Spotlight on Samantha Towle: Interviews with Jake and Tru, contest and a review of Wethering the Storm

Music journalist Tru Bennett has done the impossible: capture the heart of rock-star bad boy Jake Wethers. Now they’re busy planning a wedding and navigating their new life together in the US. Of course Tru misses London and her best friend, Simone, but living happily ever after with Jake in LA is going to be great…right?

Wrong. Even the bright California sun can’t whitewash the dark side of celebrity coupledom. Greedy music execs, merciless paparazzi, and Jake’s wild past are lurking around every corner. Making matters worse, Jake announces he doesn’t want kids, which just may be a deal breaker.

Tru loves Jake more than anything. But when a devastating crisis threatens to destroy everything they’ve fought for, the couple must face the hard truth: What if, this time, love is not enough?



**Spoiler alert** Please read Wethering the Storm before reading this interview!

Interview with Jake and Tru

Thanks for spending some time with us. The last time we interviewed you, we were congratulating you on having just gotten engaged! Wow things have really changed since then! Marriage and a baby! (and another one on the way)  

Three Chicks: Jake, when you and Tru were in Fiji, where did you get the idea for the romantic dinner on the beach and the tea lights spelling out “marry me”--was that all you or did Stuart have his a hand in it?

Jake: It was all me! I’m a little insulted that you’d think otherwise ;)

Three Chicks: Tru, how did you keep from punching that skank in the bathroom who was discussing her pathetic groupie history with Jake? Do you think if Jefferson Dunn (Mr. Bean’s version of Saturday Night Fever ) hadn’t called out to you, you would have staked your claim?

Tru: I guess it was because I was so taken aback by what I hearing, I just wasn’t thinking clearly. It kind of hurt to hear what she was saying.

But yes, if Jefferson hadn’t caught my attention, by that point I would have definitely marched over to Jake to stake my claim!

Three Chicks: Jake, how did you know that Dunn was goading you to get a reaction so he could file a charge for assault?

Jake: Because I’ve seen it happen a thousand times before – to me and friends of mine.

I have paps goading me all the time, trying to get a reaction - it makes for the best pictures in their world. A picture of an angry celeb pays a lot more than a happy one. 

Three Chicks : Tru, are you still madly in love with your home in the Hollywood Hills that Jake bought for the two of you-We bet with your growing family it doesn’t feel as big as it did before.

Tru: I don’t think I’ll ever fall out of love with it! It’s bloody amazing! Just the view…it’s breathtaking. Every morning I wake up to that view and I’m reminded of everything I have, and how lucky I am to see. 

Three Chicks: Jake, you said you had thought about getting the Tru Love tattoo before you got it –and then it was a spur of the moment thing. You know those words are swoon worthy-were they always what you wanted for the tat?

Jake: Yeah, I always knew what I was going to get tattooed on me. It was just actually getting the tattoo done that was a spur of the moment, drunken thing. I wanted to get it done, but I didn’t know what Tru would think, so I kept putting it off. Drunk Jake, just thought, fuck it, and had it done! Thankfully Tru likes it! 

Three Chicks: Jake,you said every song you every wrote was about Tru, every line about love and every line about loss? What did you mean by that?

Jake: Tru is the only person I’ve ever loved. She was the first person I loved. What I learnt from her bleed into my music. And when I lost her for all those years, the feelings I had over it, fed into my music.

Three Chicks: Tru, have you switched OB/GYn’s or do you still have Dr. Glamazon?

Tru: Haha! No, we have still have Dr. Glamazon. I’m past all my stupid insecurities now, and she is an amazing doctor. And of course, we have to see her so we can wind Jake up about his ‘penis’ comment! 

Three Chicks: Tru, how did you come up with the idea of restoring Jake’s old Strat for his birthday-that was a heart melting moment when he saw what you had done for him!

Tru: It just came to me. I’d been thinking hard about what I could get him that would be special as he has always put so much thought into the gifts he has bought me. And then I remembered about his old Strat back at my folks house, how gutted he was when he had to leave it behind, and knew I had the perfect gift in that.

Three Chicks: Jake, we have to think that the worst time in your life was after Tru’s accident? But you kept it together, and stayed clean. What kept you going?

Jake: Tru and JJ. I knew I had to keep straight for them both. Everything was on me at that time, and if I feel apart, it would all be over. I wasn’t going to be my father.

Three Chicks: Jake, when did you get the idea for Lumb Falls? That had to be the perfect spot for your wedding!

Jake: While Tru was in the hospital in the coma. I was forcing myself to think about good things, positive things that we would do when she woke. I thought about us getting married, and I knew there would be no more waiting. And every time I pictured marrying Tru, I always saw Lumb Falls.

 Three Chicks: Jake, your relationship with Tru’s mom seems to be much better. Do you think the 2 of you bonded when Tru was so sick?

Jake: Yeah. We got close while Tru was sick. When something bad happens, it forces you to reevaluate things in life. And especially with JJ coming along, he just made everything clearer.

Three Chicks: Tru, what is your mom going to do by herself when your dad is touring with Jake?

Tru: Go on holiday probably! Well, she reckons she’s going to enjoy the quiet, but I know mama, she’ll get bored and miss dad, and end up flying out to wherever we are.

Three Chicks: Tru, how do you think touring as a whole family will be this time around? Guess there will be a whole lot more luggage and toys huh?

Tru: It’s going to be interesting that’s for sure! But I’ll think we’ll have a handle on it. And we have a ton of support. It’s going to be fun! 

Three Chicks: Jake, have you figured out a way for you to avoid going to jail because of your kids-the boys will end up being horny teenagers and you will have to kick the girl’s dad’s ass and if you have a sweet little girl someday, you will end up beating him up for having some teenaged guy’s hands on your daughter-how are you going to handle that situation?

Jake:I haven’t! In about sixteen year’s, my mug shot is going to be plastered all over the news for sure!

Three Chicks: This is for the two of you- So your kids-think they will follow in your footsteps of pursuing the arts-either music or journalism? 

Tru: JJ loves music. He’s going to be a musician for sure, like his daddy.

Jake: Maybe we’ll have a writer in baby no.2 *Jake rubs Tru’s pregnant tummy*

Three Chicks: Tru, we know how JJ came about-but baby #2 was a honeymoon baby-did you plan on getting pregnant again so soon? Think you will try for a little girl next time?

Tru: No… but we weren’t exactly preventing it either! We both definitely want a big family, but let me get this one out first, and I’ll let you know on the next one!

Three Chicks: Jake, what songs do you sing to your kids? Especially as JJ is a little older and you have to keep it clean?

Jake: I still sing him the rock songs he loves, I just trade some of the words, for more kiddie friendly ones now!

Three Chicks: Jake, now that you have cut down on smoking and cursing because of the kids, what vices do you have?

Jake: Tru. She’s my vice. I’m addicted to my girl… what can I say?!

Interview with Jake and Tru following The Mighty Storm 

"Thank you both so much for meeting up with us today and taking time out of your busy schedules. We really  appreciate it,"  Jen says. (Lisa is giggling like a teenager at the sight of Jake Wethers) "Let's get this show on the road, shall we? Congratulations on your engagement! Gorgeous ring!" 

Three Chicks:  How are the wedding plans coming along? 

Tru: Thank you! The wedding plans are coming along well. Slow at first as I have no clue how to plan a wedding, but I’ve got Stuart helping me now so it’s all good!
 

Three Chicks:  Jake, music is such a big part of your life. Do you think at some point you will concentrate on running the record label and stop touring? 
 

Jake:  At the moment I can’t see that ever happening. Being on stage, performing, is what I live to do. I’m not a permanent ‘behind the desk’ kind of guy, you know.
 

Three Chicks:  Tru, now that you tour with Jake, how do you handle the groupies?  Have there been any confrontations with any of Jake's past regulars?

Tru:  There’s been a few problems, not so much confrontations; Dave would never let anyone get close enough to me for that to happen! *laughs*  I have heard things said about Jake’s past. But I try to not let those things affect me. Jake and I are together now and that’s what matters.
 

Three Chicks:  Tru, do you ever worry that Jake will have a drug relapse? Especially if another major crisis were to occur?

Tru:  I try not to think on it too much. I trust Jake and believe in him when he says he has it under control. 

Three Chicks:  Jake, do you worry about backsliding into drugs again?

Jake:  No. I just focus on keeping myself clean. If I sat worrying about using again then I’d probably end up using. Negative thoughts just can’t come into play with an ex-addict.
 

Three Chicks:  Jake, what would you do if you ever had to choose between your music and Tru? 

Jake:  I’d choose Tru without hesitation. I lived a life without her in it once, when all I had was the music. I couldn’t do it again.
 

Three Chicks:  Is LA your home base now, how often do your visit Tru's parents? 

Tru: It’s tricky at the moment, Jake is working a lot at the label and TMS are in the studio recording a new album so we haven’t really had chance to get back home. I’m hoping to get back home for a visit real soon though.

Three Chicks:  Jake:  At the concert in Stockholm when you stated,  "Ladies you look  beautiful tonight... and guys, well hang on tight to your girls is all  I'm saying," and then you chuckle.... We have to know, was that message directed towards Will? Even though he wasn't there to hear it? Tru, do you think he was giving you a warning? He did sing Undress You right after.

Tru: I’d never even thought about it! Were you? *looks at Jake*
 

Jake: *grins* What do you think?
 

Tru: I guess we have our answer ladies!

Three Chicks:  Jake, you admitted that it was too painful to keep in touch with Tru.  While in the States you found a guy version of Tru in Jonny. After his passing, why didn't you reach out to Tru? You know she would have been there for you.

Jake:  I’m going to sound like a real pussy saying this, but it was fear of the unknown. We’d been apart for so long. I didn’t know where she was in her life, and I was afraid that if I tried to make contact she would reject me. Losing Jonny was hard enough, and I knew I just didn’t have it in me to lose her all over again too. But Tru knows this, we’ve talked a lot about that time.

Three Chicks:  Tru, we know Jake was your best friend growing up. Did you guys ever kiss?

Tru:  No, we never did. We were just best friends.

Jake: Given half the chance I would have done though!

Three Chicks:  Jake, you knew Tru was in a relationship with Will and not just a relationship but a 2 year one at that. We realize that you have never been in a relationship but don't you think you were being a bit unreasonable with Tru?  Will flew out of his way to come and surprise her and you expect her to tell him within 10 minutes of being there that it  is over? Tru deserved SOME time to hang out and talk to him BEFORE dropping the bomb and by pressuring her you made things 10 times worse.  Put yourself in her shoes. 
 

Jake:  Wow, you don’t pull any punches ladies! No, in all seriousness we don’t discuss that period in our lives anymore. It was a difficult time. A fuck load of emotions were flying around, and neither of us was thinking clearly. We both messed up a lot, but we’re leaving it where it belongs – in the past. Next question!

Three Chicks:  Tru, when your boss said "Well, we're all as clean as whistles my darling until men like him come along and dirty us right up." We know you didn't intend to cheat on Will but when did you realize what your boss said was true? 

Tru:  In the club in Copenhagen when we were dancing.

Three Chicks:  Jake, favorite body part for Tru?

Jake:  All of her.

Three Chicks:  Tru, same question?

Tru:  Can I say the snake? *winks at Jake*

Three Chicks:  Jake, what do you love the most about Tru?

Jake:  There’s not one specific thing, it’s just all the little things that make Tru, Tru.

Tru:  Aww, baby! *kisses Jake on the cheek* Same goes for me.

Three Chicks:  Jake, you hadn't spoken to your father in years but his death seemed to hit you pretty hard, causing you to start using drugs again.  What made his death so hard?  Was it the fact that you weren't there when he died or that you had not had a real relationship with him? 

Jake:  Neither. This is another thing I don’t talk about. All I’ll say is it was a lot to do with what I never got to say to him.
 

Three Chicks:  How do you think being engaged has changed your relationship? 

Tru: It hasn’t really changed us. I guess if anything, it’s just brought us even closer together.

Three Chicks:  Tru, have you talked to Will?
 

*Jake shifts uncomfortably in his seat*
 

Tru:  No. I have no reason to talk to Will. And like Jake said before it’s all in the past, and we have a lot in our future to look forward to.
 

Three Chicks:  What is your favorite childhood memory with each other?

Jake: When we were thirteen we went swimming at Lumb Falls and Tru lost her bikini top. It was the highlight of my fucking year!

Tru: Jake! *shakes her head, laughing* Sorry ladies! Okay, well mine was when my pet rabbit Fudge died. Not that Fudge had died of course, but because Jake sat with me all day and kept me company while I was upset. He even dug a grave for Fudge and helped me bury him. Not many eight year old boys would do that.

Three Chicks:  Tru, when you first started seeing each other again was it hard to trust him, given his past reputation? 

Tru:  I’ll admit it wasn’t easy knowing how Jake had lived his life in the past. But we have both made mistakes, and I guess there were some trust issues on both sides. We’re all good now, though. 

Three Chicks:  Tru, when you first saw Jake, in some way did you hope deep down that you two would get together again, even though you were with and loved Will? 
 

Tru:  Not consciously, but maybe on a sub-conscious level I did.
 

Three Chicks:  Jake, were you ever able to figure out how Kaitlyn ended up in your bed that night? 

Jake:  Nope. But then it wasn’t hard to get in the bedroom. The door didn’t have a lock on it, and the party was still well under way when I passed out in bed. So I figure she just let herself in.  And no more questions about the past or you’ll be getting a ‘no comment’ from me!
 

Three Chicks:  Tru, what is the most romantic thing Jake has ever done for you? 

Tru:  I’d have to say the night in Paris. The locket and the Eiffel Tower. Everything about that night was beyond perfect, and seriously romantic.
 

Three Chicks:  Jake, if you could go back to when you moved and could do one thing  over again, what would it be? 

Jake:  Kiss Tru before I left.

Three Chicks:  Tru, how often does Jake spoil you with yummy special ordered desserts? 

Tru:  Not too often, I had to put a stop to it. I’ve got a wedding dress to fit into and those desserts are seriously fattening!

Three Chicks:  Jake, have you quit smoking yet? Any desire to?

Jake:  Nope. And nope. I need one vice, right.

Three Chicks:  Tru, how does it feel to be "The Worlds Best Snake Charmer?" (the entire room erupts into laughter while Tru blushes)
 

Tru:  Well, I’d say it feels pretty good – and no innuendos please!! 

Three Chicks:  This question is for both of you.  What song would you use right now to describe your life? 

Jake: On Top of the World, by Imagine Dragons.
 

Tru: Ooh, yeah that’s a good choice, baby! That’s my answer too. 

"Three Chicks would like to thank you again for coming." (Everyone stands and gives each other a hug goodbye. (Lisa is jumping out of her seat and runs over to Jake to hug him goodbye... lingering  a little too long) Tru clears her throat. Jen laughs...


5 Star Review of Wethering the Storm by Lisa Kane

My love affair (the one that exists totally in my head) with Jake Wethers is well known to others. So having fallen in lust with Samantha Towle’s The Mighty Storm, how could the sequel live up to the original novel? As I started to read it, it felt a little slower than TMS’ beginning and I was a little apprehensive. But then those fears all went by the wayside and Jake and Tru do what they do best-they captivate, motivate and stimulate. What a sweet ride! Besides Tru and Jake, all the familiar characters are here; Stuart (can I say how much I adore this guy-and this time around there just may be someone to share his life with), and Denny and Simone and Tom (who I actually found myself liking much more than I did in TMS).

“You are officially turning into a woman. Next thing I’ll hear, you’ll be baking.”

Tru’s parents; Billie and Eva and Smith (who has lost none of his surfer boy hotness) are back and even Dave, Jake’s bodyguard/chauffeur.

This one is chock full of delicious angst, some heart wrenching scenes and some of the steamiest, sexiest love fests I have read-like put your kitchen mitts on when handling your e-readers kind of sexy! WTS picks up right where TMS left, our favorite couple is newly engaged and trying to keep their privacy in the very public world of the rock star extraordinaire.

“I’m not interested in anyone but her. It was weird to me for a long time, but now it makes absolute sense. She is all I want.”

"You hold this in the palm of your hand. You are the only woman who has ever had it, and ever will. You own me, Tru"

Tru is constantly running (literally in some cases) into Jake’s manwhore past and is trying her best to cope with his all too famous conquests. Jake has troubles of his own brewing at his record label. *insert Zane, a hot exec who I would love to read more about*.  While these two are crazy mad for each other, they quickly realize that there are lots of important issues that sex won’t solve, for example, maybe Jake doesn’t understand the extent of hurt Tru feels about some parts of his past and maybe Tru doesn’t want to live in LA.

“And don’t think I’m punishing you because of your past, because I’m not. It’s just my own jealousy and insecurities getting the better of me. Just give me time to figure out how to get past it, okay?”

"I don't want to lose you because of who I used to be."

Jake is newly recovered and there are temptations and tragedies that will test his sobriety. My heart broke for him several times as he found his world crashing down on him and there was little he could do to stop it. There is one particular part in the story where I just could not breathe, I was so afraid to turn the pages because I just did not want to read my worst fear. I could feel tears spilling over and I kept thinking..please don’t let this happen…just don’t.

“Drugs. Do I want a hit? Yes. So very fuc#ing badly. I want the fear and pain that’s consuming me to disappear.”

At every point Jake’s love for Tru is so evident and I fell more in love with him than before. This book has it all; so much banter and humor, so much hurt and loss and pain and it is so worth every page. Tru and Jake have fought so hard for their HEA-for every tear there is a kiss for every hurt there is a song and for every sorrow there is a reward. I like to think that the epilogue is Ms. Towle’s gift to her readers-so sweet and hot and packed with so many teary moments; they have been a long time coming. I am not ready to say goodbye to these characters, there are many more stories to be told, and I so want to read them. 

"You will always be my June, Tru."

"And you're my Johnny Cash, Jake."

 I received a copy from Amazon in exchange for an honest review.

 

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