Left of the Dial: a new novella by Heidi Champa

When I saw the call for the Hot College Daze series for Amber Allure, my mind immediately went to one place: my old college radio station. I spent so much time there and had so many good times, I knew it was the perfect place to set my story, Left of the Dial. There was a lot more drama going on at our little station than anyone would have imagined. I wanted to capture a bit of that with Noah's story and his relationship with Marc.

I also decided to set the story in the late '90's, which was when I was finishing college. Things felt a bit simpler then, plus I was really keen to write a story that didn't involve a cell phone!

I also wanted to be able to mention the bands I love and played on my show every week. I wanted to think back to my great times on campus to try and capture the feeling of the time. Hopefully, I did that with this story. And, I hope you enjoy it!

Left Of The Dial by Heidi Champa
Available December 4th
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-220-1 (Electronic)
Hot College Daze Novella Series
http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/LeftOfDial.html

Blurb:

It’s 1998 and Noah Carson is months away from graduating college. He is scared of the future and even though he’s been offered a job at a local music magazine, the real world scares him to death. He wishes he could stay safely within the confines of his college radio station, WVVE, where he knows what he’s doing. His radio show is the best part of his week, even though no one ever calls in to request a thing.

Until one night, when the request line actually rings. Sparks fly between Noah and his mystery caller, and he becomes desperate to track down the man so they can get better acquainted. But, Noah already knows the guy's identity. His mystery caller is none other than TJ Drum aka Marc Drummond, lead singer of the defunct grunge band Back Of Bourke, a band Noah adores and plays on his radio show every week.

Just as the relationship between Noah and Marc blossoms, Noah is forced to choose between his future career and loyalty to his new love. And if he’s not careful, he just might lose them both...

Excerpt:

...I tried not to think about my mystery caller while I was at my show. I told myself it was a fluke, a one-off. I still hoped to hear from him again. I started the show the same way I always did, with a Back of Bourke song. I sang along as I filled out the on-air log, so Kevin could keep track of what went out over the airwaves. I had been busted several times for not playing required things like campus announcements and PSAs, so I tried to be more careful, mostly so he would leave me alone.

The time went by slowly as I stared out the window into the cold night air. The campus was always so peaceful at this time of night. At least on a Wednesday night. The student union was dead, except for the janitors cleaning up. I clicked play on my next song and was nearly scared out of my skin when the phone rang. I pressed the button and picked it up, my fingers crossed. I hadn’t done that since high school when I was in a similar state about a guy named Will.

“WVVE, this is Noah.”
“Hey, great show so far.”

It was him. I actively slowed my heart down and sat back on the stool.

“Thanks. Glad you’re still listening.”
“I told you, I never miss it.”
“I know. It’s still so hard to believe.”
“You sound surprised. I thought the whole point of being on the radio was for other people to hear you.”
“Usually. I go a different way.”
“I like the sound of that, Noah.”

The words weren’t provocative on the surface, but the way he said them turned me on. There was no other way to say it. Especially the way he said my name.

“Anyway, did you want to hear something?”
“Yeah, but I’m not sure what exactly.”
“That makes it harder for me to narrow it down.”

The guy laughed, the sound warm and infectious. I wanted to hear it all the time.

“That is true. Sorry, if I’m being a pain in the ass.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m sure we can come up with a song. We aim to please here at WVVE.”
“Now, is that a station policy or is it exclusive to you? The pleasing thing, I mean.”

I adjusted the collar of my shirt, as I suddenly felt hot and sweaty. If this guy kept it up, I’d start on fire.

“Might just be me. I’d have to check our handbook.”
“Don’t go to any trouble on my account.”
“So, let’s see. About the song. What kind of mood are you in?”

There was a bit of silence on the line, and I held my breath as I wondered what he might come up with.

“Honestly? I’m horny, Noah.”
That certainly wasn’t on the list of possibilities.
“Uh, okay.”
“Do you have any songs good for that feeling?”

I couldn’t resist and added a bit of fuel to the fire.

“Well, that depends. Do you want to get rid of the feeling or make it worse?”
“Why would I want to make it worse?”
“Maybe worse isn’t the right word.”
“Really? Then what is?”

I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly desiccated.

“How about heighten the feeling?”
“So, do I want release or a tease, is that it?”

Oh holy hell. I didn’t know who this guy was, but he might kill me.

“Yeah. Exactly.”
The line crackled with static, and I swear I could hear my heartbeat in my ears.
“Both, ideally. But I think I might be asking too much of one little song.”
“Maybe.”
“Too bad. I was really hoping you could help me out.”

I closed my eyes and tried to imagine him, a stranger, walking into the station and right into the booth. He could press me up against a wall, kiss me hard and take my breath away.

“Well, there might be something I can do.”
“Oh, yeah? What’s that?”
“Play you a song anyway. It might help a bit. You know, until you think of some other way to fix the problem.”
“Who said it was a problem, Noah?”

Fucking hell. This guy was good. I opened my mouth to respond, but he beat me to it.
“I know what I want to hear.”
“Okay.”
“Do you have “Black Metallic” by Catherine Wheel?”
Did I have it? Of course, I did. It was one of my favorite songs. Moreover, in my opinion, it was sexy as hell.
“I do. I’ll play it for you next.”
“Great. Thanks, Noah. Talk to you next week.”
The line was dead, and I was hard...

Left Of The Dial by Heidi Champa
ISBN-13: 978-1-61124-220-1 (Electronic)
http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/LeftOfDial.html

Links:

White Out novella purchase link: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/WhiteOut.html

All Expenses Paid novella purchase link: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/AllExpensesPaid.html

The Right Wrong Turn novella purchase link: http://amberquill.com/AmberAllure/RightWrongTurn.html

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=1382060273

Facebook Author Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Heidi-Champa/151614298186577

Twitter page: http://twitter.com/#!/heidichampa

Email: hlchampa@comcast.net

Blog: http://heidichampa.blogspot.com/