Wednesday, May 15, 2013

GUEST POST: The Low Note by Kate Roth


What makes the teacher/student romance so popular? Is it because we’ve all had that tantalizing thought…? What if? What if the man at the front of the class only has eyes for me? What if we could sneak around? What if we could fall in love? I think it’s common for young people (high school and college students) to crush on their teachers and professors. The forbidden element of such a relationship makes it enticing as well as the power struggle.

When we lust after someone who is in a position of power over us, what does that mean? Are we looking for approval from someone older and wiser to fulfill an unmet need? Does an age difference lend itself to a relationship of dominance and submission? Or is it the true nature of any relationship that one person holds the power?

The idea of a student falling for a teacher (or vice versa) isn’t a new one. In The Low Notes I take on the task of showing how that sort of relationship can crumble and/or grow depending on the circumstances of the two individuals involved.  When it comes to my main characters, Kevin and Nina, I think the power ultimately belongs to Nina though she is the student. She’s the one who makes the decision to continue pursuing Kevin despite the obvious complications.  The struggle of their relationship outside of the scandal of it was what I enjoyed writing most. The point I wanted to make with my version of the teacher/student romance was ‘you can’t help who you fall for’. We don’t always have the luxury of wanting the ‘right’ person and that’s what The Low Notes is really all about. It’s about making the choice of whether or not to follow your heart or follow the rules (of society, of your town, of your family, of your job).

Here’s a little bit about The Low Notes!

When a chance meeting between high school teacher Kevin Reed and singer Nina Jordan ignites an instant spark, they must decide if it's more important to follow your heart or follow the rules.

After caring for his dying father, Kevin Reed, returns to his hometown of Wexley Falls, bereaved, unemployed and exhausted at the thought of starting a new life. After a failed blind date, Kevin meets young singer Nina Jordan who takes his breath away with the sound of her voice. The connection is instantaneous and mutual on their first date, but both are crestfallen when they discover days later, to their horror, Nina is Kevin's student at the local high school.

Deciphering between notions of love and lust, fate and coincidence, Kevin and Nina find themselves unable to turn their backs on what they can't deny is a once in a lifetime feeling. Told from both perspectives, The Low Notes explores a love that feels right even though it seems wrong.

  



You can find more about me and my upcoming releases at www.katerothwrites.com and on Facebook www.facebook.com/authorkateroth and Twitter www.twitter.com/katerothwrites

3 comments:

  1. I've heard really great things about this book, but only recently for some reason.
    And I think this subject will always be fascinating towards readers, probably because it has the element of forbidden fruit despite the fact that if were to happen a few years later (say while she was in college) it wouldn't be wrong anymore....I think it's about that invisible line between what we think it's wrong or right, how just their ages change what side of the line we're on.
    It sounds like a fantastic book and it's now on top of my tbr list :)

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  2. This sounds like a good read, similar to Colleen Hoovers Slammed.

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  3. Thank you for having me Becca! For those of you readers interested in picking it up The Low Notes will be on sale for 99 cents May 17-19th on Amazon.com :)

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