I had the pleasure of meeting this week’s guest, Emma Bennet, at the 2018 Romantic Novelists’ Association’s annual conference (how long ago that seems now). We’d already chatted online several times, so it was lovely to meet her in person at last. We were always bound to get on – she’s a Cary Grant fan! Emma first got in touch with me when I reviewed her debut novel, The Green Hills of Home, back in 2013. I apparently lost this review when I moved my blog over to this site, so I had to go on Amazon and find my review on there and make another page for it! You can read it here.  Today Emma is here to tell us all about the inspiration for her novel, Starstruck. Over to you, Emma.

I think all authors utilise at least a little of their real life experience in their writing, even if it’s just as a jumping off point.

My imagination allows me to take a situation and expand on it with ‘what ifs’ until, for example, a perfectly uneventful afternoon I spent pony trekking morphed into a heroine attempting to regain control of a galloping horse, and leaping over fences away from her Lord of the Manor romantic interest – as happens in my book ‘Her Perfect Hero’.

The finest example of this has to be found in the storyline of my most recent romance, ‘Starstruck’. The idea behind this book was brewing for years before it fully formed itself in my mind and I was able to begin getting it down on paper.

During my first year at university I took a Latin class four times a week. Sitting behind me, next to the guy I actually fancied on my course, was a tall, skinny unassuming chap with curly hair. His name was Chris Martin.

We would chat and sometimes study together in the library – we even shared Maltesers and Ribena illicitly in the Ancient History section.

Anyway, one day Chris mentioned to my friend and I that the band he was in were playing a gig if we’d like to come along. He warned us that the ‘lead singer was a bit rubbish’. That band was Coldplay, who have gone on to sell over 100 million records. We went to the gig, and they weren’t half bad… in fact, you could say that the lead singer turned out to be rather good.

This little story makes an interesting conversation topic, and one day it got me thinking about how strange it would be to meet up again with someone you’d known when you were much younger, and who’d gone on to become famous. How would that have changed them? Was it likely they’d still be the person you remembered? Would you act differently around them because they were a celebrity?

And so my fictional heroine, Kate, and her imagined adventure were born.

Kate has just had her divorce finalised when her old school friend, world famous rock star Joseph Wild turns up on her front step. He’s broken up with his wife, Genevieve Moore, and needs somewhere to hide out from the paparazzi. Kate’s still hurt by the way Joe cut himself off from her when he signed his first recording contract, but he wins her over, and she agrees to let him stay.

It’s all too easy for Kate to fall in love with her old friend Joe, but not so simple to deal with life as a superstar’s girlfriend, especially when you add in two small children and ex partners. Is love enough to enable Kate and Joe to overcome all the obstacles in their path?

Kate leads an ordinary, happy life with her son running her own business; far removed from Joe’s celebrity existence. I loved exploring how she and Joe work together to make things work between them, especially when Kate gets to attend a major film premiere – it’s quite an eye opener into Joe’s crazy world!

I hope my readers know me well enough by now to trust that, despite all the twists and turns along the way, I’d do my very best to give my characters the Happy Ever After they deserve.

For more information about me and my writing please visit my website: https://www.emma-bennet.co.uk/

Starstruck

When newly divorced Kate finds school friend, now super famous rock star Joseph Wild, on her doorstep, her whole quiet, ordinary life is thrown into disarray.

Joseph has broken up with glamorous actress Genevieve Moore, and needs somewhere to retreat to until the paparazzi interest in his marriage calms down. Kate agrees to help him out and drawn to his simple, self-effacing charm, soon finds herself falling in love.

But can she cope with the problems a relationship with such a high profile celebrity brings? What happens when he jets back to his regular life of stardom in L.A.?

And how will Genevieve react when she finds out Joseph has moved on? She can’t possibly allow anything to sully her ever-so carefully crafted public image.

Falling in love with a rock star is tougher than you’d think…

Buy Starstruck here.

Emma Bennet

Emma grew up and lived in London, before falling in love and moving to Wales to marry her own hero. Emma now lives with her husband, for children, and many animals a few miles outside of a small Welsh market town. She can often be found in rivers attempting to control two overexcited chocolate labradors.

Six charming romances are currently available from the Amazon bestselling authoress:

Number 1 Australian kindle bestseller, ‘His Secret Daughter’, is the heart-rending story of Iris, a woman falling in love with the father of her child. The only problem is she never told him they had a daughter.

The beautiful landscape around her home gave Emma the inspiration for ‘The Green Hills of Home’, a tale of love and duty in which country girl Gwen struggles to save her family home and avoid her feelings for her handsome, suave new boss. Is he quite all he seems?

‘Snowed in for her Wedding Day’ is a novella picking up Gwen’s story as her wedding day approaches, but with terrible weather, and an absent groom, will she have the happy ending she so deserves?

‘Just Desserts’ is a novella about confused chef Leah, who’s falling for her handsome French co-worker Jean-Claude, but meant to be marrying to Dan in just a few weeks! Who will she choose?

‘Her Perfect Hero’ was released in July 2015 as ‘I Need a Hero’, it’s a lovely comic romantic read for anyone who’s ever searched for Mr Right (and failed to find him!). Despair of Bronte, a romance writer, incapable of spotting when the perfect man is right next door! Full of horses, country houses and dentists, just beware of the foul-tempered cat Mr Darcy!

New release, ‘Starstruck’, proves that falling in love with a rock star is harder than you’d think! When newly divorced Kate finds school friend, now super famous rock star Joseph Wild, on her doorstep, her whole quiet, ordinary life is thrown into disarray. Is the attraction between them enough to make up for all the hurdles they have to cross if they want to be together?

Emma likes (in no particular order): cake, books, Cary Grant films, prosecco, chocolate, guinea pigs, knitting, quilting and happily ever afters!