CRAVE
BY
TY LANGSTON
Crave
by Ty Langston
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Heat Level: 3-4
Publisher: Solo Publishing Co.
Publishing Date: 11/12/13
Series: Crave, #1
Format: Digital
Words: 36, 996
Back Cover:
As a reporter for the Wakefield Post, Harper Erkstine has
seen everything. From murders to robberies, all of her recent stories have
ended with tragic consequences so great, that she began to question if she made
the right career choice for herself.
While all of her friends were dating, or going to clubs, she
was winning journalism awards for covering the latest drive-by shooting or a
home invasion that cost someone she knew, their lives.
She loved her job, it was rewarding to be a crime solver and
get to the truth of the matter. As much as she loved her job, but the hours of
a Metro beat reporter began to descend her into burn out mode.
She craved balance. A
break, a welcome distraction every now and then. She forgot what it was like to
have fun, to take a breath, smell the roses.
Was it wrong to want a great career and to have some kind of
a personal life? She couldn’t remember the last time she had a date or danced
with someone from the opposite sex.
In the middle of working on a missing person’s story that has
rocked her town to the core, Harper decides as a favor to her friend and
colleague to do a feature on local an up and coming rock band, called ‘Crave.’
It was a break from her routine, but Harper soon discovers
that this band may have ties to the missing person, not only does she question
why, but she also finds there is more to this band than just their music.
Goodreads:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18501901-crave?ac=1
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GUEST POST
Craving Success
(Crave a Bite)
An interesting Q &A
By Harper Erkstine-Wakefield Post
Music
isn’t the normal beat I cover, but as most people know in the office, I tend to
carry around my iPod and earphones as if they were appendages. To be honest, I love all different types of
music. From the jazz legends like Billie Holiday and Nina Simone to Jay-Z and
Three Days Grace. My playlist depending
on day or mood changes constantly.
When I
heard that my good friend and Dave Masters had fallen ill, the playlist that
normally helped me through the day stopped cold. Since the staff knew I was
huge music fan, they suggested that I try to do a feature on this upcoming band
that Dave was going to cover. Dave was a huge fan of theirs. Although I
hesitated at first, after listening to ‘Come to Me,” from Crave’s self-titled
EP I felt that I needed to go and hear this group for myself.
The rock
anthem, penned by lead singer, Cass St. Marie and guitarist Sean McKinnon is a
searing mix of Classic 80’s rock intertwined with a 21st century
sensibility. The lyrics are bold and
unapologetic. It transports you back to a time where rock didn’t have rules.
Nothing but pure, unadulterated fun.
After a
recent sold-out show at the famed, Star 80 Club in downtown Wakefield, I had a
quite the interesting and unrated Q&A with the guys from Crave.
Sitting
in their dressing room passing around 2 full bottles of Grey Goose and a
six-pack of Heineken for their drummer, is lead singer, Cass St. Marie,
bassist, Chace Lawson, guitarist Sean McKinnon and drummer, Eric Stewart.
(Editor’s
Note-Subscribers to Wakefield’s Post’s music and entertainment, magazine called
‘Ripped’, are getting this unrated version of the story due to its subject
matter).
Harper:
So, how did you come up with the name of the band?
Cass:
(takes a couple of long gulps from the bottle of Grey Goose before he passes it
to Sean. Then he replied) Well, who
doesn’t desire something? It can be a
type of food, a goal they strive to achieve in life. It’s that need or sensation that you want
something so bad that you could touch it or taste it. It’s a Craving. The guys and I ‘Crave’ for our music to get
over and make an impact. When it does
you feel that crowd connect with you as if it were a hot cock hitting a woman’s
G-spot and feeling her orgasm…
(Harper
clears her throat and waves her flushed face)
Cass:
Oops, well, I mean that as an analogy. It’s connecting with an audience. That a lot of times, is better than sex…
Sean: If
that’s the case, then you’ve been doing it with the wrong people.
(Sean
passes the bottle to Chace)
Cass:
Dude, some of those ‘wrong’ people are the same people that you’ve been doing
it with.
Sean:
(Grins wide) And I’m a happy man.
Cass:
(chuckles) Good for you. “We” are being interviewed here. I got sidetracked by the beauty of our
interviewer. She’s so hot… Ok..sorry. Harper’s working. Apologies Sug.
Sean:
(to Harper) Sorry, love. (winks)
Harper:
(giggles with a light blush). It’s all good. That will be edited out. Anyways, Cass you were talking about
interacting with the crowd. Explain it for someone who’s never experienced it.
Cass:
(Giddily responds) Well, it’s like sex in the ways that there is all this
build-up and you’re just feeding off all of this energy you get from the crowd.
I admit I need that. It’s a high that’s hard to come down from. The way they
respond to me, whether it’s positive or negative is how I know that I’ve done
my job for the night.
Harper:
So you Crave attention?
Cass:
Everyone does at point or another. Look at you for example, don’t you hope that
you one of your readers help out one person due to one of your stories?
Harper:
Good point.
Cass:
Thus the name. Crave is a universal term
that can be taken so many ways. It’s just up to the individual person to
satisfy their own needs and wants in the best way possible.
Harper: You’re audience is interesting to say the
least. When women’s aren’t throwing various pieces of undergarments or clothing
at you, what’s been the craziest thing thrown at you?
Sean:
(Laughs out loud hard and turns towards Chace who shakes his head)
Chace:
Don’t even laugh at that. It wasn’t funny.
Sean: (continues to laugh as the near empty bottle
gets passed back to him) Yeah, it was.
Cass
(shrugs) Huh? What you laughing at?
Sean:
Well, two things. 1st one was the Buffalo show and then in Holland.
Cass: (begins to laugh out loud). Holy shit, I forgot about “ipad chick”.
(Part
two)
Sean:
There’s this girl that is a huge fan of ours. She’s nice enough, but she’s a little
on a bizarre side. She’s really techy so we even have her run our fan database
because it’s grown so much that we can no longer keep up with that.
Anyways,
she was always a little obsessed with Chace and one night at a show we did in
her hometown of Buffalo, we had Chace do lead vocals on ‘Another Night’. Well,
this girl was so horned for Chace that she not only took off every last piece
of clothing she had on in front of everyone at the club, but to boot she videotaped herself on her ipad, and announces
on twitter and in the video that Chace was proclaiming his love for her and that he was her undoing. She
then said she needed to preserve this moment so that when she and Chace grew
old together, they could look back on their special moment and laugh with their
grandchildren.
Harper:
Are you kidding me?
Sean:
(continued) Nope. So for some unknown
reason, she decides to throw the ipad at him while he was performing. It winds up hitting him in the head, knocking
him out cold. Junior ended up with a huge shiner.
Cass:
(Laughs out loud) Aww Chace, I think she had good intentions. That looked like that hurt so bad that night; glad it wasn’t me.
Chace: You’re such an ass Cass. If that were you.
You’d still be going off. None of that shit happens to you or Sean. I only get the crazy shit. And Eric?
Well, he’s married and everyone knows just to stay away from him.
Eric: (sits quietly in corner with six-pack of beer
and grins). That night was hysterical. You have to admit for a crazy one, she
was cute.
(All of
the guys laugh)
Chace:
The fuck? Man, the chick strips off all of her clothes in front of everyone and
then tapes herself proclaiming her love and telling people that this was our
moment or something. Who does that
during a concert? And then, you throw an ipad at someone while their singing?
This is not like silk or cotton here… It’s steel, wireless and the hit hurt
like hell!!!
Cass:
Well, there was the really hot chick in Vegas at the Zion club... (blessed)
Sean: Oh
my god...I forgot about her, the one with the huge scorpion tattoo on her hip.
Cass:
(nodded) Uh-huh. (Growls) I have
nicknamed her “the Scorpion Queen”. That
was a great night.
Harper:
(rolls her eyes). Sure it was.
Cass: It
was for me, her and Julianne.
Sean:
What the fuck? You ass! You didn’t tell
me about this…
Cass: Don’t ask, don’t tell.
Sean:
Such an asshole.
Cass:
Proud to be one.
Chace:
See what happened? Smart-ass got a threesome and I got a black eye and a
concussion from “iPad girl”. Another chick nearly got me arrested for drug
smuggling.
Harper:
(In Shock) Seriously?
Cass:
(sigh) Nothing like the power of the pussy…
Harper:
(puts her hand over her mouth to conceal herself from hysterical laughter)
Chace:
You too? Fuck my life. I thought you were a decent person.
Cass:
Aww, Chace finally gets a hot chick after this outdoor festival we did in
Holland last summer and the two of them got so stoned that Chace forgot he had
some large remnants of the night before in his backpack.
Harper:
(Eyes rose) Oh? How large of a remnant?
Cass:
Huge! We got rid of most of it before U.S. Customs found out. But genius forgot
about the joint in his pocket and now has a lovely possession charge on his
resume.
Chace:
Could have been a lot worse if these guys weren’t there. Forever grateful to
them.
Cass:
(Smiles) We never let a brother go down. Even though his mouth runs like
diarrhea. If one of us goes down, we all
go.
Sean:
(nodded) Agree.
Eric:
This is true.
Harper:
So, how did the band get started?
Sean: Well,
I was in a band called “Razor’s Edge.” They were a cover band in the next town
over and although we made pretty decent money, I had been writing some new
material and wanted to stretch myself a bit. One day after hanging with some
friends, there was this guy with brown hair and this annoying Southern accent
that came up to me. Speaking of people that run off at the mouth, there is one
in particular that can put young Lawson to shame when he wants.
Cass:
(Gives him the finger)
Sean:
(Smirks) Anyway, this particular songwriter with several drinks in him, said he
was from New Orleans and recently moved up here to take care of some financial
obligations. He went on and on about how he wanted to write ‘the song.’ That one song that every songwriter longs to
write about introduces the audience to who they are.
He drove
me nuts. He babbled for a friggen hour about music and shocker…himself. Once the bar the closed, the two of us
grabbed our guitars and jammed together. Once we got into a groove, we found
out that we actually dug one another. I
honestly didn’t like him at first; I was about ready to tell him to take a
walk.
Cass:
(laughed at loud) I was nervous. But we did get along. I tend to babble when I’m nervous.
Harper:
Hmm. Is that what you do with me?
Cass:
Sug, that’s just confidence I can’t
wait til we go out. So excited. It’s going to be such a fucking great
night. Hopefully, there’s a sleepover or
something.
Harper:
(rolls her eyes) It’s good
to hope for
things…Oh wait. “Crave” things.
Cass:
(surprised)
Sean:
Good one, Harp.
Cass:
Our friend Julianne that we had met around the same thing was working as
bartender at the bar where Sean and I worked as janitors. Every night after the
Bar closed; we’d all stick around and write new stuff until around 6 a.m.
Harper:
Really?
Sean:
Julianne’s a good friend to the band. She’s a decent singer in her own right.
Cass:
When she’s not drunk, high or fucking someone in another to attempt to get a
break. In my opinion, you gotta make your own breaks in this gig. Last thing I
want to be remembered for is to be the one who didn’t earn his spot due to who
he fucked. I write, I perform good songs that are true to who I am and true to
what this band are, if people love it, great, if not, then move on. There’s enough room for everyone.
(part 3)
Harper:
Sensible
Cass:
It’s truth. She came from nothing, got into a pretty decent band in California
called “The Saints”, ever hear of them?
Harper:
(Eyes widen) Julianne was in that band? They’re a…
Sean:
They are a Top 40 Band. She was an original member before she slept with her
best friend’s fiancé then they kicked her out. A week later, they were signed
thanks to a song Julianne wrote. However, it was sung by Tayler Grey, their
current lead singer and Julianne’s replacement.
Harper:
Ouch
Cass:
Here’s the thing Julianne wrote the song, but the girls are claiming they all
wrote it. It’s a fucking mess.
Julianne’s still fighting it in court.
Sean:
She won some money but they owe her more I guess for others and with those
Julianne can barely prove she wrote them. She was so doped up or drunk that
while she was running around and screwing everyone with a pulse, “The Saints’
manager bilked her of her cash and cut her off. Word is he changed her name while
she was drunk and replaced it with Tayler’s but no one knows for sure.
Harper:
Holy crap.
Cass:
So, it was the three of us. We were closer than close. We wrote together,
‘slept together’, ate together, we lived under the same roof for actually a
year until we met Eric and his then girlfriend. He was moving in with her, when
I took over the lease at his place. Eric
was also in Razor’s Edge with Chace. You know Chace’s late sister is Melanie
from the group called ‘The Radicalz’ right?
Harper:
(smiles). Chace, your sister was Melanie Lawson? Her voice was amazing. I am so
sorry that she passed away.
Chace:
(somber) Thank you. She was my best friend.
If I could bring her back, I would. I miss her.
Harper: She would be proud….Okay, now for some fun
stuff. Here is the fan portion of the
interview.
(The
guys all have blank looks on their faces-as Harper continues)
We’ll
change this Q&A into a more fan-friendly session. Some of the staffers from
the Wakefield Post and I polled some of your nearest and dearest to see if they
had any questions.
(Chace’s
face turns crimson)
Chace:
(mumbles) Here’s comes friggen ipad chick.
Sean:
(grins wide): Aww, we’ll be ok. Bring it. Let’s go.
Chace:
Easy for you to say. I need to pray.
Cass:
(to Chace) Are we going to need to bail you out of jail again?
Eric:
What in the hell do you do after shows, bro? (to Chace)
Chace:
(shrugs) Nothing that all of you haven’t done once or twice… (Looks at Cass)
well, some people maybe more than that.
Cass: Ok
Chace, name it. Ask me what’s the craziest thing I’ve done after a show?
Chace:
(looks over at Harper) Aren’t you seeing our interviewer?
Harper:
(smirks) NO!
Cass:
Aww, Sug, So cute. See Harper’s into me. She just doesn’t want to admit
it. **whispers** She’s in work mode...
Harper:
You’re delusional!
Cass: If
you weren’t then ‘why’ are you getting so riled up?
Harper:
(takes a deep breath).
Cass:
(Clears throat) My exact point. So Chace, the craziest things I’ve done after a
show was last summer. There was this after party and there was the most
gorgeous, woman. Tall, jet black hair. Literally, I saw her, talked to her for
all of 5 minutes …
Chace:
And?
Harper:
(Eyes narrow) Yeah and? (Tone sharpens)
Cass: We
stayed in the bathroom until the bar opened the next night.
Sean:
Holy Shit! Where was I again?
Cass:
With Ellen. With every hope that you
were doing the same thing.
(Harper’s
eyes widen with surprise)
Cass: Yes, Sug. That Ellen.
(Harper
shook her head)
Sean:
She’s a nice girl. We hang out every so often.
Cass: (to Harper) Babe, none of us are Saints. But
I can tell you that when I’m finally gone from this earth, there is going to be
one hell of a party in the afterlife.
Sean: No doubt
Eric:
That’s for sure.
Chace:
You two are male sluts!
Harper: What, did I get myself into with this
interview?
Sean:
Relax Harper; Cass doesn’t do these things often. But we are human, and this
lifestyle has its privileges which we sometimes take full advantage of.
Cass: Thank you.
I’m actually, when I have an
exclusive
girlfriend, the most loyal guy ever.
Wanna go out now?
Harper:
We’re getting off the subject
Cass:
You need to “get off”, Sug. You’re so
intense. Relax, have some Vodka...
Harper:
Bet you’d like to see me get off.
Cass: I
can’t wait to be the one to do it! It’s going to be so amazing.
(Harper’s
face turns red from embarrassment)
Harper:
Do you ever stop?
Cass:
Not if I know, that’s something’s meant to be I don’t.
Harper:
Ok, enough about me...Interview!! Cass,
guys, your fans have questions.
Cass:
Denial on you is the cutest thing. It’s
actually a turn on for me. Sure you don’t want a ‘ride’ home?
Harper:
I’ll be fine.
Cass:
You have to be so frustrated. All this talk of threesomes and all night romps
in the bathroom. Admit it, you’re wondering what kind of person or people would
do that. And there’s a huge part of you that wonders “what if that were me?”.
Harper:
NOT! Especially women who lift their
tops off and strip off all their clothing to win a night with any of you. You
all seem nice. Nothing against you. I
just think a woman shouldn’t steep so low to have a convo with you. Shows you something about their self-worth.
Cass: Or
their confidence. Takes a strong person who is uninhibited to do that. I get
where you’re coming from but on the other hand, in their desperation, they are
strong in their beliefs to fight for what and who they believe in. Harper, you’re beautiful. What I dig about
you is what people don’t see. Your spunkiness drives me crazy. All of this interviewing and being all
serious I have a feeling isn’t really the real you. Just from the brief time, I’ve met you. You
ever want to live life, call me.
Harper:
I’ll live life when this interview is over and probably get drunk. Final part
of the questions.
Mandy
asks Cass, How did the song “Come to Me” come about?
Cass:
Actually this is a Sean question. I wrote the Chorus and the Bridge, but the
rest, is all him.
Sean:
One day I was at the bank and this pretty attractive woman was standing in line
waiting for the next teller, wearing this black sweater dress with some spiky
high heels, no pantyhose and legs that went on for days. Some of the guys heckled the poor woman as if
she were a piece of meat. You could tell it made her uncomfortable so I stuck
up for her.
As I
left the bank, she followed me out and thanked me for being so nice. I told her
it wasn’t a problem and it was wrong for some of the guys to get so crazy. We talked for about 15 minutes and it turns
out she’s a masseuse. She was so grateful that she gave me her business card
and told me that if I ever needed a free massage or anything to ‘Come to me,
and I’ll take care of you.’
Harper:
Nice! See chivalry isn’t dead. Your lead
singer could learn a thing or two about that.
Chace, Morgan asks, what’s your favorite
season? and favorite snack.?
Chace: Summer and Reese’s Pieces
Harper:
Cass, she asks you the same.
Cass:
Winter and those Dove Ice Cream Bars. All that hard chocolate goodness on the
outside, and then your tongue hits that creamy goodness on the inside. I could
lick that cream off that stick all night…So good.
Harper:
(clears her throat) Sean? Your turn.
Sean:
Summer and Tootsie Pops.
Harper:
Eric?
Eric:
Summer and Salt and Vinegar Chips.
Harper:
Eric, Joslyn asks you and the band, what’s your favorite thing to do when
you’re not singing?
Eric:
Hanging out with my wife, and every now and then, going fishing with Mr.
McKinnon here and the guys from Razor’s Edge.
Harper:
Sean?
Sean:
Fishing, working out. Finding some sort of trouble to get into.
Harper:
Chace?
Chace: I
like photography, working out. Hockey. Every now and then, I’ll go to some
games. Every Saturday, I play a pick up game with a couple of guys at the rink
downtown.
Harper:
Cass? Although, I am scared to find out…
Cass: I read a lot. I like movies. I’m a huge
movie buff. I dig Hockey, football,
boxing, MMA. I’m a gym rat. I’ve been
known to play in some pickup games with Chace and workout with some MMA’s
fighters.
Harper:
Renaissance Man.
Cass: I
guess. I like to do a lot of stuff. What do you like to do?
Harper:
(shakes her head). This concludes the interview. Thanks guys.
Cass:
You didn’t answer my question.
Harper:
Think I’ve answered enough of your questions for the night.
Cass:
You’re probably not answering because once you’re done with work you’ll have
nothing to do…Betcha I’m right..Come on go out with me??
Harper:
Night all. Thanks for fun interview!
Meet Author Ty
Langston:
As a child, multi-published author Ty Langston loved to read
about dragons and knights so much that one day, her grandmother told her to
"just write about them." So she did.
From that day forward, she never left home without her pen, a
notebook, and some kind of music playing in the background. Her love of reading
expanded from fantasy into science fiction, and eventually into paranormal romance
and erotica.
She enjoys different works from George Martin, Anne
McCaffrey, Stephen King, and Jackie Collins. But some of Ty's favorite writers
are from the world of TV and film: namely, Tudors
creator Michael Hirst, and the late John Hughes.
Ty has a certificate in Broadcast Journalism along with a
degree in Business Administration. She is single and enjoys spending time
with friends and family.
Website: www.tylangston.com
Twitter:
http://twitter.com/bedofroses2001
Giveaway Details:
One commenter from the entire tour will win a PDF bundle of
Crave, Open Mic Night, and Romantic Tales: Season 2, Episode 6. And, one
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Loved the Q&A thank you.
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