An interview with a fictional character #Christmas #rocknroll @KiltieJackson @rararesources #currentaffairs #romance #win

…from the mind of a fictional character

a celebrity interview with

Pete Wallace

(a character from Kiltie Jackson's A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle: A Christmas Romance)

Dear readers, today we are discussing the topic of media intrusion into the lives of people in the public eye. Just how severe were the consequences of phone hacking and how did they affect those involved. Giving us his views on the matter, I am welcoming former singer from boy-band The Astons, and world number one solo artist, Mr Pete Wallace.

Pete, before we start, please can you tell us a little about yourself for the benefit of readers who were maybe not fans of The Astons.

Of course. I’m Pete Wallace and I’m a musician. I started off my career as one of the lead singers in The Astons when I was sixteen. I’m now a solo artist, aged 33 and I’ve spent most of my adult life in the public eye.

Pete, The Astons dominated the music scene for the best part of a decade, and were reported on almost daily in tabloid press. Would it be fair to say you courted the press attention in your younger days?

I think it would be fair to say the PR companies courted the press on our behalf. We were young and naïve and followed the guidance of those we believed knew better. We were told where to go, where to be, when to arrive and when to leave. We never considered that it was all engineered to maximise our exposure.

But surely you must have realised that being in the tabloids every day was no bad thing? It made you famous after all.

We were four lads who just wanted to make music. Of course we didn’t mind the trappings that came with becoming famous and successful but we never fully understood, at that time, the consequences that would accompany being ‘media darlings’.

And what would you say those consequences were Pete?

Predominately, the loss of one’s privacy. I can’t even begin to explain how it feels to look out of your window and see people raking through your rubbish bins, trying to find something they can report upon in their newspaper the next day. I mean, does anyone really want to know what my preferred brand of butter is?

Some would argue that people have a right to know.

I think there should be limits on what people have a right to know because, without them, people will never be satisfied and will always clamour for more. This results in those in the public eye being harassed more and more frequently in order to feed the beast that society is becoming. When all is said and done, most musicians and actors are simply trying to do a job which provides enjoyment to many people. When we choose to become entertainers, we don’t sign a document which signs away the rights to some kind of private life.

But the public are the people who pay for your music and watch the films. Without them, you don’t have a career.

It is fully appreciated that the general public are essential for our careers but being in the public eye doesn’t, or shouldn’t make us public property.

Further to the phone hacking scandal which came to light a few years ago, a number of cases are still being tried at this time. Were you affected by this?

Yes… Yes, I was. Well, my family was. (hesitation…) A very close friend of my father was caught up in the London bombings in 2005. My father knew his daily commute and knew immediately that he would have been in the area where one of the bombs detonated. He tried to call him many times and left several messages asking him to call back. When it was reported later that ‘a close family friend of Pete Wallace’ had been killed in the attacks, we were gobsmacked because very few people could have known this information. This resulted in my parents being hounded even further by the paparazzi who were doing all they could to dig up any snippet of information on the victims. This was the final straw for them and, not long after that, they began to make plans to move to Austria.

Were you affected in any other ways by this?

Well it pushed my family into moving to another country. This caused a breakdown in the close relationship I had with my parents. Something had shifted and it never felt quite the same after that. I also firmly believe that, had they not felt compelled to leave the country, they would still be alive today.

Are you referring to their death when you were in hospital?

That’s correct. Once again, the lies printed in the press caused them pain and upset. They died believing an untruth.

Would you like to expand further on that?

No thank you. It’s probably best that I don’t.

Fair enough. So, to finish, do you feel measures should be put in place that restrict what the press and media can report?

I feel that the ‘freedom of the press’ is taken too literally and that some boundaries need to be put in place. If public figures are merely being hounded because their picture on the front page helps to sell copies, then that has to be curbed. If there is a legitimate investigation going on where it is believed somebody is involved in say sexual exploitation or fraudulent activities, then these should be looked into thoroughly. The press need to use more common sense. They do a great job in exposing wrong-doings but they undermine their credibility when they report lies and untruths that caused untold damage to the lives of innocent people.

Pete, thank you for being here today and for sharing your thoughts with us.

Thank you for having me as your guest.

Introducing...

A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle

So who exactly is Sukie McClaren?
A Christmas-loving Cat lover? A Sound of Music Fanatic? A Fiercely Independent Woman?

She is all of the above. And when she is sent to Salzburg for a business trip a few weeks before Christmas, she thinks all her dreams have come true. As she packs her suitcase, the only things on her mind are Christmas markets, lots of snow and finally seeing the Doh-Ray-Me steps. Becoming the new best friend of the world’s hottest rock-star doesn’t even get a look in.

BUY NOW!

Pete Wallace is a reclusive, reluctant, rock-star and the world’s Number One, best-selling, male solo artist. It’s been three years since his last tour and he’s now preparing to go back on the road again. A week in Salzburg, schmoozing with the music press, is one of his worst nightmares. 

He can’t wait for it to be over.

When Pete and Sukie meet, it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Lonely for too long, he begins to remember how it feels to be happy and, for the first time in six years, Christmas feels special again. 

Eduardo di Santo however, whose kid sister suffered life-changing injuries at a Pete Wallace concert, is all set on getting revenge. When Pete’s new tour is announced, he begins to make his plans. Plans that will culminate in Pete's demise.

Will Pete and Sukie’s new friendship die before it has a chance to flourish?

A Christmas tale full of love, laughter, friendship and revenge.

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Kiltie Jackson grew up in Glasgow, Scotland but currently lives in Staffordshire.

Kiltie first began writing 'A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle' over ten years ago. The project was shelved on Chapter Seventeen as she felt the story wasn't flowing as she would like it to.

In her own words "The images in my head would not come out of my fingers!" Fast forward to November 2016 when, having finished reading Lizzie's Christmas Escape by Christie Barlow, she read more about the author and was inspired with how Christie herself came to be a best-selling author.

In that thunderbolt moment, Kiltie knew - with a deep certainty- that she needed to reacquaint herself with 'A Rock 'n' Roll Lovestyle' and begin writing again. She did this in January 2017 and found the words flowed faster than she could type them. Finally, the time was right for her to write her novel.

She currently has a further ten plots and ideas stored in her file (it's costing a fortune in USB drives as each story has its own memory stick!) and the ideas still keep on coming.

She now lives her life around the following three quotes:

"I love having weird dreams, they're great fodder for book plots!"
"Why wait for your ship to come in when you can swim out to meet it?"
"Old enough to know better, young enough not to care!"

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