Showing results by author "NICK POLLACK" in All Categories

In the whiskey-sweet air of 1950s Tennessee, where the ghosts of war still haunt the jukebox and the promise of country music clings to every neon-lit dive, Clara Faye Dalton is chasing a dream louder than her past. With a battered guitar, a pocketful of pain, and a voice like smoke and silver, she storms into Sun Records ready to burn through every lie she’s been told, about music, men, and the cost of wanting more. Wes Malone, a worn-down World War II vet with a liver full of regret and a heart tuned to swing rhythms, isn’t looking to be anyone’s hero. But when he hears Clara sing, ...

In the sunburnt suburbs of 1970s Australia, where Countdown pulses through TV sets and Cold Chisel riffs rattle garage doors, Jake Thompson and Claire Morgan meet as teenagers, two kids chasing sound, sweat, and something bigger than their postcode. He’s a rough-edged muso with calloused fingers and a heart full of pub rock dreams. She’s a sharp-tongued aspiring music journalist, armed with a leather notebook, Doc Martens, and a mind wired for lyrics and headlines. From the moment their eyes lock across a record store turntable spinning Skyhooks, their lives begin a decades-long duet, ...

In the mid-90s, before streaming, before healing apps, before anyone dared call their chaos trauma, there were mixtapes. And some of them saved lives. Seattle, 1990something. A city drenched in rain, distortion pedals, and the ache of what might have been. Sam is a soft-spoken romantic trying to stay sober in a world that celebrates collapse. Nina’s heart is all elbows and noise, constantly breaking and never bothering to heal. Ellie only trusts in scissors and staples, cutting zines, cutting people, cutting herself off. Mia hides her longing behind piercings and punk shows. Jasper’s ...

In the soft-lit hum of a small English town in the late 1970s, where polyester reigns and repression hangs thick in the air, two girls find each other across the shelves of a struggling record shop. Nora Whitman is the sensible one: bookish, buttoned-up, and quietly counting the days until she can leave suburbia behind. Charlie Green is all chaos and cheekbones: a sharp-tongued ABBA devotee with a talent for zine-making, a rainbow collection of band tees, and an unshakable belief that disco can save your life. When a fumbled ABBA lyric and a shared enemy in the town's resident moral ...

Five years ago, Anna Thompson was the rising star of Boston’s culinary scene, until a disastrous live TV meltdown turned her into the internet’s favorite punchline: “Soufflé Girl.” Humiliated and heartbroken, she slinked back to Clover Bay, the sleepy coastal town where she grew up, and took a job flipping burgers at The Salty Spoon, a run-down diner clinging to its last fryer basket of hope. Now thirty-three, Anna’s once-flamboyant ambition is buried under grease stains and sarcastic one-liners. But when the quirky town’s annual Food & Fling Festival offers a $60,000 prize and...

They weren’t invited. They’re showing up anyway. Noah Reyes: always dreamed of directing the perfect prom scene, slow motion lights, a kiss just before the beat drops, maybe even a standing ovation. But when his promposal short film bombs and his not-girlfriend ghosts him for someone with a streaming deal, Noah has only one shot left to prove he’s not a one-man blooper reel: crash the real prom. And take it down on camera. To pull off the heist, he assembles a crew of chaos specialists: Riley Quinn: once queen of alt-cool, now the girl behind that viral scandal. After being doxxed, ...

SOMETIMES THE LAST THING YOU WANT IS THE THING YOU NEED MOST Across the crowded terminal at Sydney Airport, disillusioned travel blogger Grant watches touring English musician Nina steal a bottle of vodka, and impulsively he steps in to help her avoid arrest. When this chivalrous act makes Grant miss his flight, he’s forced to take a last minute job chaperoning his new least favorite person around the city he’s grown to hate, to cover the cost of a new flight, twenty four hours later. As the straight-laced Grant chases the free-spirited Nina across town, he becomes increasingly ...

What’s a betrayed tech queen to do when she’s booted from her own company, slandered in the press, and hunted by holiday scandal? Disappear, obviously, into a flannel shirt, fake glasses, and a new life as a scruffy handyman named “Rory.” Rose Landon was once Denver’s brightest startup star, until her smarmy CFO Felix Duke staged a corporate coup and painted her as the villain. With her empire stolen and the world watching, Rose escapes to Pinewood Hollow, a snow-dusted ski town straight out of a Christmas movie. Her late uncle’s cabin offers a hideaway. A job at the local eco-...

In the glitter-stained shadows of New York’s queer nightlife, where Studio 54’s ghost still echoes and drag queens preach gospel in disco boots, two souls collide in a symphony of strobe lights, sequins, and survival. Eli Abrams is a shy FIT fashion student with a heart full of sketches and scars, haunted by high school taunts, ignored by his father, but burning to make art that speaks louder than shame. Sasha Verma is a rising singer with a voice that could split galaxies and a past she’s fought tooth and nail to reclaim, trans, brilliant, and done being polite. They meet under a ...

In the glitter-drenched madness of 1970s New York, where Studio 54 pulses with mirrorball mania and the streets of Harlem throb with raw funk, Tony Moretti and Simone Carter are two souls on a collision course, fueled by groove, grit, and one very dangerous demo tape. He’s a hot-headed Italian-American dancer-turned-guitarist, slinging licks hotter than the disco inferno. She’s a velvet-voiced soul survivor with sequins in her blood, sass in her scat, and a vow never to be silenced again. From sweaty dive bars to Chic’s diamond-studded studios, from soul sessions with James Brown’s ...

What if the rumors that Paul McCartney really died in 1966 were true… and the cover-up was orchestrated by pigeons, psychedelic cults, and a sentient record player named the Vinyl Oracle? Welcome to The Fab Façade: The Rise of Faul, a kaleidoscopic fever dream of Beatlemania, brainwaves, and backmasked breadcrumbs. When a Scottish oddball named Billy Shears stumbles into a Paul McCartney look-alike contest by accident, he unwittingly becomes the linchpin of the most ludicrously elaborate conspiracy in pop culture history. Selected by a shadowy cabal known as the Order of the Saffron Veil...

In the grit-streaked heart of 1970s New York, where CBGB reeks of spilled beer and revolution, one record shop war is about to turn into the greatest duet the city’s never heard. Jamie Finnegan is a Lennon-loving music critic in the making, armed with a notebook, a Beatles back catalog, and a hopeless belief that melody can still change the world. Stevie “Riff” Malone is a scuffed-up punk guitarist shredding through the Lower East Side, fueled by Jagger’s swagger, busted amps, and a refusal to play by anyone’s rules, least of all Jamie’s. Their feud starts over a scratched White...

In the rain-soaked shadows of early-’90s Seattle, where flannel is armor and guitars bleed truth, Nina Carter and Jake “Jagger” Malone are on opposite ends of a dying genre war. She’s a sharp-tongued zine queen and grunge band manager whose words have bite and purpose. He’s a Sunset Strip refugee, all eyeliner swagger and glam-rock riffs, trying to keep his fading band alive in a world that’s swapped hairspray for heroin and solos for screams. When a West Coast Battle of the Bands throws their paths together, grunge versus glam, dirt versus polish, their rivalry is instant, ...

In the shadowed streets of 1980s Beijing and the neon pulse of Tokyo, where cassette tapes are currency and rebellion hums beneath every beat, two hearts are set to collide, moonwalk first. Li Mei is a fearless singer performing Michael Jackson covers in the underground clubs of Beijing, dodging police raids and parental expectations. Taro Suzuki is a Tokyo DJ chasing fame, locked in a battle between duty and desire, culture and creation. Their rivalry begins with sparks, an argument at a Hong Kong fan contest over Thriller’s soul, but deepens with every duet, every clash, every whispered...

In the twilight shimmer of Minneapolis and the electric pulse of Paisley Park, Vinyl Vows: A Prince Love Story charts the turbulent, decades-long connection between Trey, an ambitious muralist with purple in her veins, and Jude, a sharp-tongued music writer chasing redemption through the echo chamber of Prince’s legacy. They meet as teens in the summer of 1984, bonded by a battered Dirty Mind cassette and too many secrets for their age. From late-night radio confessions and dance floor flare-ups to the aching silence of betrayal and the long, slow crawl back to forgiveness, their ...

In the sweat-soaked chaos of 1990s Britain, where rave culture pulses beneath neon strobes and the M25 echoes with acid house rebellion, Ellie “Mixmaster” Heyworth and Liam “Buzz” Coogan are on a collision course fueled by glowsticks, grime, and one very stubborn record crate. She’s a jungle-slinging, vinyl-hoarding DJ with a Soho record shop and a chip on her shoulder the size of Fabric’s main room. He’s a big beat provocateur with a killer wink, a dodgy past, and a habit of turning every rivalry into a remix. From illegal M25 orbital raves to Ibiza foam parties and the ...

In the smoky pulse of 1980s South Bronx, where block parties blaze and subway trains roar with graffiti wildstyle, Maya “Tee” Robinson and Rosano “DJ Spin” Carter are born of beats, rhyme, and fire. She’s a fearless Boricua MC with paint-splattered hands and verses sharp enough to cut glass, dreaming of a future for her daughter and her voice. He’s a rising DJ with scuffed Jordans and soul-deep scratches, torn between fame’s lure and the neighborhood that raised him. Their rivalry is the stuff of local legend, two talents clashing in cyphers and alleyways, dueling through ...

In the chaos of 2025 Austin, where Swifties rule the internet and heartbreaks trend by sunrise, three ex-bandmates reunite for a comeback, Nora is a bass-playing, eyeliner-smudged lyrical firestorm who still dreams in bridges. Soren is a soft-voiced heartbreaker hiding behind metaphors and cardigans, terrified of being seen. And Cassian is the beat-building ghost in the machine - always producing, and quietly carrying a truth that could unravel everything. Their band, Streetlights & Shadows, had one viral moment, Now, as a surprise track leaks, fandom frenzy explodes, and speculation swirls...

In the smoky pulse of 1959 New York City, where jazz drips from Harlem brownstones and civil rights unrest simmers beneath the neon gleam, Maria “Blue” Carter and Remy Dubois collide in a duet as volatile and seductive as the music they play. She’s a fiery alto saxophonist with Coltrane in her bones and a chip on her shoulder the size of the Apollo marquee. He’s a poetic Creole pianist with a ghost in his chest and Monk’s fingerprints on his soul, hiding a heart condition that could silence his symphony before it crescendos. When a jam session at Blue Note Records sparks a musical...

In the sweat-slick pulse of New York City’s gay scene, where Madonna reigns like a rhinestoned saint and every club night is a communion, Eddie Santiago and Marcus Reed meet under the flicker of neon and the crackle of vinyl. Eddie’s a fast-talking, faster-dancing Bronx dreamer with lace gloves, busted track shoes, and choreography in his bones. Marcus is a closeted law student with a Harvard tie, a boxing glove in his drawer, and a heart that beats to forbidden rhythms. Their love sparks over a battle of records, Like a Virgin vs. She’s So Unusual, and grows through drag shows, Pride...