TLS Special SNEAK PEEK Feature

The Lemonade Stand has spent years bringing you the best the fandom has to offer and we are very excited to have the chance to offer you MORE. We've watched stories grow and develop from first post through COMPLETE in The Nursery, and now we're sharing previews of the stories that will soon be your new addiction.

This week, the lovely magtwi78, author of the brilliant Yosemite Decimal, shares a little detail on her upcoming story Starlust.

banner by FrozenSoldier

Starlust

by magtwi78

Summary: Stars are made, not born. Know your competition. Win at all costs...and try not to lose yourself in the spotlight.

~~~~~

I remember the moment this story came to me.

It was a bright, sunny, incoming-Spring day, and I was on my way to pick up my daughter. I was driving through my town, stereo up, flicking channels. I left the station on something I wouldn’t normally so I could change lanes, and the song that was on made me prick up my ears. The song itself isn’t particularly important, but an entire story wrote itself in my head while I waited for the lights to change.

Having it in my head was a start, and sketching it out came easily. It’s the writing part that’s been the most challenging. You see, I’ve barely written anything that I thought was worth posting for around two years. But the passage of time has made me realise that not everybody is going to love what you write. In fact, some will go out of their way to tell you so. But, on the other hand, there are people out there who think things are funny, or cute, or tug at their heartstrings… and they share the same, sometimes-quirky sense of humour as me.

As I’ve been writing, some characters have spoken to me louder than others—others demanded a little too much time (bless your heart, Alice), and Edward in particular has been rather moody. I’m also aware that people love (or hate) reality talent shows, and I wanted to get the details right around without being bogged down in them. It’s important to me to give the characters the freedom to tell their story. But instead of your usual, transient plot bunny that hops in and out again, Bella’s story, and that of those around her, hasn’t left me alone in over a year.

Every Sunday night all over the United States, families sit down together to watch the next band of hopefuls try to make it big. Reality TV is like a parallel universe—in front of the cameras, everybody’s on their best behaviour, playing their part, and trying to win the hearts of the American public. But behind the scenes, there’s contestants who will do anything to make sure it’s they who finish on top, dark horses who are far beyond what they appear, judges who are playing their own game, and maybe in all this, some people you can trust… and probably many that you can’t.

This is a story about a small-town girl who chases her dream, in the way that it seems most people get famous these days. She thinks she knows what comes with fame and the whirlwind that is the music industry, but once she’s living that dream, the cracks in the glossy veneer begin to appear. 

Starlust is what you get when the stars in your eyes get so bright, it makes you crazy. They dazzle you, and they change who you are. You end up doing things you might not normally do. But the challenge is in remembering who you are, and never letting that part of you fade.

This feels like a story that needs to be told.

I hope you like it.

~~~~~

Teaser:

Clipboard-lady looks past bored—she looks desperate to get home. “Isabella Swan?”

“Yes, that’s me,” I say, scrambling to my feet. “But you can call me—”

“Whatever.” She cuts me off and turns her back, headed for the hallway. “This way.”

Stuffing my book back into my bag and rushing after her, I catch the swinging door before it closes, and follow clipboard-lady down the hallway. I mentally curse myself for dropping the ball—there’s so much riding on today… and it feels like my only chance. Turning up to some mass audition for a TV show, of all things, is already way out of character for me, but this is it. I’m small-town, and I drove fourteen hours away from that small town so that if I fall on my face, there’s a slim chance of anybody recognizing me and knowing how badly I screwed up. Unless, of course, I screw up so badly that I end up in the blooper reel, embarrassing myself in front of my friends, my family, and the whole damn country… not to mention the millions of viewers online. 

No, I had to be here. I have to be here. And I can’t screw it up. I won’t let myself screw it up.

I sing. This is what I do. It’s all I’ve done my whole life, and I’ve never wanted to do anything else. 

This competition is my big chance.

.

Don't forget to pop mags on alert so you don't miss out! 

♥ Kim