The heavy metal band, Warlord, is in need of a new guitarist. Only one applicant stands out - a jewel in the very rough - Torrin Smith. She has the ability to make her guitar sing her soul - a sinister and shattered cry.
Sonny Middlestead, little sister to a member of the band, is making her way through high school in accelerated learning classes. Her days are filled with education, her nights with rock and roll. An aspiring journalist, she spends a good deal of her free time writing in her diary.
The two meet - dark and light, anger and love - with both disastrous and remarkable potential. Will Torrin be swept away by her substance abuse, unable to release her fury or accept the brightness of another's heart? Can Sonny find a way to heal a broken childhood, to make up for a lifetime of injustice and hate?
Only time will tell.
About the Author
It was a warm summer night in Spokane, Washington, and I was listening to a new, heavy metalband on headphones, focusing on the lyrics of an intriguing song. The song was "Face" by Sevendust. It told the story of a man who violated a woman, but the lyrics were ambiguous enough to cause some doubt. Was the woman a victim or a willing participant? Or both? Further questions arose over the coming weeks. Was the song based on experience or a latent desire? What type of man would write this song? What if a woman had written the lyrics? Through such questions, Torrin Chizu was born.
As a counter - a balance - to Torrin's anger and confusion, a calmer character was needed, one that was more grounded. The stereotypical rock and roll musician needed a sweet, naive young thing to react with. Since fame doesn't come easy or fast, the tale would also have to cover quite a bit of time - hence the journal entries of Sonny Middlestead, used to illustrate the years it takes for a band to become famous.
The answers to the final questions could mean Torrin's survival. Does power always corrupt? Can someone innocent of heart assuage another's doubt and self-disgust? And the ultimate question - which is stronger, the lure of addiction or the power of love?
Description:
The heavy metal band, Warlord, is in need of a new guitarist. Only one applicant stands out - a jewel in the very rough - Torrin Smith. She has the ability to make her guitar sing her soul - a sinister and shattered cry.
Sonny Middlestead, little sister to a member of the band, is making her way through high school in accelerated learning classes. Her days are filled with education, her nights with rock and roll. An aspiring journalist, she spends a good deal of her free time writing in her diary.
The two meet - dark and light, anger and love - with both disastrous and remarkable potential. Will Torrin be swept away by her substance abuse, unable to release her fury or accept the brightness of another's heart? Can Sonny find a way to heal a broken childhood, to make up for a lifetime of injustice and hate?
Only time will tell.
About the Author
It was a warm summer night in Spokane, Washington, and I was listening to a new, heavy metalband on headphones, focusing on the lyrics of an intriguing song. The song was "Face" by Sevendust. It told the story of a man who violated a woman, but the lyrics were ambiguous enough to cause some doubt. Was the woman a victim or a willing participant? Or both? Further questions arose over the coming weeks. Was the song based on experience or a latent desire? What type of man would write this song? What if a woman had written the lyrics? Through such questions, Torrin Chizu was born.
As a counter - a balance - to Torrin's anger and confusion, a calmer character was needed, one that was more grounded. The stereotypical rock and roll musician needed a sweet, naive young thing to react with. Since fame doesn't come easy or fast, the tale would also have to cover quite a bit of time - hence the journal entries of Sonny Middlestead, used to illustrate the years it takes for a band to become famous.
The answers to the final questions could mean Torrin's survival. Does power always corrupt? Can someone innocent of heart assuage another's doubt and self-disgust? And the ultimate question - which is stronger, the lure of addiction or the power of love?