*~*Before He Was Gone by Becky Wicks Blog Tour – Guest Post & Giveaway*~*

Falling in love with your best friend isn’t always a great idea, especially when he’s Noah Lockton – the sexiest, most famous new talent on the planet. When 21-year-old small-town photographer Chloe Campbell is offered the chance of a lifetime – to join her celebrity childhood friend Noah on tour as an exclusive blogger for a New York magazine – she’s certain both have put what happened four years ago behind them. But his eyes still burn; his voice is still a jackhammer to her heartstrings; all his songs are about her. Is it possible that that night still haunts them both?

The music industry is a machine, spinning hype and rumors as much as his records. It’s not just Noah’s girlfriends who’ve got it in for Chloe (there’s no stopping the Twitter-obsessed, cat-loving pop-star Courtney Lentini for starters). Pretty soon, the jealousy and media frenzy surrounding these so-called-friends takes a life-changing turn and it seems making love means making enemies at every turn. When tragedy threatens to pull the final curtain on their relationship, both Chloe and Noah must make a choice. As much as this world leaves them starstruck, is living their dream really worth living without each other?

A story of lifelong friendships, love and hope, set in a world of celebrity, fame and social media gone very, very wrong.

Behind the scenes: How did you become a writer?

Hi, and thanks so much for having me on the blog. I get asked this question a lot, and also how I got into writing romance, specifically, so here’s a little bit of what I remember (there was a little wine and coffee involved, oh and several continents!)

So why did you become a writer?

Well, there wasn’t a specific moment when I thought ‘I’m going to be a writer!’ because ever since I was a kid it’s just something I’ve always done. I used to scribble long into the night into those little lined notebooks and they were mostly stories about talking animals who’d go on all kinds of adventures. I actually found some of the stories last Christmas at my mom and dad’s house and put them on my blog, haha! They’re not as good as I probably thought they were at the time…

How did you get your first publishing deal?

I got pretty lucky, I think! I lived in Dubai for a couple of years as a digital editor for an online magazine and I wrote a blog while I was there about how crazy it was to live in this sandy up and coming city. I would get press releases about stuff like air-conditioned beaches and cars made entirely of gold. I moved to Sydney and turned those blogs into a manuscript, and I emailed an agent to ask about representation. She signed me on the spot and within a month I had a deal with HarperCollins Australia for what became my first book, Burqalicious. That book sold in other countries, and I did two more after that about Bali and South America!

So you had to travel a lot to write your books?

Travelling was what made my first three books, as they were all written on the road, or while I was working in different places. They were diaries, in a way, and they’re kind of funny to look back on now. I did some pretty crazy stuff! I think though, that all that travelling has helped me endlessly now that I write fiction, because I can take my characters to different places and put them in situations and with other people that I’ve personally experienced in the past, all without living out of a backpack this time. I think to become the writer I am now, I definitely had to travel. I have itchy feet though, so I’ll probably never stop!

Do you need a big publisher behind you to be successful as an author?

No. My first three books did OK with a big six, but when it came to marketing I realized very quickly that I was responsible for making those books sell. A big publisher will definitely put you on the right track, but a book doesn’t sell itself. You have to do a lot of work as an author, alongside your writing. Luckily the indie community and all you bloggers are awesome support, and we have some amazing tools and resources at our disposal to help make self publishing easier and way more fun. The Starstruck Series is my first self-publishing foray but I’m going to keep on doing it!

What advice would you give to anyone looking to write and publish a book?

Well, obviously you have to have a story and you have to want to write that story. I moved into romantic fiction because I’m a sucker for those stories myself, both in movies and books, and I also had these situations in my head I wanted to live vicariously through different characters! Your protagonists should be likeable, unless there’s a good reason for them not to be. I think readers can tell what an author enjoys writing. If you don’t love your book, chances are no one else will. Set yourself some writing time every day and talk about what you’re writing before you’ve finished it on social media! When you’re done, have a big glass of wine and congratulate yourself… and then start looking into marketing. For a writer, the work literally never ends.