Broken Strings - Broken Strings, #1

From the honky-tonks of Nashville to the depths of addiction—one country star's

fight for redemption.**

Jake Millerson has it all: platinum records, sold-out tours, and a number-one hit

that made him a household name. But behind the stage lights and screaming fans

lies a darker truth—cocaine-fueled nights, missed interviews, and a spiral into

self-destruction that's pulling him toward an early grave.

At twenty-eight, Jake is living three lifetimes at once, burning through his

success with eight-balls and whiskey, convinced that the drugs are the only thing

keeping his creativity alive. Until one night at a penthouse party, when his heart

starts racing and the room begins to spin, he realizes he's finally pushed too

far.

Enter Emma Crawford—a catering manager with striking green eyes and a past she's

spent six years outrunning. She's a recovering heroin addict who recognizes the

look in Jake's eyes because she's seen it in the mirror. Against every instinct

telling her to walk away, Emma makes a choice that will change both their lives:

she decides to help.

What follows is a raw, unflinching journey through the hell of withdrawal, the

brutality of rehab, and the daily battle of early sobriety. Jake must confront the

demons he's been running from—his abusive father, his imposter syndrome, and the

terrifying question: Can he make music sober, or did he trade his soul for

success?

As Jake and Emma's relationship deepens from crisis intervention to genuine love,

they discover that recovery isn't just about putting down the drugs—it's about

learning to be human again. It's about honesty, vulnerability, and building

something real from the wreckage of who they used to be.

But staying clean in the music industry is like walking a tightrope over a canyon.

When Jake's label demands he compromise his sobriety for commercial success, he

must make an impossible choice: his career or his life. The tour is rescheduled.

The interviews are stacking up. Everyone wants a piece of him. And every day, the

drugs whisper that it would be so much easier to just give in.