Series: The Blood and Bone Series #1
Publication date: October 30th, 2020
Synopsis:
Love is complicated, messy, and sometimes painful but oh so worth it. A heartbreaking journey through love, friendship, family, and fame.
Music brought them together, addiction tore them apart, loyalty saved them. It was always Jack and Mia, everyone else was just collateral damage.
Jack O'Donnell's life was teetering on the edge. Forced, as a teenager, to make a decision that would change his life forever, he left his hometown to pursue a music career with collaborator Mia Stone. Living in a van by the beach was not the glamorous Los Angeles lifestyle they had envisioned but sparked the most creative time of their lives. Making it big was all they ever wanted but when it happened, friendships were tested, hearts were broken, and lives were changed forever.
Erin Langford is a seasoned journalist tasked with writing a feature on Jack O'Donnell. Being at the right place at the right moment puts Erin in a unique position to get the story, but at what cost? Having preconceived notions about Jack's rock star image, she learns there is more to a story than just the headlines. The two embark on a journey through Jack's past where he recounts the rise and fall of his band Mogo and the irreplaceable bond between himself and collaborator Mia Stone. The feature she thought she was going to write, turns into so much more.
Blood and Bone is an evocative story told in alternating time periods, from the early '90s to the present day about deep bonds between flawed people whose only outlet of self-expression is through their music.
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Excerpt
"You got married?" Wade stared at Cash and Mia.
Adam pursed his lips. "Just so I got this right, Jack and Mia were together, right?" Adam said to Wade. "Then Jack married Amber." He placed his finger on his chin. "Now Cash and Mia are married." He then smiled in their direction. Meanwhile, Wade was giving him the look of death and resolved to shrug his shoulders because he was pretty accurate in his assessment.
"This is starting to get a little Fleetwood Mac." Adam shook his head. Wade gave him a little kick to shut him up.
"When?" Jack asked, ignoring Amber's question.
Mia's face went dark.
"A couple months ago. When we had a week off after that long stretch of touring." Cash took Mia's hand in his.
Jack couldn't help but realize they had gotten married not long after he fucked her in New Orleans.
"Why didn't you tell anyone? We would have been there with you." Wade looked at Jack for confirmation.
"It was sudden. We just decided to do it at the last minute." Mia said.
"You're pregnant!" Amber squealed but not in an excited 'I'm happy for you' way, but in a 'join the club' kind of way.
Jack held his breath.
"No!" Mia said as if it were something absurd.
"It's not that sudden. We've known each other since high school and it just," Cash looked at Mia in a sappy way, "felt right."
"Who's idea was it?" Jack spoke up, looking at Mia but already knowing the answer.
Cash looked at him in surprise. "We were going to tell everyone once we got back to L.A., have a party or something." He tried to explain.
"Interesting." Jack turned away, trying not to think of how nice a drink would taste right now. The plane shifted and he grabbed onto the back of a chair to steady himself. The fasten your seat belt sign illuminated.
"Why is that interesting?" Amber turned toward him.
"Just is." He sat down in the chair and swiveled it away from everyone.
Amber took the seat across from him. "Seems like you're unhappy about this." She blinked at him.
"I'm not unhappy." He could feel his body vibrate as if he'd had too much caffeine. If he could just have a drink, it would put him at ease and the fact that he couldn't right now made it worse.
"Then what is wrong with you?" Amber was pissed.
"What's wrong with me?" Jack shot up out of his chair. "You don't find this insane." He turned towards Wade and Adam who were enthusiastically congratulating Cash and Mia.
"We got married." Amber said to him.
"That's because..."
"You knocked me up." Amber finished for him.
That's not what Jack meant but that's what it sounded like.
"You sound jealous." Amber sneered at him.
"I'm not jealous." Jack scoffed.
"This is getting good, babe." Adam said to Wade before he got up to inspect the mini bar. "Is there any popcorn in here?" He scrunched his nose.
"Who the fuck is this guy?" Amber pointed at Adam.
Adam looked like he was about to speak but Amber interrupted him. "You know what, I don't fucking care." She waved a hand as if to dismiss him.
Just then, Amber slapped Jack across the face. The sound of her palm hitting his cheek echoed in the Jet.
"Asshole!" Amber yelled.
"What the fuck, Amber?" Jack felt his cheek sting.
"Amber?" Mia whispered, placing her hand over her mouth.
Amber confessed. "You didn't choose me, Jack. You got stuck with me."
"That's not what it was." Jack said quietly. He could feel his life slipping away just now, like a mudslide taking him down.
"Anyone can see the only person you care more about than yourself is her." Amber pointed at Mia.
"Amber, that's not fair." He followed her as she stomped towards the back of the plane.
"You can lie to yourself all you want, Jack, but I can see it and everyone else can too." Jack reached for her but she pushed him away. "Stay the fuck away from me." She cried.
Paula Dombrowiak grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois but currently lives in Arizona. She is the author of Blood and Bone, her first adult romance novel which combines her love of music and imperfect relationships. Paula is a lifelong music junkie, whose wardrobe consists of band T-shirts and leggings are perpetually covered in pet hair. Music is what inspires her storytelling.
Paula is currently working on a sequel to Blood and Bone which focuses on Hayley O'Donnell's music career while living in her fathers shadow.
