TLS Special SNEAK PEEK Feature

 

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

This week we are thrilled to feature LaMomo, author of fandom favorites Correct the Narrative and Business Class Girl. Today, she's sharing a preview of her upcoming fic Behind the Ivories.

banner by Mina

Behind the Ivories
by 
LaMomo

Summary: A serious field accident ended Edward Cullen’s career as a war correspondent six years ago, and left him with more scars than are visible to the naked eye. After a personal and professional betrayal uprooted her life in Europe, Isabella Swan has navigated a sexist and elitist industry by smashing stereotypes and glass ceilings everywhere, one concert and one social media post at a time. They have nothing in common, until their worlds collide one fateful day for an interview that can’t be rescheduled. What kind of havoc will Isabella’s appearance wreak into Edward’s monotonous, solitary life? OlderWard. PianistElla. Set in Boston.

~ OO oo OO ~

I throw a glance around the room to peruse the varied sample of humanity that makes up our team at The Back Bay Tatler—the preferred culture, lifestyle, current national, and local issues magazine of the greater Boston area.

Jasper Hale is our music editor and critic. He writes about new releases from local and national artists, but his specialty is keeping his finger on the pulse when it comes to live music venues of all stripes in and around Boston—such a hardship.

Some celebration out on the bay last night was feted with a barrage of noisy and protracted fireworks. Who wastes money on fireworks in Boston in fucking November? The continuous booming shook the floor-to-ceiling windows of my loft and kept me awake. And triggered my flashbacks again. I tried to fight it; after a while, all the techniques my therapist taught me—breathing and grounding exercises, mainly—did ease the anxiety enough to lull me into sleep. But the headache flared this morning like a bad hangover. At least it will give me some half-assed cover for my usual abrupt manners.

“If nobody has emergent news, we can confirm the cover shoot and story for January,” Tanya begins. 

“Actually, I’ll need that bumped off the cover,” Jasper pipes up. He doesn’t have the authority to bump anything anywhere, but the fact he’s even asking for it … “I swear, Cullen. It’s a top story. Hear me out.”

“Okay. Sell it to me, Hale.”

“I have it on good authority that Jacob Black will be opening a new Sharps & Flats club in Boston in the new year.”

The name does ring a faint bell. Faint being the operative word. As I’m about to prod Jasper for details, Mac precedes me.

“Wait a minute. We’re talking about that guy from New York who single-handedly got Sharps & Flats topping the charts as the best jazz and easy-listening venue in the city in less than five years?” 

Mac is a New Yorker born and raised. It’s his turf we’re talking about.

Jasper nods. “Same guy. The club in New York rakes in more than any other venue within that target audience and demographic. Every season, he has a line-up chock-full of Grammy and Tony nominees or winners. And if they’re not, they quickly become so, often after snagging lucrative record deals. The club is a notorious scouting ground for A&R executives.”

“That’s the guy, Mac. Good catch.”

“I don’t understand how a new club trumps a piece that’s all wrapped up in a neat bow already,” Jessica complains. 

I’m tempted to agree with that point, but it would defeat the purpose of my role—playing referee among my editors and choosing the best material for our first print issue of the year.

“It depends on the club, Jessica. This is one scoop we don’t want to miss,” Jasper continues. “First, it’s going to be in a slightly unusual location for a jazz club. Rumor has it they’re taking over the old ‘Howl at the Moon’ warehouse in the financial district. Second, he’s gutting the entire place and redoing it top to bottom. It’s going to be on the chic side, not a generic, dark club with skeevy furniture. Third, the act for the grand opening will be … drumroll … Isabella Swan.”

Our advice columnist—and Jasper’s wife—Alice Brandon-Hale gasps, jumping up and down in her seat. “Isabella Swan? In Boston? For real?”

“One second. Give me one second,” I interrupt, desperate for someone to give me more information so I can decide for myself what to do. “Who the hell is Isabella Swan, and why do we care? More importantly, why will Bostonians care?”

Feedback from Team Momo

AGoodWitch: “This story reminds me of a mosaic. Some people see what’s broken and think it should be discarded. But it takes someone special to see the broken pieces and fit them together to make something more beautiful than the original. Sometimes, those broken pieces are people, and love is what will make them whole.”

IAmBeagle: “Behind the Ivories has everything I love in a story. Sizzling chemistry, witty banter, and compelling relationships. Edward is sarcastic, but emotionally (and physically) wounded. Bella is strong and compassionate, and so refreshing to read. This slow, delicious burn of them learning to open up and trust one another is a true gem.”

Driving Edward: “Behind the Ivories is a triumphant story of Edward learning and trusting himself and his instincts after being hurt emotionally and physically. His transformation is slow but sure and the relationship he develops with a wonderfully strong Bella is beautiful to watch. Each chapter peels back another layer for these two characters and watching it evolve is heartfelt and stunning.”

Emma: “This story sucked me in right from the off! It’s truly heartbreaking at times but heartwarming at other points. The character development is great; it’s made me want to slap Edward, then hug him all in one chapter. Plus Mac is my fave!”

Midnight Cougar: “What Behind the Ivories is to me as a story . . . well, it’s beautiful, skillful writing; it’s deep and special characters, even the supporting ones; it’s hurt and love and connection grown from years of journalistic experience and soulful melodies. It’s a gradual, sweet build-up of a relationship; a love that heals two prodigious people who connect on a whole other level, behind the ivories.”

Alice’s White Rabbit: “The biggest thing I love about this story is that it's based, in part, on something that really happened in history. That always intrigues me with any story or movie.  It also helps that I love how LaMomo has intertwined Twilight into that small piece of history.”

~ OO oo OO ~

Don't forget to put LaMomo on alert! Behind the Ivories begins posting later today.