Jessica Topper rocks our world...plus a book giveaway

Introduction by Melissa Amster

I first learned about Jessica Topper's books when I won a copy of Dictatorship of the Dress from another blogger. I loved it! Then I found out Jessica was re-releasing her debut novel, Louder than Love, and I knew I had to read that too. Another enjoyable novel for me! (See my review.) Since that time, Jessica has paired up with Amanda Usen for a wonderful Hanukkah series that I binge-read this past December. Today, I'm thrilled to have her back at CLC to talk about her latest novel, Get What You Need. This is a follow-up to Louder than Love, but can be read as a standalone. I do recommend checking out Louder than Love though! Jessica has one copy of Get What You Need for a lucky reader!

Jessica Topper has been in love with the beauty of the written word ever since she memorized Maurice Sendak's Chicken Soup with Rice at the age of three.

After earning a B.A. in English Literature and her Master's Degree in Library Science, Jessica went on to work as a librarian in New York City before trading in the books for bookkeeping. For seventeen years, she worked in the production office of an international touring rock band.

Jessica broke the rock romance mold with her 2013 debut novel LOUDER THAN LOVE. Her follow-up romantic comedy, DICTATORSHIP OF THE DRESS, was named one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2015.


She lives in Western New York with her family - including two cats that love to walk across her keyboard.

Visit Jessica online:

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Synopsis (may contain spoilers for Louder than Love): 

Sometimes getting what you want is the easy part...

Katrina Lewis-Graves isn't the type of woman to run from problems. But she knows to get out while the getting's good. Fourteen years ago, she left Manhattan for small town solace after a freak train accident left her widowed with a one-year-old. Seeking sanctuary in her hometown of Lauder Lake, Kat ended up stumbling upon a soul mate of legendary proportions: famed guitarist Adrian "Digger" Graves.

Now she's fleeing Manhattan once again: this time with her rock star husband and troubled teen daughter in tow. This time, it's to save Abbey...even if it means dragging her, kicking and screaming.

Across the pond, another woman is taking flight. Adrian's estranged daughter Natalie has not wanted for much in life back in England. Horses, houses in the country, cars, closets full of couture – all courtesy of, but with no thanks to, Digger Graves' heavy metal music success. Her parents' divorce had robbed Adrian of much of his fortune, as well as any meaningful place in his daughter's life. But as her own marriage and entire privileged pinnacle comes avalanching down, Natalie jumps on a desperate whim at the open invitation her stepmother Kat has made to "come stay anytime you want."

Lauder Lake may not be what Abbey or Natalie want, but it holds some surprises – and may just be exactly what they both need... (Courtesy of Amazon.)

What is one thing you would tell the debut novelist version of yourself?
I would channel my best Dori from Finding Nemo and say: Just keep writing, just keep writing…to remember the magic of writing that first book, the joy and the exploration, and not to let the numbers or reviews or the market keep you from telling the stories you want to tell.

What were the biggest rewards and challenges with writing Get What You Need?
Because this was a “ten years later” story following the characters of my very first and best-known novel, Louder Than Love, many of the rewards and challenges were intertwined. Re-visiting beloved characters but staying consistent with the “tone” and the world of Lauder Lake after so long put me through my paces but was also very rewarding. 

It gave me great pleasure to finally delve into the head of Natalie, the estranged daughter of our rock star hero Adrian “Digger” Graves from Louder Than Love. We had always heard about her from Adrian, but we finally get her POV, along with Abbey’s, in Get What You Need. Abbey was barely five when she first won over Adrian and the hearts of many readers, so it was difficult for me to put her in a few tough situations, to give her some very realistic flaws that teenagers have and yet, still keep her loveable and redeemable. 

But overall, the rewards were far greater than the challenges, being able to finally get this story out after finding I had notes on it dating back to before Louder Than Love’s publication! I had obviously wanted to stay with these characters for longer than just one book. 

If Get What You Need was made into a movie, what are some songs that would be on the soundtrack?
Music is always a big catalyst in my writing and so often my characters are musicians; even the title of the book was pulled from a song that just kept getting stuck like an earworm in my head! You won’t find anything too recent in this book, as it takes place around 2015 (keeping true to the first book’s 2004-2005 timeline). The top 3 songs would be: 

"You Can’t Always Get What You Want" – The Rolling Stones
"She’s Leaving Home" – The Beatles 
"New Year’s Prayer" – Jeff Buckley

There are other songs mentioned and even performed in the book, but no spoilers! I will leave them for readers to discover. :)

What is the last movie you saw that you would recommend?
The last movie I saw in theaters was A Complete Unknown. I’m not a huge Bob Dylan fan but I thought Timothée Chalamet really pulled off a great portrayal. I always like when an actor learns to play their own instruments (and even sing) for a role and apparently, all three of the main actors did just that. 

If your life was a TV series, which celebrity would you want to narrate it?
Joan Jett, please! I love her raspy, tough voice, which can also be tender at times. (Think “Bad Reputation” mashed with her “Crimson & Clover” cover.) She was the singer that twelve-year-old me and my friends would imitate, jumping off the bed with a hairbrush as a microphone in hand, so it would be fitting to have her along for the ride!

If we were to visit you, what are some places you would take us to see?
I live about twenty miles from the Canadian border, near Buffalo NY. I love to take people to see the Falls if they have never been, but then (if you have a passport) we can go across one of the three bridges into Canada. If we take the Rainbow Bridge, you can walk across and put one foot in Canada and keep one in the US. If we take the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge, there are cute little walking towns with cafés, coffee shops and wineries on both sides of the border and my favorite little town, Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is very picturesque and along the Niagara Wine Trail (hint: it features prominently in a future book!) 

Thanks to Jessica for chatting with us and for sharing her book with our readers.

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. 

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Giveaway ends February 9th at midnight EST.

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