STAR (A 44 Chapters Novel)
Page 31
“Easton,” he said.
Easton, I thought. I like that.
Ken and BB’s story continues in SUIT, coming Fall 2018.
Before I wrote this book, I assumed that I would fill Hans’s playlist with songs that we’d listened to back then. He and his band were very heavily influenced by Nine Inch Nails, Tool, and the Deftones. But, as the story began to flow, I found myself gravitating toward songs that fit the tone of the book rather than the content. Songs about big love. Songs about love gone bad. Songs with the word star in them. Every piece of music listed here helped fuel my fingers as they typed out this story. I am grateful to each and every one of these brilliant artists. Their blood, sweat, and tears provided my STARspiration.
You can stream the playlist for free on Spotify here: https://goo.gl/LwvBe7
“24/7” by The Neighbourhood
“A Sky Full of Stars” by Coldplay
“Avalanche” by Walk the Moon
“Bad at Love” by Halsey
“Called Out in the Dark” by Snow Patrol
“Centred on You” by Atlas Genius
“Encore” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
“Follow You” by Night Riots
“For Me This Is Heaven” by Jimmy Eat World
“Grand Theft Autumn/Where is Your Boy” by Fall Out Boy
“Heaven” by The Neighbourhood
“Him & I” by G-Eazy and Halsey
“I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston
“I’m Kissing You” by Des’ree
“Jolene” by Ray Lamontagne
“Konstantine” by Something Corporate
“Love Like Winter” by AFI
“Love Will Tear Us Apart” by Fall Out Boy
“Love Ridden” by Fiona Apple
“Million Bucks” by Smallpools
“Nicest Thing” by Kate Nash
“Night Drive” by Jimmy Eat World
“Outright” by Wild Party
“Photobooth” by Death Cab for Cutie
“Punk Rock Princess” by Something Corporate
“Sometime Around Midnight” by The Airborne Toxic Event
“Sparks” by Coldplay
“Stars” by Hum
“Vowels (And the Importance of Being Me)” by HUNNY
BOOKS BY BB EASTON
44 Chapters About 4 Men: A Memoir
44 CHAPTERS SPIN-OFF NOVELS
SKIN (Knight, Book 1)
SPEED (Harley, Book 2)
STAR (Hans, Book 3)
SUIT (Ken, Book 4)—Coming Fall 2018
Behind every successful artist, you will find a devoted, loving benefactor. Mine is Kenneth Easton. He is the reason you get to read these stories. He puts our son on the bus every morning since I’m usually up all night writing. He makes the breakfasts, preps the lunches, pays the bills, folds the laundry, handles my business finances, rubs my aching neck and shoulders—hesitantly and only when I beg—and picks up all the slack that inevitably comes with being married to a creative type. And he doesn’t even complain about it. He is the motherfucking wind beneath my wings, and I cannot wait to tell you the story of how we fell in love. All four pages of it.
My mother is my other ride-or-die. She has always been there, whether I needed her to watch my kids or hide me from the cops. I could tell her I’m moving to South America to start a goat farm tomorrow, and she’d have a FOR SALE sign in her front yard by that afternoon, saying, “Well, if you’re moving to South America, I guess I gotta go too. What’s the weather like there? Should I buy a new raincoat? Are goats mean? They’re the ones that spit, right? No, wait. Those are llamas. Oh shit. I guess I have to start saying yamas now. That’s how they say it down there, right?” I love that damn woman.
I want to thank Ken’s whole entire family for knowing what I do, looking the other way while I do it, and selflessly agreeing to babysit so that Ken and I can fly all over the world in support of it. You might not be allowed to read my books or acknowledge that you know anything about them, but you still support me unconditionally, and for that, I am eternally grateful.
To Larry Robins, my talent manager—Thank you for championing my work, for taking me to my first Hollywood premiere, and for being a surrogate father to me when I needed one most. I cherish our friendship.
To my editors, Traci Finlay, Jovana Shirley, and Ellie McLove—I am able to rest easy at night, knowing that my work is in your expert hands. I give you my heart wrapped in newspaper, and you collaboratively turn it into a novel. Magicians, all of you. Thank you.
To my agent, Sarah Hershman—Thanks to you, 44 Chapters About 4 Men has been printed in Hebrew, and all of my books will soon be available in Italian! You help make my dreams come true. I appreciate you!
To Alyssa Gomez of InkSlinger—You take so much stress out of the release process that I don’t know how I ever managed it on my own. Thank you for always being so receptive, available, organized, and enthusiastic. I couldn’t ask for more.
To my beta readers, Jamie Shaw, Sammie Lynn, Sara Snow, and April C.—You girls are my bottom bitches. I’d go to jail for any one of you. But, like, overnight jail, not like prison jail. Basically, I’d get arrested for you, and then let you bail me out, and then I’d let you pay for my defense attorney. But I’d totally take the rap for you. All day, erry day. Thank you for helping take this book from good to great. I love you!
To All My Author Friends—In a society that teaches us to compete, compete, compete, you ladies choose to share instead. You share with me your time, your advice, your encouragement, your resources, and often, your platforms to help me succeed in an oversaturated market where so very few do. Thank you for letting this pink-haired, foul-mouthed, new kid sit with you. I love you!
To My Reader Group, #TeamBB—You ladies have literally brought me to tears more times than I can count with your support and enthusiasm—not only for me, but also for each other. I grovel at your collective feet. You make me laugh. You share my announcements. You make me teasers. SO many teasers. You make me blush with some of the pictures you post, and you keep my ass in gear. Thank you, for everything. If any of you ever need a kidney, I’m your girl.
And to Hans—If you are reading this, then I would like to thank you in advance for not suing me. Whenever people ask if I’m nervous for my exes to find out about my books, I always tell them that you are the only one I’m not worried about. “Hans is so sweet,” I tell them. “He’s literally the nicest person ever. He wouldn’t care. He’d just be proud of me for writing a book.” Please don’t turn me into a liar.
BB Easton lives in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, with her long-suffering husband, Ken, and two adorable children. She recently quit her job as a school psychologist to write stories about her punk rock past and deviant sexual history full-time. Ken is suuuper excited about it.
If that sounds like the kind of person you want to go around being friends with, then by all means, feel free to drop her a line. Just don’t be surprised if you get a reply at four a.m. with an inexplicable Shia LaBeouf meme or a text that was clearly meant for someone else. BB is what doctors call chronically sleep-deprived—or as Ken pronounces it, “depraved.”
You can find her:
On email: authorbbeaston@gmail.com
On her website: www.authorbbeaston.com
On Facebook: www.facebook.com/bbeaston
On Instagram: www.instagram.com/author.bb.easton
On Twitter: www.twitter.com/bb_easton
On Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/artbyeaston
On Goodreads: https://goo.gl/4hiwiR
On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/user/bbeaston
Selling signed books and original art on Etsy: www.etsy.com/shop/artbyeaston
Giving stuff away in her #TeamBB Facebook group: www.facebook.com/groups/BBEaston
And giving away two FREE ebooks from her author friends each and every month in her newsletter: http://eepurl.com/c4OCOH
p; BB Easton, STAR (A 44 Chapters Novel)