Publication date: October 17th 2013
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance
Blurb:
Where does friendship stop and love begin?
At just 19, Kendall Bettencourt is Hollywood’s hottest young starlet with the world at her feet – but behind the glamour and designer dresses is a girl who longs for normal.
Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is – her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life.
With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend – she is the only girl that she has ever loved.
Just as they need each other more than ever, they’ll have to answer the question of where friendship stops and love begins? And find out whether the feelings they have can survive the mounting pressure of fame…
The Gravity Between Us is a daring, romantic, emotional story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to be yourself in a crazy world.
New Adult novel: recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content
At just 19, Kendall Bettencourt is Hollywood’s hottest young starlet with the world at her feet – but behind the glamour and designer dresses is a girl who longs for normal.
Payton Taylor is Kendall’s best friend since childhood, and the one person who reminds her of who she really is – her refuge from the craziness of celebrity life.
With her career taking off, Kendall moves Payton to LA to help keep her sane. But Payton is hiding a secret that could make everything ten times worse. Because to her, Kendall is more than a best friend – she is the only girl that she has ever loved.
Just as they need each other more than ever, they’ll have to answer the question of where friendship stops and love begins? And find out whether the feelings they have can survive the mounting pressure of fame…
The Gravity Between Us is a daring, romantic, emotional story about friendship, love, and finding the courage to be yourself in a crazy world.
New Adult novel: recommended for 17+ due to mature themes and sexual content
Get it here:
Excerpt:
The moment we walk into the coffee shop I become aware of just how off-putting small town New Jersey can be for a famous person, or an “almost famous person” as Kendall would say. People don’t recognize her at first; she was still sporting her natural locks in In Heaven’s Arms, as well as on her most recent press tour. She’s still blonde on all the magazine covers. But it’s easy to make out that the world around us is about to lose its collective mind. It starts with stares—everyone squinting hard in our direction. We’re in line waiting to order by the time the real craziness kicks in. The atmosphere intensifies as the noise level recedes, until finally, the whole place goes dead silent. Then, with all the grace and subtlety of a falling H-bomb, the menacing buzz of whispering beings: “Is that Kendall Bettencourt?” “I think so. OMG!”
The barista knows exactly who Kendall is. He can hardly contain his drool as she begins her order. “Hi. Can I have a tall hazelnut latte, please?” She looks over her shoulder at me and raises her left eyebrow. I’m standing stiff and straight at my fully awkward height of 5’9,” somewhat in awe of how she’s managing to function normally in this preposterously abnormal situation. The attention that is on her right now is overwhelming. I mean, I get it. Her biggest movie ever just opened. She has more money than the Catholic Church, and she’s gorgeous, but really? I want to scream at everyone within earshot, “I’ve been hypnotized by her much longer than you have! You all need to get over it already!”
It doesn’t seem to faze her much, though. Maybe she’s just gotten so used to being gawked at that she legitimately doesn’t care.
She shoots me a grin. My rigid muscles instantly relax. “The usual for you, Pay?”
“Um, yeah.”
“And a tall coffee, light and sweet,” she continues to the barista. When she’s finished, she turns back to me and whispers, “Ignore it. That’s the approach I’m taking.”
What a radical strategy! “Okay.”
“Your coffee, darling,” She hands me a piping hot cup and then takes off toward the large wall of windows. People continue to gape at her as she passes like she’s a unicorn or some kind of exotic animal. She is stopped twice—first by two preteen girls who ask for her autograph, and again by a musclebound, gym-rat-looking guy who uses his iPhone to snap off a few pictures of himself with his arm slung round her shoulders.
Once everyone gets over the titillation of her presence, we find a sunlight-drenched table in the corner where we can sit facing one another. She looks at me for what feels like forever before speaking. “I can’t believe your hair got so long.” She puts her cup down, reaches across to me, and winds a few brown strands between her fingers. “You should get bangs. Not those full in the front kind, but the asymmetrical side-cut kind. You’d look bangin’,” she chortles. “Get it, banging?”
“You’re such a dork,” I say through my own giggle.
“You know, I meet new people every day, and they all have these great expectations of me.” Her voice quickly goes from funny to serious. A hint of melancholy flashes in her eyes. “I’m supposed to be the cool new superstar, or the latest silver screen vixen. No one sees me as the dork who makes lame puns.”
“But you are a dork who makes lame puns. You’re just cooler and sexier than the rest of us. It’s pretty awesome. You’re like a chameleon.”
“A chameleon?” She cocks her head. “Yeah, I like that. Thank you.”
“Don’t embrace it too much. You forget that chameleons are slimy reptiles.”
“Wait a second. Did you just call me a slimy reptile? Nice, Payton. You’re a master at backhanded compliments and completely ruining the moment.”
I take a sip of my steaming coffee and examine her carefully. Her tone was both convincingly stern and mildly pained, but the look of anger on her face is so feigned that she isn’t fooling anyone, certainly not me. “Yes, I’m particularly skilled at ruining moments. And you should consider taking acting lessons. Your ‘rage face’ is overly emotive.”
“Shut up,” she croaks. “Damn it. I can’t pull anything over on you, can I?”
“Nope.” I shake my head, reminding her that I know her all too well.
“While we’re on the subject of ruined moments, I’d like to ruin your day by making you take me to the city.”
“No! You know I hate Manhattan! It’s loud and dirty and too big for its own good.”
“Please? It’s barely half an hour away, and I’ll drive. I know how much you despise New York motorists.”
I look at her skeptically. She reciprocates with a semi-adorable pout.
“I want to go to The Met. And afterward, I’ll let you take me to lunch. I won’t even try to pay.”
“Wow!” I can feel myself smirking. “What a gift! Thank you so much.”
“Whatever! You always complain that I never let you pay.” She playfully slaps my arm. “Come on, look at my sad puppy face! You can’t resist it! I am being so cute right now!”
“Okay, yes! We can go, as long as you stop with the face. I can’t take it.”
“Sweet!” She holds out her hand. “Car keys, please.” About the author:
Kristen is a New Jersey-based freelance writer and editor. A member of
the International Women’s Writing Guild, she holds a B.A. in English
with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Montclair State
University. She also studied Music Performance with a focus on
percussion instruments at Five Towns College. When not busy writing or
burying her nose in books of the YA/New Adult fiction persuasion,
Kristen enjoys spending time with her family, which includes two
adorable Black Lab mixes and a very patient Better Half, and making
electronic music. The Gravity Between Us, a contemporary New Adult
Romance, is her first novel.Check her out:
Website: http://
Twitter: https://twitter.com/
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