FANDOM, FRIENDSHIPS AND THE JOB OF YOUR DREAMS: A SECRET BEAT BY REBECCA DENTON OUT TODAY

Rebecca Denton is back with a brilliant new young adult novel A SECRET BEAT, published today by Atom. Set in the same world as her debut novel, THIS BEATS PERFECT (Atom, 2017), A SECRET BEAT follows the lives of two girls, Alexia and Greta, who are hoping an internship at a prestigious production company will be the first step in a glittering career.

Alexia Falls is eighteen, living in her parents' New York penthouse and working with superstar boyband The Keep. But with her heart set on independence and a career behind the camera, she trades it all for a take-it-or-leave-it internship at London's Bright Star Productions.

There, she meets fellow intern Greta. Greta's East End upbringing couldn't have been more different from Alexia's, but she's every bit as hungry for her big break.

But both girls have secrets.

While Alexia doesn't want anyone knowing about her privileged connection to The Keep, Greta has been anonymously running their #1 social fan-feed since she was at school. And when the gossip columns somehow get news of the band's latest scandals, suspicions and accusations start flying...

Real art demands integrity. But staying in the music business requires the opposite. Can you stay true to yourself when your heart follows a secret beat?

Rebecca Denton lives in Hackney. She spent her career traveling the world making Music TV for MTV and Channel 4, and wrangling young adult audiences for the BBC and ITV. She's filmed Iggy Pop, MIA, Kaiser Chiefs, Sonic Youth, Jack White, Dirty Pretty Things, and The Klaxons to name just a few.

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Watch Rebecca’s brilliant book trailers for A SECRET BEAT here and here and here!

Praise for Rebecca Denton:

‘Sparkling with wit, A SECRET BEAT explores celebrity, fandom, and being true to yourself. It’s sharp, fresh, and so much fun.’ – Carlie Sorosiak, author of IF BIRDS FLY BACK and WILD BLUE YONDER

‘A fun, I’m-NOT-with-the-band, tale about too-cool-for-school Amelia, who wants her music to change the world - if only she had the confidence to get up on stage.’ - Red

'THIS BEATS PERFECT is a fabulous celebration of music, friendship, and following your dreams. It's hugely entertaining with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and Amelie is a wonderful heroine. She's smart, loyal, and fiercely independent. Rebecca Denton's music expertise shows in the incredibly authentic backstage and on stage scenes. A fantastic addition to the burgeoning category of YA books about music, fandoms, and fame.' – Katherine Webber, author of WING JONES

THIS BEATS PERFECT, Rebecca Denton's Rock n' roll Debut, published by Atom today

THIS BEATS PERFECT, a sensational Young Adult novel from debut novelist Rebecca Denton, is published today by Atom Books.

Amelie Ayres has impeccable taste in music. Bowie. Bush. Bob. So when she finds herself backstage at The Keep's only UK gig she expects to hate it; after all they are the world's most tragic band. In fact she feels a grudging respect - not (obviously) for their music, but for the work that goes in to making them megastars. And when lead singer, 'Maxx', is not dressed up as a cross between Elvis and a My Little Pony, he is actually rather normal, talented and has creative struggles not too dissimilar to her own.

But the next morning she wakes up and rolls over to discover a million new @'s on social media. Overnight, a photo of her at the gig has made her a subject of global speculation. Suddenly the world needs to know #Who'sThatGirl? - but for all the wrong reasons.

All Amelie wants is to play her music. She's got the guitar, the songs, the soul and, in the safety of her bedroom, she's got the voice. But when it comes to getting up on stage, she struggles with self-doubt.

Immaculate's a concept. Flawless is fake. But just sometimes music - and hearts - can rock a perfect beat.

A musical soundtrack to the novel is available on Spotify, and Atom’s marketing team have also manufactured some patches for the different themes of the book, as well as a “THE KEEP” logo badge, which was sent out to reviewers alongside bound proofs. The team have been running a ‘Song a day’ challenge on their twitter feed which has been getting readers across the country excited about THIS BEATS PERFECT, already the 12th most anticipated debut of 2017 on Goodreads.

Reviewers are already loving THIS BEATS PERFECT:

‘THIS BEATS PERFECT is a fabulous celebration of music, friendship, and following your dreams. It's hugely entertaining with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and Amelie is a wonderful heroine. She's smart, loyal, and fiercely independent. Rebecca Denton's music expertise shows in the incredibly authentic backstage and on stage scenes. A fantastic addition to the burgeoning category of YA books about music, fandoms, and fame.’ – Katherine Webber, author of WING JONES

‘The fact that I read THIS BEATS PERFECT in a less-than-24-hour binge is a pretty clear indication that I enjoyed it. Reading this novel also made me feel really cool somehow? Like I should pick up a guitar and learn how to play like someone suitably bad-ass. Think if David Nicholls and Stephanie Perkins had a musically oriented book baby, and that's basically THIS BEATS PERFECT. It's not only a love song to the London music scene, but it's also really, really funny. There are some cracking one-liners and classic British banter. Denton does dialogue superbly…. an incredibly astute exploration of fame, social media, and what it means to be in the music industry. Great insights!’ - Carlie Sorosiak, author of IF BIRDS FLY BACK

Italian rights are sold to Fabbri.

Rebecca is 39 years old, lives in Hackney with a one year old, a trumpet, 2 guitars, a keyboard, and several vintage computer game consoles. She has spent her career travelling the world making Music TV for MTV and Channel 4, and wrangling young adult audiences for the BBC and ITV. She’s worked with Iggy Pop, MIA, Kaiser Chiefs, Sonic Youth, Jack White, Dirty Pretty Things, and The Klaxons to name just a few. She has now turned that dab hand to writing racy tales of rock n roll for Young Adults.

More praise for THIS BEATS PERFECT:

‘I was 100% hooked from the moment I cracked this book open … unapologetically—*delightfully*!—British and compulsively readable’ - Kayla Olson, author of THE SANDCASTLE EMPIRE

‘Denton not only has the razor-sharp wit and pitch-perfect ear for dialogue to pull off a story like this, she's worked with MTV and some of the biggest names in music (Jack White, Sonic Youth, etc.) - so she gets her details right (which makes for a fascinating inside glimpse into the music industry, which I thoroughly enjoyed). The characters are well drawn (and often quite funny - Geoff and Julian are my personal favs), the chemistry between her romantic leads is sizzling HOT, and the settings (London, Paris) are charmingly drawn. And underneath this lighthearted send-up of pop music, fame, social media and first love is an uplifting tale about having the courage to embrace your passion and follow your dreams. I highly recommend THIS BEATS PERFECT.’ - Laurie Forest, author of THE BLACK WITCH

‘I was listening to each song on the track list along with each corresponding chapter (highly recommend this experience!) and absolutely adored every minute of reading this novel.’ - Maggie Ann Martin, author of THE BIG F

Debut from Rebecca Denton to Atom

Atom has acquired a Young Adult novel from debut author Rebecca Denton.

Sarah Castleton, editor at Atom, acquired UK and Commonwealth rights from Hattie Grunewald at Blake Friedmann.

GOING SOLO tells the story of a girl who meets the lead singer of hot young boyband The Keep when her father takes her backstage at their London concert. This is a heart-warming story dealing with issues of family and friendship, creativity and confidence, fame and fandom.

Rebecca Denton has spent her career traveling the world making Music TV for MTV and Channel 4, and wrangling young adult and children audiences for Cartoon Network, the BBC and ITV. She’s filmed with Iggy Pop, MIA, Kaiser Chiefs, Sonic Youth, Jack White, Dirty Pretty Things, Laura Marling and Bloc Party to name just a few. GOING SOLO is her first novel.

Sarah Castleton says, “We’re so happy that Rebecca has joined Team Atom. What I love about GOING SOLO is that it celebrates all that is completely brilliant about artists and their fans, at the same time as poking fun at all that is woeful, bizarre and downright cringe-worthy about the fame industry. Rebecca’s insider’s eye means that we trust every page. Like Smash Hits at its best, GOING SOLO *knows* its pop music and is a right giggle to read. It’s going to be a lot of fun to publish.’

Rebecca Denton says, “This book as much a nod to my own hilarious adventures while filming bands across the world as it is a celebration of the creativity and bravery of young artists trying to find their voice. I’m absolutely thrilled to be working with Sarah and Atom on this book - it's a dream come true.” 

Hattie Grunewald says, “Rebecca knows the music industry back to front, and it’s this knowledge that brings her novel to life with the perfect blend of warmth, humour and cynicism. I’m delighted that it has found such a fitting home with Atom.”

For more information, visit Rebecca’s website.