Stacey Solomon's first novel, Walk on By, was released last week ahead of Valentine's Day. Walk on By is the first book in a three-part series named Best Things in Life. This is the first book from the brand new imprint Celebritease™ published by Totally Bound. The imprint will focus on stories written by celebrities which blur the line between fact and fiction. This is Stacey's first foray into the world of fiction writing, and tackles some issues which are very close to her own heart.
Her main character, Charlotte, has been thrust into the limelight as singing sensation 'Lola' but is finding adapting to the world of celebrity harder than she first thought. With the help of gay best friend Rupert, or 'Roo-Roo' as he is affectionately known, Charlotte overcomes the hurdles placed in front of her in her pursuit of stardom. As if that isn't enough to be contending with, "Mr Perfect" walks into her life in the form of Blake Hudson, self-made businessman. It's not all smooth sailing, Walk on By is filled with twists and turns as they uncover startling secrets about one another. Pick up a copy of Walk on By today to follow this unlikely couple as they face a hilarious and emotional rollercoaster of a journey.
Walk on By has been hailed as "Bridget Jones meets Pretty Women with a bit of Cinderella thrown in," a fast-paced, chickit, romantic comedy that will have you laughing and crying along with the heroine. Stacey Solomon, the X factor finalist and winner of I'm a Celebrity has remarked that she is "so excited to be working with Totally Bound Publishing and launching their new imprint, Celebritease™. I am really passionate about my new books and I hope that readers will love my characters as much as I do."
Excerpt from Walk on By:
The Boob Tape seemed to have vanished on me. I'd searched everywhere, but the delightful little roll of wonder tape couldn't be found. Roo-Roo was doing his usual, flapping around my house in a frantic effort to find it, and I started to panic.
If I couldn't wear the sheath dress, what would I wear?
I couldn't choose anything from my wardrobe that I'd worn before. The press loved to pick up on things like that. Lola wears same dress as last month! I had other dresses, ones that were bought for this kind of situation, but none of them were suitable for the music awards. I had to wear the black dress.
Roo-Roo came into my bedroom.
"Darling, we're doomed," he said, raising the back of his hand to his forehead. "Sellotape?"
"Tried that before, remember. It doesn't stay sticky for long enough." But his fabulous suggestion gave me another idea. "Hang on a second," I said, leaving the room.
In the garage, I ferreted about in a drawer where I kept odds and ends. I knew that what I was searching for was there because I'd used it recently to hem a pair of trousers. I couldn't sew and, well, I was creative in how I fixed things.
Ah, there it was, my silver saviour.
I took it back upstairs. Roo-Roo gave me the kind of look that suggested I was either crazy or I'd solved the world's problems. I waited to see which it was.
"You, my dear, are a genius." He strode over to me, kissed my cheeks, then stepped back. "You're going to need help putting it on."
I'd known that, and with any other man I'd have been uncomfortable, but not with Roo-Roo. I turned away from him to slip on a pair of sweat pants then took off my dressing gown.
I faced him again "Okay, we'll do a practise run. Shall I hold them up while you tape, or do you want to do it the other way around?"
A year ago, I never would have thought I'd be standing in front of a gay man, waiting for him to tape up my boobs.
"You hold," he said, "and we'll make them look Polly Perky."
So there I was, standing in my bedroom, cupping my assets while my best friend turned each of them into Polly. While he worked his magic, I wondered whether other famous women were doing this right now, but with The Boob Tape. It never failed to amaze me how some aspects of 'normal' life remained in 'famous' life-how getting ready for a party was sometimes fraught with dilemmas. What had I expected, then? For absolutely everything to change? I'd always had the philosophy that everyone was the same. No matter how much money they had or how high a status they had, everyone did similar things. I was oddly relieved that that was true. I'd been worrying that I was losing Charlotte, losing real life, that I had to become Lola-eat, sleep and breathe Lola-and all along, little pieces of Charlotte were still there.
You can buy Walk on By today from high- street retailers.
Available online now!