Hello blog friends! I’m hosting Cathy Pegau this weekend. I’m not a huge scifi reader but I really enjoyed the characters and worldbuilding in her debut novel, Rulebreaker. Caught in Amber is another story set in the same world. Here is her post:

Caught in Amber: A Song for Sasha

I don’t usually listen to music while I write, at least not songs with lyrics. Instrumental is fine, but I find myself caught up in a good song’s “story” if there are words and I get distracted. But there are certain songs that keep me in the mental groove of the plot or character. I’ll listen to these songs enough that even if they aren’t playing I’m hearing them in my head as I write.

Pink’s “Sober” played in my brain throughout the writing of Caught in Amber as Sasha’s theme. “Sober” is about someone who fears she can’t be herself without her drug of choice. She knows she’s not reliable.

“I don’t wanna be that call at 4 o’clock in the morning, cause I’m the only one you know in the world that won’t be home”

and is nearly powerless in the face of her addiction.

“Ah, the night is callin’ And it whispers to me softly, ‘Come and play’ I, I am fallin’And if I let myself go I’m the only one to blame.”

But at the same time, she realizes she needs to stop.

“That’s not the way I want my story to end.”

That’s what Sasha focuses on throughout Caught in Amber, not ending her personal story as an addict. She’d hit bottom, so far that she spent several years in a rehab/correctional facility, and can’t stand the thought of being there agian. But despite being “chipped” against the physical need for the drug, she still thinks about it, is still tempted by it.

“When it’s good then it’s good, it’s so good till it goes bad…”

That’s essentially where Caught in Amber opens, with someone reminding Sasha who she was then and how she wants to change her story.

Recently out of rehab, Sasha James is determined to keep her head down, complete her parole, and never touch amber again. The chip in her neck controls her cravings for the highly addictive drug, but also tracks her every move. Not that she goes anywhere other than work and the halfway house she calls home—a far cry from her luxurious former life as lover of the mining colony’s top drug dealer, Guy Christiansen.

Agent Nathan Sterling has no desire to see Sasha fall back into amber, but his sister has become Guy’s latest conquest and the unexpectedly attractive Sasha is the key to getting her back. So in exchange for an introduction, he offers Sasha the one thing she can’t refuse—her freedom. From the chip, her parole, and even the planet if she wants. Though he would be sorry to see her go…

Torn between her growing attraction to Nathan, fear of Guy and the allure of amber, Sasha accepts. But who will save her if Guy refuses to let her go a second time?

Want to read more? Of course you do : ) Leave a comment (including an email addy) and a winner will be randomly chosen to receive an e-version of Caught in Amber. If you’d like, tell me if there are certain songs that remind you of books or characters.

Thanks so very much for having me, Jill!
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Cathy Pegau lives in Alaska with her family, pets, and the occasional black bear trundling through the yard. She prefers writing speculative fiction because she can make stuff up as she goes along.

Visit Cathy at her website.