Chasing Invisible, by Karen Toz

Karen Toz is well-known for her delightful middle-grade fiction and younger characters. Now she is out with her first Adult Contemporary novel, Chasing Invisible.

Julia Alexander is a quiet girl from a small town. Content to spend her days with her small group of friends and a pile of books, Julia thinks her future is set. When she unexpectedly meets Chase, a fellow college student and budding musician, she is unaware of just how drastically things are about to change. 

Suddenly thrown into the limelight, her life is no longer her own. Relentlessly followed by the paparazzi, Julia is forced to make tough decisions about fame, love, family, and relationships. But just how much will Julia have to sacrifice to become invisible...

Chasing Invisible Excerpt:

“Listen to me, Jules, you can’t let some article in a gossip rag get to you,” Katie noted over the phone a few days after Chase and I returned to Rylee. “I thought you looked great.”

It didn’t take long for the red carpet critiques to start rolling in. After the ceremony, Chase and I were on cloud nine, attending party after party. For once, I enjoyed all the attention. We returned to our hotel room hours after midnight. As Chase took a shower, I made the mistake of collapsing onto the couch, flipping through the channels. There I was, walking the red carpet with Chase by my side. Only, the cameras were not on Chase. They were focused solely on me, panning me from top to bottom. I realized then, I was watching one of those “Red Carpet Recap” shows.

Oh no. My eyes were glued to the TV as my stomach turned. Sure enough, the review was less than glorious.

I tried to convince myself not to let what I just saw ruin my high from the evening. This was Chase’s night. Who cared what they thought about my dress. Besides, it was just one show, and it aired after midnight! Nobody was paying attention.

Between the exhaustion and the euphoria of the evening, I had all but forgotten about it by the time I woke up the next morning. Chase and I ordered room service, so we could enjoy a peaceful and romantic breakfast on the patio of our hotel suite. As I poured my second cup of coffee, I heard Chase gasp. That's when I saw what he was reading.

“I wouldn’t exactly call The Los Angeles Times a gossip rag,” I responded to Katie, “and it wasn’t just in there. It's days later, and it's still all over the television. It's even in the local papers here in Rylee. I’m sure it's been in the Leeland Post as well.”

The silence on the other end of the phone confirmed my suspicions.

“What does Chase say?” Katie asked.

“He thinks I’m overreacting and says it will just blow over like everything else. If you ask me, I think he's a little upset he’s not the one getting all the attention. I can’t say I blame him. It was supposed to be his night. Believe me, I’d much prefer they focus on him.”

“I’m so sorry, Jules,” Katie said. “I wish I could make the reporters and photographers all go away, but this is your life. This is their life. Pretty and nice doesn’t sell, so they have to find something that does, and unfortunately the public eats it up.”

“So, what ... I’m just supposed to stay locked up in my house with the kids?”

“No,” Katie said, “just the opposite. Go on with your life. Keep doing all the things you do that are so great. Show them you don’t care. Don’t let them take over your life, Jules. Don’t let them win.”

Buy Chasing Invisible on Amazon and Smashwords.