paranormal Romance Guild’s Best Rockstar Romance for You Can Do Magic, and Daphne DuMaurier finalist for Connection, Ro spends every spare moment improving her writing craft and striving to find that perfect balance between real-life and happily ever after. You can find her connecting with readers on social media, advocating for America’s youth, cruising around town with Great Dane Velma, cuddling with twin black cat familiars Frankenstein and Dracula, or headbanging at a rock show near her home in the San Francisco Bay Area! Stay Tuned for more…
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