*THE GIVEAWAY IS NOW OVER. WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED SOON.*
One of my favorite Contemporary Erotica Romances of the year was by debut author Olivia Cunning. She's here today to talk about bands that have helped to inspire her fictional band, The Sinners, in her book, Backstage Pass. She is giving away two copies of Backstage Pass for details see below! My review of Backstage Pass can be found here, and checkout Leontine from Leontine's Book Realms Review of Backstage Pass-it sums up the book perfectly!
Inspiration for Sinners
Thank you so much for having me on your blog today! Today I thought I’d tell you a little bit about the bands who inspired the creation of the fictional band, Sinners, who star in my erotic romance novel, Backstage Pass. Okay. Do you have an hour or two? I’ve been a rock ‘n’ roll fan since my toddler years. My grandmother used to yell at my father for playing Led Zepplin too loud. “You’re gonna make that baby deaf!” Ah, mother-in-laws. How is it possible that they gave birth to the one you love? Luckily, I did not go deaf. And I still love Zepplin.
My teenage years correlated with the hair-band craze of the late eighties. I blame those guys for my obsession with musicians. One glimpse of Rudy Sarzo (the bassist of Whitesnake) licking his fingers while playing that sexy bass guitar and I was in panting lust for my first rock star. It would not be my last. In fact, mere minutes later, Adrian Vandenburg started writhing around on the floor playing his guitar solo with a violin bow and I wanted them both. Like right then. Electric sex. Oh boy!
Can you hold on a minute? I have the sudden insatiable urge to watch Whitesnake’s Still of the Night music video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3DJhwAhrjY
Oh yes. It’s still as sexy I remembered. And oh my, David Coverdale’s voice is an orgasmic delight. *accidently shoves Tawny Kitaen down the stairs* Whoops!
From there, my admiration for rock stars intensified. Was it fueled by teenage surges of hormones? Probably. Did it decrease over the years? Not really. There is just something innately sexy about rock stars and it comes out in droves in Backstage Pass. All five of the guys in Sinners are sexy beyond belief. Why, exactly? They don’t look like typical romance novel heroes. Yes, they are hot, but it’s more than looks. It’s the attitude. The expression of creativity—both on stage and off. The adulation of others. The camaraderie between them and the aura of the forbidden. You can’t help but get caught up in the excitement that surrounds Sinners or their inherent naughtiness.
My admiration for rock stars did not end with Whitesnake. Oh no. That was but the beginning. My next infatuation was with Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx and Tommy Lee. I often drool over two members of the same band simultaneously. That might explain the Trey and Brian thing in Backstage Pass. Read it and you’ll see what I mean. Yum! Poison’s Brett Michaels and CC Deville? Yes, please. Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sombora? Don’t we make a delicious sandwich? Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth? HOT!
Not all my obsessions were in pairs. Rick Savage of Def Leppard. Joey Tempest of Europe. Kip Winger of Winger. Sebastian Bach of Skid Row. That’s some fine rock star man flesh right there.
And then there was my one. *sigh* Axel Rose of Guns ‘n’ Roses. I don’t know what it is about that man (maybe that foot-sliding dance of his), but I became a monogamous rock star-obsessed teen for almost a year. Well, mostly. I kinda had a thing for his band mates: Steve, Duff and Slash, too. Slash? Yep, even though you can’t see his face beneath all that hair, the man is mysteriously sexy. It’s the way he holds that guitar. *growls*
This list will be a mile long if I keep going. I had a crushes on dozens of rock stars in the eighties. I look back on those days with fond memories, but I’ve outgrown men with the fluffy, long-haired look. None of the band members of my fictional band, Sinners, have long hair. No blush. No lipstick. Eighties hair-band they aren’t. Do forgive lead guitarist, Brian, for his guyliner. It’s trademark, but not glam.
Around the time the grunge era hit, the hair bands (or glam metal) went out of style. Grunge music grew on me (slowly), but the lust thing? Uh, yeah, not happening. I prefer a man who washes his hair more than once a week. Plaid and baggie jeans? Not working for me, fellas. Sorry, but give me a great ass in tight leather if you would, please.
Sometime in recent years, a new surge of hot rock stars emerged. And these guys don’t look like chicks. Hallelujah! The looks have changed over the years, but the hotness remains.
Disturbed’s David Draiman – dayum! Papa Roach’s Jacoby Shaddix – you can sweat on me anytime. 30 Seconds to Mars, Jared Leto—oh my, yes—and his brother, drummer Shannon. Brothers? ‘nuf said. Zacky Vengeance, M. Shadows, and Syn Gates of Avenged Sevenfold—holy hotness Batman! Wes Scantlin from Puddle of Mudd—more, please. Incubus’s Brandon Loyd—prepare the defibrillator as this man causes heart palpitations. There are dozens more who rock my world to rubble. And they’re all so very good at being bad. Who can resist a bad boy? Not me!
Don’t get me started on the music they create. We really will be here all day.
So when you ask me who inspired Sinners, I have to be honest and say they all did. Every rock star who banged a whammy bar or screamed a battle cry, twirled a drumstick or strummed a bass. Every one of them inspired Sinners. Sinners is a mosaic of rock star deliciousness.
And you know what? It works.
What musicians inspire you?
BACKSTAGE PASS BY OLIVIA CUNNING—IN STORES OCTOBER 2010
Five stunning guys, one hot woman, and a feverish romance…
For him, life is all music and no play…
When Brian Sinclair, lead songwriter and guitarist of the hottest metal band on the scene, loses his creative spark, it will take nights of downright sinful passion to release his pent-up genius…
She’s the one to call the tune…
When sexy psychologist Myrna Evans goes on tour with the Sinners, every boy in the band tries to seduce her. But Brian is the only one she wants to get her hands on…
Then the two lovers’ wildly shocking behavior sparks the whole band to new heights of glory…and sin…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Raised on hard rock music, award-winning author Olivia Cunning has been known to travel over a thousand miles to see a favorite band in concert. She discovered her second love, steamy romance novels, as a teen—first, voraciously reading them and then penning her own. She lives in Hastings, Nebraska. For more information, please visit http://www.oliviacunning.com/
To enter the giveaway you must be a blog follower and answer the question: What musicians have inspired you? Please state if you are entering the contest and leave a way for me to contact you if your email is not on your blogger profile. The giveaway is open until 7:00pm est Wednesday October 27, 2010. If I do not hear from the winner within three days of the winner being picked, new ones will be chosen.
