We are thrilled to be revealing the cover for Kendall Kulper’s A Starlet’s Secret To A Sensational Afterlife, a whip-smart, seductive caper with the perfect combination of romance, vengeance, and a hint of the supernatural, set in the Golden Age of Hollywood! Releasing on May 23rd from Holiday House, A Starlet’s Secret is available to pre-order.
Read on to discover the synopsis, the stunning cover by Corey Brickley (find them on Instagram and Twitter!), and Kendall’s thoughts on it!
Eighteen-year-old Henrietta arrives in Los Angeles in 1934 with dreams of trading her boring life for stardom.
She’s determined to make it as an actress, despite her family’s doubts and rumors of would-be starlets gone missing. And by the skin of her teeth, she pulls it off! A serendipitous job offer arrives, and Henrietta finds herself on a whirlwind publicity tour for a major film role—with a vexingly unpleasant actor tapped by the studio to be her fake boyfriend.
But fierce Henrietta has more in common with brooding Declan than she realizes. They both have gifts that they are hiding, for fear of being labeled strange: he is immune to injury, and she can speak to ghosts. Together, they might be the only people in Hollywood who can do something about these poor missing girls. And in doing so . . . they might just fall in love for real.
“One of my favorite experiences publishing Murder for the Modern Girl was seeing how the fabulously talented cover artist Corey Brickley interpreted my dark and daring 1920s fantasy world, and after writing A Starlet’s Secret to a Sensational Afterlife, I couldn’t wait to see what Corey would come up with to capture the glamour and grit of 1930s Hollywood.
I could not imagine a more perfect depiction of the book, about a bright and bubbly starlet who brushes up against the darker side of Hollywood stardom when she starts to see the ghosts of missing actresses. There are so many gorgeous details (the ghosts in the windows! the glow of the marquee! the sly smirk from the boy in the suit—who doesn’t look all that impressed with this movie stuff), and I am thrilled to finally share this cover with the world!”—Kendall Kulper
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kendall Kulper is an author living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She writes historical fantasy for young adults, including Murder for the Modern Girl, which was a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection and received two starred reviews. She graduated from Harvard University with an honors degree in History & Literature and lives with her husband, two daughters, and much-Instagrammed dog, Abby. Visit her online at KendallKulper.com or find her on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
