Acknowledgments
Chasing your dreams long enough to catch them isn’t easy, whether you want to write books or rock out on your drums with a band. Luckily for me, I’ve had a lot of help along the way.
First, I was born to a pair of great parents, who told me many stories and listened to all the stories I ever wanted to tell. Then I managed to acquire a wonderful assortment of friends who’ve stuck by me through the great times and the truly miserable ones. Without them, I could never have told Lucy’s story — especially Janice, who has been a part of building Lucy’s world from the very beginning.
As if great parents and great friends weren’t enough, I’ve had more amazing teachers, professors and professional advisors than I can count or name here. In particular, Lucy would never have come to life if it weren’t for Kemper Donovan, Jeff Norton, Emma Goldhawk and all the other wonderful people at Templar Publishing. Then there’s Geoff Hollinger, who made it so much easier to write Trent by reminding me every day how it feels when your heart skips a bit every time the right guy smiles at you.
And last, but certainly not least, there’s you. By reading this book, you’ve made Lucy’s world bigger and richer. In short, you’ve helped me make Lucy Gosling’s dreams come true! I do hope she’ll return the favor.
About the Author
Marie Powell began her writing career at the age of four with an epic poem about the Care Bears. Her grandfather was president of Oxford University Press in New York and later bought the children’s list, filling Marie’s childhood home with classic British children’s literature. This gave her the perfect tools to grow into a storyteller with a dry sense of humor and tragically confused spelling.
Marie studied dramatic literature and creative writing at New York University and spent time at the London campus. During this time she traveled all over the UK, taking in as much of her adopted home as she could and developing a fondness for dark chocolate digestives in the process.
After graduating, Marie returned to her native California, where she worked as a feature-film development executive and lived a fast-paced Hollywood lifestyle. After working with writers, she decided it was time to start spinning tales of her own and she began writing screenplays and magazine articles. She is now a writer for hit TV show Burn Notice and is co-producing a pilot (which she also wrote) with the producer of The Walking Dead.
Keeping the Beat is Marie’s first novel. She can be found on Twitter as @MPtypes.
Acknowledgments
This has been a long-gestating passion project, a story that needed to be told.
I need to thank my good friend Charles Duhigg, who gave me a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the music business. My wonderful wife, Sidonie, urged me to keep pushing the project forward. It was one of life’s great, serendipitous introductions that I met the incredibly gifted Marie Powell and she grabbed hold of Lucy and Harper’s story and made it sing.
I need to thank Helen Boyle, who was the first person to take a risk on this project and who, together with Emma Goldhawk, first published it in the UK.
This story got a new life when Lisa Lyons at KCP read it, together with Genie MacLeod and super-editor Kate Egan. I want to thank the entire team at KCP Loft — I’m delighted that Lucy’s tale is part of the launch of this exciting new imprint.
About the Author
Jeff Norton is a London-based author, writer-producer and founder of Awesome Media & Entertainment, a creative incubator. He grew up in southern Ontario, making up stories using a combination of Lego and action figures.
Jeff studied film and commerce at Queen’s University in Kingston, Canada, and later graduated from the Harvard Business School. He started his career in advertising before jumping feet-first into Hollywood. He did nearly every job imaginable, starting with pushing a mail cart at a talent agency and eventually producing his first movie. Jeff then moved from Los Angeles to London (for love, not for the weather) and spent a few years managing the literary estates of famous authors. Eventually, he decided he had stories of his own he wanted to tell.
The award-winning novel MetaWars: Fight for the Future is Jeff’s first book, and it has spurred three sequels in the popular MetaWars series. He is also the author of the Memoirs of a Neurotic Zombie books.
Jeff lives in London, UK, with his wife and two young sons. He is on the web at www.jeffnorton.com and tweets as @thejeffnorton.