ABOUT THE BOOK

 

Rumour In The Truth: SYNOPSIS

Rachel Adams worked hard to become a professional Musical Theatre performer her entire life. Unfortunately, she now was a twenty-five-year-old waitress with absolutely zero prospects at, well... Anything. However, a set of surreal circumstances brings the megastar pop-idol Luke Heartlett to the lunch shift at her restaurant, virtually begging her to pretend to be his girlfriend.

Because she is bored, frustrated, and by this point would do literally almost ANYTHING to not go to work for a while, she - eventually - relents and agrees to do it.

The Problem Is.... As She Very Quickly Realises... She. Really. REALLY. Shouldn't. Have.

Rachel is highly unimpressed by the egomaniac pop star who clearly bought into his own publicity far too much. She bickers with him, wearing his layers of self-imposed façade down until there is nothing left of The Heart Man… Only Luke. Rachel likes this version slightly better, but he’s still far too annoying for her liking… But at least he’s easier to be stuck in a hotel room with than the other guy.

After a slightly derailed trip to Paris with him, Rachel feels relief she is finally rid of him when she gets home – except that’s precisely the time when she finds out she has been given an eviction notice in her absence, and she has now a very limited time to get out of the apartment. Of all pole, it’s Luke who comes to her aid, offering to actually expend the lifespan of the “fake girlfriend” ruse and have her move into his giant house on the border of Hampstead Heath. Rachel hasn’t exactly many options, so – again – she relents to another hairbrained scheme of his.

Their bickering relationship continues to work its way into a strange sudo-friendship It intensifies and softens, and progresses further when Luke finally discovers Rachel’s biggest secret, kept close to her chest since Day One – that she is a musician and performer herself. A gifted and skilled one, at that. Rachel is naturally mortified that one of the biggest, most famous, musicians in the world discovered that she also was a musician, songwriter and singer in her own write. She had hoped he would never find out, because who was she – dabbling in theatre and writing the odd song – in the shadow of one of the most iconic people in the business? Even more insanely, The Luke Heartlett actually likes the fact she’s a musician – and even her musicianship.

Life seems to get from bad to worse when she is also fired from her job in the five-star hotel she was working at… Until Christian Lee – her all-time music idol and Luke’s very close friend – commandeers her in a coffee shop to confess he asked Luke to get him copies of the few original songs she ever managed to record and that he likes them. He then shocks her even more by also confessing he’d like to work with her, as an artist. Naturally, Rachel is incensed that he and Luke went behind her back, through her things, and stole her music, and outright refuses his offer. Stevie, as always, tells her she’s an idiot and not to look a gift horse in the mouth when they’re offering her one of her dreams on a silver platter and wrapped up in a bow.

Shockingly, it’s Luke who persuades her to try it. It turns out that they end up writing albums at the same time,

Luke leaves her at home to go on various shoots, interviews, and other new-album-related business work. For a video shoot, he ends up leaving her for several days. Rachel has to admit to herself, by that point, she really missed him, and there was only one real reason why – which meant she was completely screwed.

The thing was…. She had no idea she wasn’t the only one who absolutely felt the same.

CAST LIST

Rachel Adams - Despite being a trained Musical Theatre performer since a young age, Rachel ends up as a twenty-year-old waitress in London, with few prospects and a long, empty life starting right back at her. She's just about to start a new job as a waitress in a 5-star Park Lane restaurant, but other than that, has no idea what to do with her life anymore.

Luke Heartlett - Once in one of the world's greatest-ever "boyband"/group [All-In], the teenage "heartthrob" has grown up into a twenty-eight year old "pop star" on a hamster wheel treadmill. He's canon-fodder for the Mass Media, who are currently utterly obsessed with his "breakup" from a sudo-girlfriend who was a waste of his time, and he needs to find out a way to get them off his back again, because he has to keep his mind focused on the only thing that means anything to him - his music career.

He is Really Not Ready for the stubborn little redhead he almost literally falls over

Stevie [Stephanie] Hale - Long-suffering friend of one Rachel Adams. They met working in a back-alley bar years ago, but common sense had them both get out, although she knows she got the better end of the deal, having finally decided to put her Compute Science degree to some good use, and got a job as a well-paid Data Analyst for a big corporation. She's a proud punk-cybergoth, with long black hair and red streaks through it, lives in Camden Town, and loves her little one-bed flat nestled into one of the tall town houses. 

Kirk Branson - Rachel’s “Official” best friend…. Above all other ones! (i.e. Stevie). He has known Rachel since they they were in primary school, but it wasn’t until they started Performing arts As 17 year olds that they became actual friends. They have been Best Friends ever since. He's a talented, exceptionally skilled & successful Musical Theatre Performer, working in London’s West End. Generally known to be a skilled womaniser who is disinterested in anything other than Sleeping with people & Performing. That then suddenly changes, when he first he admits to a genuine crush on his Musical Cast co-star Holly Webb, and then that leads to something bigger. Much bigger than he was able to deal with.

Christian Lee - Christian Lee has Been-There-Done-That with… Well, just about everything, probably. He was a Worldwide Sensation from around twenty-one years old, made millions, and sold millions of songs and albums.

He’s getting too old for the Circuit these days, so he’s done with Tours in general — special ones he’ll get behind, but otherwise, he’s got better ways of spending his energy, these days. He prefers being a Producer, more than a performer, now.

His greatest achievement, in his eyes, is mentoring a very lost young singer by the name of Luke Heartlett. Newly released from his Band All-In, he didn’t know what to do with himself. Only 22 years old, he'd only known life with All-In as an adult, having been in the band since he was 17 and they lasted a good Eight Years after that, before mutually Disbanding, He wanted to keep working, but didn’t know how — his entire life was music, from living in the world of the Music Industry for the past near-decade. But now — he is alone and in need of guidance. 

Christian decides to take Luke on as a mentor and Producer, and together manage the Explosive start of Luke’s Incredible Solo Career. He develops a brotherhood-level of kinship with the young Padawan, with Luke’s level head helping him out, too, more than a few times, too. He is more than sympathetic to the young girl that Luke embroiled into his life, then intrigued when she divulged her past and destroyed music aspirations.  He probably shouldn’t have asked Luke to invade her personal space, but he was well aware young Rachel wasn’t going to offer him her old personal demos voluntarily. He had a good feeling about her, somehow. 

MINOR ROLES

Jean-Pierre Dupant - The Mâitre d’ of L'ôtel D'amour Restaurant

Marty - Top-Tier Interior Designer, with the prices to prove it. Is on first-name terms with al the key people of high-end stores, products and supply-line productions. He's also Luke's favourite Interior Designer. A Highly Excitable, over-the-top personality coupled with pure joy for his chosen craft, means his discerning eye and Intelligence are overlooked, as are the more forceful parts of him that he enjoys unleashing on anyone who doesn't let him have his own way.