Starstruck with Sariah Wilson...plus a book giveaway

Photo by JordanBree Photography

We're glad to have Sariah Wilson back at CLC today. She's here to talk about the time she met Adam Driver (Kylo Ren in the new Star Wars movies) and how he inspired her latest novel, The Seat Filler. Thanks to Kaye Publicity, we have one copy to give away!

A passionate believer in happily-ever-afters, Sariah and her own soulmate live in Utah with their four children and the two family cats. Her belief in true love has inspired several bestselling romance series, including End of the Line (THE FRIEND ZONE, JUST A BOYFRIEND); Lovestruck (#STARSTRUCK, #MOONSTRUCK, #AWESTRUCK);  Ugly Stepsisters (THE UGLY STEPSISTER STRIKES BACK; PROMPOSAL), Royals of Monterra (ROYAL DATE, ROYAL CHASE, ROYAL GAMES, ROYAL DESIGN), and many standalone novels, including her most recent smash hit from October--ROOMMAID.

Visit Sariah online:
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Synopsis:

The meet-cute award goes to dog groomer Juliet Nolan. It’s one of Hollywood’s biggest nights when she volunteers as a seat filler and winds up next to movie heartthrob Noah freaking Douglas. Tongue tied and toes curling in her pink Converse, she pretends that she doesn’t have a clue who he is. It’s the only way to keep from swooning.

She’s pretty and unpretentious, loves his dog, and is not a worshipping fan. No way Noah’s giving up on her, even if his affectionate pursuit comes with a bump: Juliet has a pathological fear of kissing and the disappointments that follow. What odds does romance have without that momentous, stupendous, once-in-a-lifetime first smooch? Patient, empathetic, and carrying personal burdens of his own, Noah suggests a remedy: they rehearse.

The lessons begin. The guards come down. But there’s another hitch they weren’t betting on. As for that cue-the-orchestra-and-roll-credits happy ending? It might take more than practice to make it perfect.

THE SEAT FILLER: How meeting Adam Driver IRL inspired my newest romance novel 

**Contains Star Wars spoilers.**

Being a lifelong Star Wars fan, I was excited by the recent sequel trilogy. I went to see The Rise of Skywalker, and given that I am a romance author, was keenly disappointed by the ending. Ben Solo should have lived, and heroine Rey should have won her soulmate. I needed to know if there had been an alternate ending for Reylo (Rey and Ben Solo), but there was no one to ask.  

 Until I saw that Adam Driver was doing a charity auction for his charity, Arts in the Armed Forces. It was a chance to meet him on the red carpet at the SAG-AFTRA Awards. This felt like the stars aligning—here was my chance to ask my question! I bid and won and flew out to Los Angeles with my then 12-year-old daughter.  

We were put in bleachers next to the red carpet, and it was everything you’d hope for. Glitz, glamour, lights, and all kinds of celebrities. I had the absolute best time getting to briefly chat with stars like Rachel Brosnahan, Henry Winkler, Helena Bonham Carter and Christian Bale, getting autographs and pictures.  

Getting to meet Adam was like being involved in a military operation—I met with several different members of his team to get everything arranged beforehand. I continued meeting some of my favorite stars while waiting for him to arrive. A few days before I’d interacted with some other Adam Driver fans online, telling them about my chance to meet him. They told me that he is a bit socially awkward and doesn’t like these kinds of events, so it would be up to me to make conversation. I felt fully prepared to carry on a one-sided chat.   

Then…he came over to meet us. He’s a very large, imposing man and my brain short-circuited. I have no explanation as to why I was so overwhelmed. He greeted us, shook our hands, thanked us for our donation and then asked where we were from. I remember thinking, “Why the freak does Adam Driver care where I’m from?” Obviously, he was trying to make small talk but I wasn’t processing conversation on a normal frequency. He had to ask me the question again and I finally managed to answer. He asked where our city was located and I told him, using a landmark he was probably unfamiliar with.  

I asked him to sign a couple of autographs for us, a Vanity Fair Kylo Ren cover for me, my daughter’s autograph book for her. He signed a very sweet message to her, and then read the message to us (given his messy handwriting). But because it was so loud, I thought he was saying goodbye. So I somehow managed to pull my wits together and ask for a photo, which he was more than happy to take with us. He shook our hands again and wished us a good night.  

As he walked away, still kicking myself over my inability to have a conversation, I thought, “This is a book.” A girl meets her favorite celebrity at an awards show and can’t speak. I called my agent that night (even though she was several time zones ahead of me) and pitched her the idea. She loved it, and so did my editor, and thus THE SEAT FILLER was born.   

(In case you’re curious, I did eventually get to find out whether or not there had been an alternate ending filmed when I won another charity auction and had a Zoom call with co-star Daisy Ridley, and she confirmed that there was no other ending.) 

How to win: Use Rafflecopter to enter the giveaway. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us. If you have trouble using Rafflecopter on our blog, enter the giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway ends May 3rd at midnight EST.