I am delighted in joining the other fabulous bloggers on The Thunder Girls tour. Here is my spotlight post; I am so excited to read it.
Unputdownable! (Sunday Mirror)
I could not put this book down! (Best)
The perfect page turner – don't miss it (Heat) A pacey page-turner packed with twists and turns (Mail On Sunday) A glamorous, revenge filled thriller that makes you want more with every page turn (Daily Express) Melanie Blake is Jackie Collins for a new generation (Bella Magazine) Revenge, rivalry, betrayal and murder – The Thunder Girls has got it all! (OK!)
SYNOPSIS:
It’s the 1980’s. Chrissie, Roxanne, Carly and Anita are ordinary girls with extraordinary lives. They are better known as eighties pop sensation The Thunder Girls. This girl group is dominating the pop scene, their faces on every magazine cover, millions of fans worldwide, constantly at the top of the charts. Until one of them brings the band’s dream run to an abrupt end. Three of their careers are over – and so is their friendship.
Fast forward thirty years. Their old record label lands a bombshell by asking them to reunite for a series of huge concerts. These would be the gigs of a lifetime with a pay check to match – some need it more than others – and old wounds leave deep scars. A lot has happened since The Thunder Girls were ruling the charts. Addiction, breakdowns, bankruptcy and divorce have led them far from the lives they once lived. If they are to move forward, the past needs to be laid to rest – but there is more to this reunion than meets the eye. Each Thunder Girl is hungry to revive their past success, but what they don’t know is that someone is watching their every move – and is determined to stop them succeeding – in the deadliest way possible.
These four girls have been to hell and back – and some of them are still there.
Melanie Blake’s bestselling novel The Thunder Girls is the ultimate binge read for lockdown. The No.1 bestselling novel has been selected as one of Kindle’s eBooks of the month for April 2020 at the discounted price of 99p for one month only.
An escapist and addictive 2-day binge-read, The Thunder Girls is a blockbuster novel, filled with obsession, addiction, betrayal and revenge, that charts the rise and fall of an 80’s girl band who attempt to reunite after three decades. Written by a true music industry insider, former music manager to the stars, Melanie Blake has been heralded as “Jackie Collins for a new generation.”
The perfect antidote to lockdown, an alternative to binge watching Netflix boxsets and a salve for screen tired eyes, The Thunder Girls is so addictive it’s impossible to put down.
AUTHOR:
As one of the UK’s most successful female entrepreneurs, over the years Melanie has had two careers at the top tier of the entertainment industry. Her first 10 years were as a music manager with a roster of award-winning artists who sold over 100 million records and the second decade as one of the UK’s leading acting agents representing some of the most famous faces on British television.
The Thunder Girls is inspired by her time in the music business and her second novel which is out in 2021 will be inspired by her years in the world of soap opera and drama. Her own management company, which has covered both genres, has turned over more than 30 million.
With no formal education herself, Melanie is a true champion for working class women who are so often overlooked in our society. The Thunder Girls is a celebration of women from diverse demographics and all the lead characters in the novel are over 40 and working class.
As well as having written the book, Melanie has penned The Thunder Girls the play which embarks on a nationwide tour in 2021. Melanie Blake might just be the world’s biggest Jackie Collins fan. She first read Rock Star aged 9, after smuggling the copy out of the library by telling the librarian it was for her mum! Melanie was dazzled by Jackie Collin’s world where women clawed themselves from poverty into glamorous, moneyed lives. In Jackie Collins’ novels, women were bosses and winners who achieved everything they wanted and it was these novels that inspired Melanie to become her own boss and a lady entrepreneur.
In 2017 Melanie’s connection with Jackie Collins came full circle, when after Jackie’s sad death she bought five pieces of Jackie’s jewellery at auction - two rings and three necklaces inlayed with morganite, citrines and diamonds – which she wears every day.
MELANIE BLAKE ON LOCKDOWN: HOW LOSING £1 MILLION LED TO FREEDOM
Melanie Blake has said that lockdown has turned out to be one of the most positive and life-affirming times in her life against the odds.
As one of the UK’s most successful female entrepreneurs, self-made millionaire and an agent for leading TV stars from Coronation Street, Emmerdale, Hollyoaks, EastEnders and Loose Women as well as a stable of theatre and live performers, when the lockdown started, all performance related income ceased. Having to furlough her staff and put her agency on ice until things return to normal meant the loss of nearly a million pounds overnight. On top of this, Blake and her long term partner parted ways the week before the lockdown started, so she found herself alone and single for the first time in her life.
Blake says that the experience of losing a fortune and breaking up with her partner has completely transformed her and for the first time in her life she has been able to stop, take stock and put herself first. She is the first to admit that she was a slave to her job and has worked every single day of her life since she was 16 years old and that she could never be alone, always needing a man by her side.
The lockdown is the first time she has been able to stop work and the first time she has found herself living on her own, which she says has completely changed her for the better.
She has started a “binge-read” book group with her street in North London. 8 of her neighbours “meet” 3 times a week, opening their windows and discussing their chosen books across the street with a glass of fizz. Each neighbour orders the books online and then drops them off on their neighbour’s doorstep at night. They are reading 3 books a week, which is why they are calling it the Binge Read Book Club.
A handbag addict, with an enviable collection of Chanel handbags, with nowhere to use them, it made her realise just how frivolous it was to have a ‘handbag room’ and she started gifting her prized – and many of them still in the box – handbags to friends who had lost their jobs or loved ones during the pandemic. She has taken down her prize display of handbags in her house and replaced them with books.
The loss of her income has made her re-evaluate what is important in life. Blake was no stranger to a weekly £500 facial and as a blow dry addict hadn’t washed her own hair in over a decade, but now is taking pride in looking after herself at home and spending time in her own company.
Finally, she has found time to finish her second novel, she had all but given up on it, having suffered from writer’s block for six months, but has now finally found the headspace she needed to write – none of which would have been possible without finding herself in lockdown.
Fascinating, and I cannot wait to start reading. Remember this is Kindle’s eBooks of the month for April 2020 and at the discounted price of 99p it is a bargain. Grab your copy now.
Review to follow shortly.