Following the fortunes of a girl band who hit the big time after being spotted by a big American hit maker but at what cost will fame and celebrity come? A fast paced, witty and highly enjoyable read, perfect for summer days and a bit of pure escapism.
Does for the music industry what The Devil Wears Prada did for fashion. By day, Zoe Kidd lives a tedious existence, following orders and trying to appease her parents. By night, she's the raucous lead singer of all-girl rock band, Dirty Money. For six years, Dirty Money has toured the London scene, playing pubs, clubs, shopping centres and the odd public toilet. They're gifted, they're beautiful and they're determined to make it to the top. So when the American hit-maker Louis Castle appears at one of their gigs with talk of record deals and stadium tours, it seems as though their dreams are finally beginning to come true. But fame turns out to be more elusive and divisive than any of the girls could imagine! The Fame Factor is a fast-moving story of friendship, resilience and revelation, exposing the darker side to an industry obsessed with the limelight.
The publication of Polly Courtney's debut novel Golden Handcuffs, a fictional exposé of her career in the Square Mile, earned Polly acclaim in the Observer, The Times, Sunday Times, Independent, Guardian, Daily Express, Daily Mail, Evening Standard and many other publications. Her second novel, Poles Apart, came out in 2008 and is an eye-opening depiction of life as a young migrant in England today. The Day I Died came out in 2009 and tells the tale of a young woman struggling with her own identity in the aftermath of an explosion. Aside from writing, Polly plays in a semi-proffesional string quartet, No Strings Attached, which inspired the all-girl band in The Fame Factor. She has a Masters degree from Cambridge and now lives in London.