Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Today's Special - - Sariah Wilson is #Starstruck


Sariah Wilson has never jumped out of an airplane, never climbed Mt. Everest, and is not a former CIA operative. She has, however, been madly, passionately in love with her soulmate and is a fervent believer in happily ever afters—which is why she writes romance. She grew up in southern California, graduated from Brigham Young University (go Cougars!) with a semi-useless degree in history, and is the oldest of nine (yes, nine) children. She currently lives with the aforementioned soulmate and their four children in Utah, along with three tiger barb fish, a cat named Tiger, and a recently departed hamster that is buried in the backyard (and has nothing at all to do with tigers). 

Sariah's book ROYAL DATE was selected as one of the first winners in Amazon's Kindle Scout program and is Kindle Press's most successful author to date. She has sold five books to Montlake Romance, three to Kindle Press and helped launch Amazon Publishing's Kindle In Motion technology with her latest release, ROYAL DESIGN. She was given her own Kindle World for THE ROYALS OF MONTERRA. Sariah has repeatedly hit Amazon's overall Top 100 (both in and outside the U.S.) and been a #1 bestseller on Amazon category lists multiple times. Her books have been featured in USA TODAY and GLAMOUR UK. 


Sariah joins us today to share her own personal starstruck story. Welcome, Sariah! 



A Movie Star Asked Me Out and I Accidentally Said No


Have you ever wondered what would happen if you met your favorite celebrity? What if he showed a romantic interest in you? Those questions and a real-life experience with my teenage celebrity crush helped to inspire the idea for my just-released novel #Starstruck. Keep reading for the slightly mortifying story of what happened when I met the oh-so-dreamy Stephen Dorff in person.

The summer after I graduated from high school, I scored some free Disneyland tickets to see my favorite music group perform live. I dragged one of my best friends, Kenyetta, along with me and my family. We, of course, ditched my large family immediately and went to the concert. After the show Kenyetta indicated that she needed to get money from the ATM, so we headed out toward the front gates and got into the line.

There was a shorter guy in front of me, flanked by two taller men. He turned around briefly and my heart stopped. It was actor Stephen Dorff. Being a lifelong fangirl (before being online was a thing), I bought teen magazines by the truckload and cut out pictures of my favorites to hang up. I’d seen Stephen in “The Power of One” and had thought he was so, so cute. His picture literally hung on my bedroom wall. And now that gorgeous, drool-worthy man was standing right in front of me.

I turned and whispered frantically to Kenyetta, “That’s Stephen Dorff.”

“Who?” she asked me, confused.

He wasn’t as well known then (his infamous roles in Aerosmith’s “Cryin’” video with Alicia Silverstone and “Everytime” with Britney Spears were still a ways off), but pop culture connoisseur that I was (still am), I knew EXACTLY who he was. I was giddy with excitement.

And I didn’t know what to do about it. (Pre-selfie days, remember?)

I apparently wasn’t very quiet as I tried to explain all this to my friend. He must have overheard me because he turned around and flashed me a brilliant, movie star-esque smile. “Hey. How’s it going?”

Me (squealing inside as my heart pounded and my palms turned sweaty): “You’re Stephen Dorff, aren’t you?”

He laughed and nodded. “Yeah.”

“I need your autograph. Will you sign something for me? No one is going to believe this! Stay right here.” I didn’t wait for his answer. I had to find a pen, because I didn’t have a pen. Somebody HAD to have a pen. Despite the fact that I am a total introvert, I approached multiple strangers asking if they had a pen. I finally found a purple Disney themed one at the fourth family I spoke to, where I promised to bring it back immediately (and may have even promised my firstborn, that’s how desperately I needed a writing utensil). Stephen and his friends looked beyond amused as I returned.

I handed him my Disneyland ticket stub, the only thing I had that he could sign. He autographed it for me and I think he asked us a question, which I couldn’t hear because I was FREAKING OUT.

Then, totally unprompted, I proceeded to interject, “I have a picture of you on my bedroom wall!” That made him and his friends laugh, and they elbowed him and teased him about that one.

He handed the ticket stub back to me, and I had to return the pen. When I came back, he was in the middle of using the ATM. One of his buddies also got some cash out and while we waited Stephen said, “My friends and I are going dancing here in the park at 7:00. Would you guys like to meet up with us?”

Now, had I been in my right mind, the obvious answer to such a question from a Movie Star/Poster Guy From Your Wall is “That sounds like fun!” or “Maybe we can work that into our schedule” or “YES, YES, OMG YES.”

What did I say?

“Sorry. We have to meet my mom at 7:00.”

Not only that, but my brain did not comprehend what had just happened or how ridiculously uncool I’d just been (I had to meet my mom? Huh?).

“Oh. Okay. Cool. See you around,” he said. We said goodbye and I stood there, slack jawed, unable to process. He was so, so pretty. A little short for me, but ridiculously hot.

Kenyetta slid in her bank card. “What is wrong with you?”

“What?”

“Your actor just asked you out, and you said no.”

“He what?” Now, I’m not a dumb person. My only explanation is that I’d never met a celebrity before and was so frazzled by the whole thing I didn’t see what was happening right in front of me.

She pointed the direction he had gone. “He asked us to go dancing, like on a date, and you said no.”

My brain sputtered at this information. What? He’d asked me out? I said no? When had any of that happened?

It took me a minute to realize the truth of what she said. I grabbed her by the sleeve, desperate to fix my mistake. “Come on.”

We tried to catch up to him and his friends, but I never saw him again. We tried to find him that evening at the music venue in Tomorrowland, but he didn’t show up.

Which was probably a good thing as I was a very naïve and innocent 17-year-old and Stephen Dorff…was not.

But now, every time that I see him on screen (such as his recent role as Star’s father on Fox’s “Star”) I get a little smile and remember that day and wonder what might have been.


Readers, have you ever had a celebrity encounter?

Who was your teenage celebrity crush?

Who are you crushing on these days? 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



By Sariah Wilson
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Release Date: January 16 2018

“You’ve done better.”
With one uncharacteristically sassy tweet to her longtime celebrity crush, Zoe Miller’s life turns upside down. Ultrahot A-lister Chase Covington doesn’t just respond to Zoe’s tweet, he does the unthinkable: he messages Zoe directly. Now she must decide between walking away or meeting her crush in person.
Chase knows better than to trust anyone from the Internet, but Zoe’s saucy challenge has totally caught his interest—and her girl-next-door personality is keeping it. He’s been burned enough to know he needs to keep his heart close. But his feelings for Zoe might be a lot more than just an online flirtation. He just has to convince her
When the press gets wind of Zoe and Chase’s secret relationship, their romance turns into tabloid headlines. Will they be able to hold on to their Hollywood love story?

22 comments:

  1. When I was a teenager, I had a celebrity encounter with Englebert Humperdink in his dressing room, and he gave me a kiss on my cheek. I also had a huge teenage crush on Cliff Richard. Now, I have an old lady crush on Aiden Turner (aka Ross Poldark).

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    1. I saw Aiden Turner in the Hobbit movie and didn't think anything about him. But as Ross Poldark? There is something totally magnetic and charismatic, right? I love him in that role!

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    2. Alright, Diane. I want to know how you got to his dressing room. There has to be more to this story! ;-)

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  2. I've never had a close encounter with a celebrity crush but I have no doubt I'd be just as tongue-tied as you were, Sariah. I love the premise of #Starstruck. Looking forward to reading it!

    I agree with Aidan Turner as Ross Poldark for a grown-up crush. I've seen him in other things and haven't been moved but in this role? Oh, mama!

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    1. I'm better now. Age and all that. ;) But I did indeed make a total fool of myself as a teen.

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  3. Sariah, I'm curious if Stephen Dorff knows he's the inspiration behind your book?

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    1. I think he has no idea whatsoever. LOL He doesn't seem to be very social media friendly. :)

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  6. The closest I came was to meet Larry Lujak, radio personality. I was walking in downtown Chicago and he was walking down the same street. People came running up to him for his autograph. I kept walking and soon he caught up to me. He was tall and had long legs. I asked if he got tired of not being able to walk anywhere. He told me it was part of the job. He asked where I was going and I told him I was heading to the VA hospital where my dad was. He wished my dad a speedy recovery. I never did ask him for an autograph. I think he would have signed one for me and my dad.

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    1. How cool! I grew up listening to him on WLS.

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    2. He probably would have - but it's still fun that you got to meet him! :)

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  7. I've never met a celebrity crush. I have met a few celebrities.

    denise

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  8. This man was not a crush....exactly. I was standing in line at a 7-11. In front of me, with his back to me was a man who had enormous forearms....I could not figure out why that was. He turned around, and it was Mickey Mantle. Arguably the best baseball player ever...Damn Yankees was written about him. Anyway, I squeaked....I have never squeaked before or since. He turned around and smiled and said something like "Hi'. Then he was gone. I am not sure I was able to speak - I am a sports nut and he was one of my sports heroes. I paid for the soda and walked out. I was a very happy person.

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    1. What a random meeting! I had something like that happen to me at my local grocery store. I got in line behind a man who looked about 7 feet tall. When he glanced behind him (in my direction), I realized it was Robert Parish, a NBA Hall of Fame center who played most of his career for the Boston Celtics. I smiled but didn't say anything. I keep waiting to run into Michael Jordan but I have a feeling he doesn't do his own shopping. ;-)

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    2. Mickey Mantle - that's pretty spectacular! :)

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  9. I have never really crushed on anyone, well maybe Paul McCarthy of the Beatles. But the chances of ever meeting him were slim and none.
    I met several famous people, mostly politicians, while I was overseas. They certainly don't count.
    I met comedic actor Jim Varney when he came to do a fundraiser at the Children's Museum where I worked. He played the Ernest P. Worrell character, a boufoonish redneck, in several movies. Of course, that is what I expected before he showed up. Instead, he showed up in a leather jacket, all traces of the redneck gone. They had an Ernest look-a-like contest and he couldn't imagine why anyone would want to be like Ernest. (I don't think he fully realized he was in real redneck hillbilly territory). It was really nice visiting with him throughout the day. He was a classically trained Shakespearian actor and a nice person. He was great with the kids and those of us who worked there. He died about 5 years later at the age of 50 (much too young).
    I am not crushing on any celebrity now. I have my husband and that is more than enough.

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    1. Thank you for that insight into Jim Varney. I only knew him as the Ernest P. Worrell character.

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    2. That is interesting! My younger siblings always loved Ernest.

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  10. I never did meet any of my teen crushes. Alas, Bobby Sherman, the Monkees, David Cassidy, etc. But I did get to watch Pete Maravich play a basketball game against the Chicagto Bulls.

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    1. I was a huge fan of Pete Maravich. One of my college friends knew him well. Their families were good friends. We were all quite envious. ;-)

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