COUNTERPOINT
Series: Twisted Wishes #2
Genre: Contemporary, MM Romance
Genre: MM Contemporary Rockstar Romance (with a bit of kink)
Quirks & Warnings: Contains D/s and bondage. Also discusses anxiety and depicts a panic attack.
Author: Anna Zabo
Release Date: September 24, 2018
Twisted Wishes lead guitarist Dominic “Domino” Bradley is an animal onstage. But behind his tight leather pants and skull-crusher boots lies a different man entirely, one who needs his stage persona not only to perform, but to have the anonymity he craves. A self-imposed exile makes it impossible to get close to anyone outside the band, so he’s forced to get his sexual fix through a few hot nights with a stranger.
When computer programmer Adrian Doran meets Dominic, he’s drawn to the other man’s quiet voice and shy smile. But after a few dirty, demanding nights exploring Dominic’s need to be dominated, Adrian wants more than a casual distraction. He has no idea he’s fallen for Domino Grinder—the outlandish, larger-than-life rock god.
Dominic is reluctant to trust Adrian with his true identity. But when the truth is revealed prematurely, Dominic is forced to reevaluate both his need for Adrian and everything he believes about himself.
One-click with confidence. This title is part of the Carina Press Romance Promise: all the romance you’re looking for with an HEA/HFN. It’s a promise!
This book is approximately 93,000 words
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ANNA’S FAVORITE ROCKERS
Musical Influences for Twisted Wishes and Favorite Rockers
(or take a walk through music in 80s with Anna Zabo)I’ve been asked a few times what bands I used to base Twisted Wishes on, and the answer to that is that I never had a specific band in mind when I created the look and feel of Twisted Wishes. I just knew I wanted a band that was a little outrageous, a little hard and punky, very queer, and that also had a high level of musicality.
The best description I can come up with is that Twisted Wishes is what you’d get if you smashed Erasure, Depeche Mode, and King Crimson together. Queer chaotic punk with a musically sophisticated edge.
Though I do suppose my favorite rock stars have something to do with how Twisted Wishes turned out.
My own favorite rockers tend to be much more pop-oriented and heavily based in the 80s, because that’s when I grew up, and I’ll admit to clinging to the music of my youth.
My very first musical crush was Howard Jones, with his big hair and his orange outfits, ala Things Can Only Get Better. I have so many Howard Jones records—actual 12 inch vinyl records—it’s a little embarrassing. I also spent a lot of time sketching all that hair.
I also adored Eurythmics and had such a crush on Annie Lennox, especially that whole outfit in Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This), black gloves and crop-like pointer and all, but if you want a clue to some of Mish’s sassiness, check out Would I Lie to You.
Speaking of women rockstars, there’s Kate Bush and her amazing voice and lyrics. Hounds of Love is a fantastic album, though my favorite song from there probably one most people don’t know: Jig of Life. I also adored all of The Sensual World.
Or Chrissie Hynde from The Pretenders. There are so many good songs, but I rather like My Baby from Get Close.
I was also a huge fan of ABC and still rank The Lexicon of Love as one of the best albums I ever listened to. It’s put together so well, and each song reflects the others. Yes, I’m a huge dork for thinking this, I know. I also kind of wanted to look like Martin Fry (and that really should have been a rather large sign about my gender, honestly). A lot of people know Poison Arrow and Look of Love from that album, but I really enjoy All of My Heart.
I was also a big fan of Marc Almond (who was probably best known for the song by Soft Cell, Tainted Love), and the album The Stars We Are probably racks up there as one of my favorites, as well. It’s also strangely apropos to now, even though it came out in 1988. Go figure. It was the song Tears Run Rings that grabbed me and didn’t let go.
And yes, as I mentioned earlier, I adored Erasure, especially that they were oh so obviously queer. I mean, the opening lines of Chains of Love: How can I explain when there are few words I can use… I think I probably know every lyric to their first several albums.
As for Depeche Mode, if you want a little glimpse of them in concert, here’s a live version of Never Let me Down Again, a song I adored then and adore more now.
My love of King Crimson veers away from pop into progressive rock. There’s not a lot on YouTube, but Red is a good taste for some of that crazy syncopated rhythm stuff I love. The album Discipline is a masterpiece. Sadly, there isn’t much online to link to.
I could keep going for pages, especially since I left out SO MANY of my favorite rockers. And I could do a whole other post just on progressive rock, and probably another about what I love now. But I will spare you all more of my ramblings about music.
Anna Zabo writes contemporary and paranormal romance for all colors of the rainbow. They live and work in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which isn’t nearly as boring as most people think.
Anna grew up in the wilds of suburban Philadelphia before returning to their ancestral homelands in Western Pennsylvania. As a child they were heartily disappointed to discover that they couldn’t grow up to be what they wanted (a boy, a cat, a dragon), so they settled on being themself whenever possible, which may be a combination of a boy, a cat, and a dragon. Or perhaps a girl, a knight, and a writer. Depends on whom you ask. They do have a penchant for colorful ties and may be hording a small collection of cufflinks.They can be easily plied with coffee.
Anna has an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University, where they fell in with a roving band of romance writers and never looked back. They also have a BA in Creative Writing from Carnegie Mellon University.
Anna uses they/them pronouns and prefers Mx. Zabo as an honorific.
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