Slip Away: A Novella

Singer-songwriter Charlotte Kenner has it all: blockbuster record sales, sold-out world tours, and multiple Grammy awards. It's everything she hoped for in life. It should be enough . . . but it's not.

As her career soars, Charlotte discovers the steep price fame demands of its stars. She pays for it day and night, stalked by hordes of celebrity-hunting paparazzi, sleeping alone in cold hotel beds, miles away from her family and friends. Every moment micromanaged by a full-time staff, she travels the world in an insulated bubble.

Charlotte’s reprieve arrives in the form of close friend and filmmaker Matthew Selman, the director behind a career-spanning documentary on legendary Seattle grunge band, Clever Check. One piece of the documentary still needs finalizing: an interview with reclusive bassist Ethan Avery, who has been avoiding Matthew’s repeated requests to appear on camera. With time running out, Matthew tasks Charlotte with traveling to Ethan’s home state of Montana to spend a few days with him, steal past his enigmatic facade, and shoot the final footage needed to meet the film’s deadline.

Montana’s starry skies bear witness to an instant connection between Charlotte and Ethan, one that must be wrenched apart by weekend’s end. They return to their busy careers, but Ethan is never far from Charlotte’s mind. Her feelings for him are so sudden, so intense, she knows he couldn’t possibly feel the same . . . or could he? With their lives and careers propelling them forward but on seemingly separate paths, Charlotte fears she’ll never get the chance to find out.

In Montana, she got a glimpse of the life she truly desires—quiet and peaceful, far beyond the glitz and glamour of show business. But how can a star that shines so bright slip into the shadows? If Charlotte thinks the price of fame is steep, she’s about to learn that love exacts a whole different cost.