Spotlight:The Kiss Off by Sarah Billington {excerpt}

The Kiss Off
by Sarah Billington
Series: Kiss Off #1
Publisher: Billington Media
Publication date: June 2012
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Purchase*: Barnes and Noble/Amazon


WARNING: Sexual references, occasional coarse language.

When sixteen year old Poppy Douglas writes a song about her ex-boyfriend Cam and ex-friend Nikki, she has no idea that her heartbreak is about to go global.  A local band picks up her song from Youtube and soon she’s along for the ride with her own fanbase as they blow up on the local club scene and hit the international charts. Though it turns out leaving Cam behind isn’t as easy as she had hoped. Tangled in a web of unfinished homework, ill-considered sexting and a new lead-singer boyfriend, Poppy has a choice to make between the ex that inspired it all and the rock God whose poster lines the inside of half the lockers at school. But as she struggles to keep her emotional dirty laundry private, she learns that the truth can be hard to find when your life is in the headlines.

Excerpt 

The Kiss Off 2: Fame, Blame and Full of Shame by Sarah Billington

SNEAK PEEK EXTRACT ONE

CONTEXT: Poppy has finally received her royalties for penning the hit song The Kiss Off, and she knows exactly what she’s doing with it: Taking her best friends across the country, unchaperoned, to summer music festival, Bay Fest, and having the best summer of her life.

Poppy’s parents laughed at her

Footsteps stopped outside my door, and there was a soft rap before my mom pushed it open.

I spun in my desk chair to face her as she leaned against the door frame, watching me for a moment.

I paused my Itunes and pulled an earbud from my ear.

"Can I come in?"

I shrugged. With a heavy sigh, she crossed the room, stepping carefully over a pair of jeans I'd stepped out of, an ugg boot that had been lying in the middle of the carpet since winter and a pile of Rolling Stone and OK! magazines. I trust Ty and everything but there's no law against checking out what he's up to now and then, is there?

Mom sat on my bed, scooting herself back to lean against the wall. "Your father and I have been talking," she started.

"Uh huh," I said warily. "Laughing, you mean. Making fun of me. Acting like I'm a ten-year-old-"

"Your cousin Hamish happens to be going to Bay Fest this year."

"So?" I said. I narrowed my eyes at her. I didn't like that she had brought up Hamish. Hamish was the biggest geek I'd ever met. Like Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory, only with less of a sense of humor and a good chunk of social-phobia. Hamish was going to Bay Fest? He wasn't even into music.

"Hamish has a car," Mom said.

"No."

"And he's-"

"Mom, no!"

"This is what I'm offering, Poppy. Take it or leave it."

We sat there, staring at each other for a couple of seconds before I broke eye contact, closed my eyes and whimpered. "Fine. Okay. Tell me."

"One: Hamish has a car. He'll drive you and your friends - just Vanya and Mads - to Tallulah Bay. He will drive, Poppy.

"Two: Hamish will stay with you and supervise you at all times."

"Mom-"

"Three: You will text me once every two hours during the day, and provide photographic evidence that you are behaving yourself, at night."

"This is stupid, I won't-"

"Four: You will get your father the Debutante Dolls autographs."

I snorted a laugh of surprise. "What?"

Mom smiled at me wryly, and glanced toward the door. "Yeah, that one wasn't my idea."

"I don’t think they’re even at the festival. But whatever; I'll try."

"If you accept these conditions - Hamish, checking in, and Debutante Dolls, then okay. You can go to Bay Fest," she said. "Oh! And one more thing. And this one's really important, Poppy."

"What is it?"

"Are you listening?"

"Yes Mom, I'm listening. What is it?"

"When you are around Ty, or around the media or - heaven forbid - around both, I need you to think about this," she paused, then said, "What would Jesus do?"

I blinked at her in surprise. "Excuse me?"

"What would Jesus do."

"You can't be serious."

"W-W-J-D, Poppy. Keep it at the front of your mind."

"I'm not really religious, and I know for a fact that you aren't either."

She ignored me. "Would Jesus flash his panties at the paparazzi? I don't think so," she said. "Would Jesus get into a cat fight with a girl who flirted with his boyfriend?"

I tried not to laugh. "Jesus wasn't-"

"No he would not."

"Mom, this is-"

"What would Jesus do, Poppy," she said. "Don't think I don't mean it."

About the Author

Sarah Billington 
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Sarah Billington is an Australian writer and editor who likes to write stories with love, laughs, suspense and zombies. Sometimes all in the same story. Her favorite thing to write about are those horrendously awkward moments that come with being a teenager. Or a human being. Sarah was extremely accident-prone and klutzy as a kid and teen, so her cup runneth over with experiences of horrendously awkward moments to draw from in her writing. Thankfully, she has grown out of her klutziness. Mostly. She is, however, still an embarrassment.

She loves a variety of random things, which include Swing Dancing, Ice Hockey, Roller Derby and is a bit obsessive about paranormal investigation shows and channel E!.

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