Christine Weiser’s dream found life at the point where the impulse of youth and the wisdom that comes with maturity overlapped.

But what if the two went hand in hand from the beginning? For starters, there would be no Broad Street, Weiser’s debut novel, which hit bookstores this fall. In broad strokes, the novel is an adaptation of Weiser’s real-life quest to become a rock star. Its essence, though, is about listening to and trusting one’s instincts.“Now is the time to figure out who you are. Sure, you’ll screw up. And yes, that will suck. But if you pay attention and learn to trust your gut, things will get better,” the 42-year-old first-time author imagines saying to her younger self. 

Raised in the rural Upper Bucks community of Springtown, Weiser came into her own in a dramatically different landscape, spending her twenties in Philadelphia. One night, after a few martinis, Weiser vowed to start an all-girl rock band.  It didn’t matter that she didn’t play an instrument. She would learn. 

It’s rare that a promise made in a drunken stupor spawns the road to self-discovery. But it did for Weiser, who came to understand that playing in a rock band was merely the vehicle to get her to where she really needed to be. That journey is the inspiration for Broad Street.

By night, Weiser is the bass player for The Tights, an alternative chick rock group. By day, she is co-publisher of Philadelphia Stories, a regional literary magazine that earlier this year launched PS Books —formed specifically to cater to the wealth of relatively untapped local authors.

Broad Street, the first novel released under the label, is an invitation to reminisce about a time when anything felt possible — and you were capable of drinking a few martinis in a night. —Gina Ryder