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Finding Center Stage
Coming in 2016
Richard Black is a troubled, musical genius who accidentally disfigured himself and now has to find his way back into love, life and performing in front of thousands of people exactly as he is: flawed.
See more at www.twitter.com/EckelAuthor.
At 16, Richard’s singer/songwriter mom, his soul (sic) supporter dies. Believing he contributed to her demise, he walks in front of a truck and accidentally survives. The legacy of his decision is disfigurement from skin grafts across his face and body. He hides out for five years behind a thick beard and covered in long sleeved shirts waiting for doctors and time to heal his embarrassment but they can’t. Bright stage lights and disfigurement are unkind partners. Continuing as the brilliant computer programmer he’s become is his safest bet. So, at the beginning of the novel, Richard decides to give away his songs to a star vocalist so his songs can live on even if his dream of performing them cannot. Her rebuff motivates him to assemble a studio band of similarly brilliant musicians to cut a CD to prove his compositions’ worth. The lead singer of that band falls in love with Richard as does the star vocalist after hearing his magic. The star invites him to her estate to doctor one of her songs. As he transforms the song in seconds that she labored over for months, she glimpses the spark of genius in Richard’s eyes. So does the singer’s boyfriend and band-cofounder. When he sees his band and girlfriend slipping away, his old, familiar, murderous habits return. In this dream-turned-nightmare, Richard must summon the courage to perform before everyone to prove himself to the women who love him, and overcome the debt owed to his mom. In this unconventional, Catcher-In-The-Rye meets High Fidelity story, played out in the lascivious, paparazzi-flooded world of fame and seduction, Richard must overcome what his doctors could not and stand in front of everyone whole and unafraid.
Richard Black is a troubled, musical genius who accidentally disfigured himself and now has to find his way back into love, life and performing in front of thousands of people exactly as he is: flawed.
See more at www.twitter.com/EckelAuthor.
At 16, Richard’s singer/songwriter mom, his soul (sic) supporter dies. Believing he contributed to her demise, he walks in front of a truck and accidentally survives. The legacy of his decision is disfigurement from skin grafts across his face and body. He hides out for five years behind a thick beard and covered in long sleeved shirts waiting for doctors and time to heal his embarrassment but they can’t. Bright stage lights and disfigurement are unkind partners. Continuing as the brilliant computer programmer he’s become is his safest bet. So, at the beginning of the novel, Richard decides to give away his songs to a star vocalist so his songs can live on even if his dream of performing them cannot. Her rebuff motivates him to assemble a studio band of similarly brilliant musicians to cut a CD to prove his compositions’ worth. The lead singer of that band falls in love with Richard as does the star vocalist after hearing his magic. The star invites him to her estate to doctor one of her songs. As he transforms the song in seconds that she labored over for months, she glimpses the spark of genius in Richard’s eyes. So does the singer’s boyfriend and band-cofounder. When he sees his band and girlfriend slipping away, his old, familiar, murderous habits return. In this dream-turned-nightmare, Richard must summon the courage to perform before everyone to prove himself to the women who love him, and overcome the debt owed to his mom. In this unconventional, Catcher-In-The-Rye meets High Fidelity story, played out in the lascivious, paparazzi-flooded world of fame and seduction, Richard must overcome what his doctors could not and stand in front of everyone whole and unafraid.
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About the author
G.H. Eckel
2 books145 followersGeorge Eckel has been a professional writer for twenty years. He’s been a top-ten bestseller for New Riders, an imprint of Macmillan Publications, where his books were translated into multiple languages. He’s a produced playwright and avid reader. He graduated cum laude, with honors in English (and he was also a physics major) from Bucknell University and did graduate work in English at U.C. Berkeley. A veteran of Silicon Valley, he was on the original cloud computing team at Amazon. Visit him at www.georgeeckel.com.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
November 12, 2017
I found Finding Center Stage very entertaining. It was fun to read, and it moved right along. I was interested in the world that the author created, and finished the book in two days.
Richard Black is a computer whiz, already being given a second chance and a big job in his uncle’s company after his fianceé’s untimely death and his own suicide attempt three years earlier. He is still emotionally and physically scarred, but Richard's heart is in his talent as a songwriter and musician. He writes what he knows to be a hit song for a world-class rock star, and through sheer force of will, manages to get her to listen to it, along with other top-notch compositions. As he shares the stage with her, he himself rockets to the top, because he is a brilliant guitar player. But he has more obstacles to overcome and choices to make. After a wild summer, and a final showdown, Richard can finally take his proper place on the proper stage, and stand there in the spotlight--and regular daylight, too--scars and all.
Richard Black is a computer whiz, already being given a second chance and a big job in his uncle’s company after his fianceé’s untimely death and his own suicide attempt three years earlier. He is still emotionally and physically scarred, but Richard's heart is in his talent as a songwriter and musician. He writes what he knows to be a hit song for a world-class rock star, and through sheer force of will, manages to get her to listen to it, along with other top-notch compositions. As he shares the stage with her, he himself rockets to the top, because he is a brilliant guitar player. But he has more obstacles to overcome and choices to make. After a wild summer, and a final showdown, Richard can finally take his proper place on the proper stage, and stand there in the spotlight--and regular daylight, too--scars and all.
January 9, 2018
I found this novel to be extremely entertaining and very hard to put down. Mr. Eckle's character development is spot on. Being a working musician, the story line is completely relatable to me , however, everyone would love the almost palpable struggle in making the journey to find your center whether it be on a stage or any other calling to personal fulfillment. The protagonist's twist in the end is refreshing and the scene, in which this transpires, transports you to an almost frenzied "oh crap, now what" I was physically stressed out which put me right there in the book. Great Read!
April 21, 2018
Without giving too much away about this book, it's a love story, it's heartbreaking, and suspenseful at times, it's funny, its about music, and unpredictable. The story follows a young man, who after having a significant tragedies in his life, tries to find purpose and build a legacy from the trauma that he has experienced. It about finding purpose, and moving forward in life when one thinks that it not possible. I highly recommend to any adult reader. Finding Center Stage
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews