Longtime Celebrity Ghostwriter Has a New Thriller Coming — See the Cover!

Mar. 15, 2025

Photo:Jessie Felix Photography, Delacorte Press

Jessie Felix Photography, Delacorte Press

Ghostwriter Veronica Bane is stepping into the spotlight.

Bane, who has ghostwritten everything fromcelebrity memoirstoNew York Timesbestsellers, will be coming out with her debut novel,Difficult Girls,from Penguin Random House in summer 2025 — and PEOPLE can exclusively reveal the cover.

According to a press release shared with PEOPLE,Difficult Girlsis a “razor-sharp, murderously funny”YA novelthat follows Greta Green, a teen with a troubled past who is attempting to reinvent herself at her new summer job at an amusement part called Hyper Kid Magic Land. She wants to reinvent herself after an incident the year before, to put her past behind her, the book’s synopsis teases.

Delacorte Press

But then the star of the park’s most popular show, Mercy Goodwin, starts mysteriously calling in sick, “Everyone is convinced she’s destined for bigger stages … but Mercy should know: the higher your star rises, the more people are determined to put it out,” the synopsis says. Mercy is being watched, and Greta is sure something is wrong. So when Mercy disappears and Greta learns she may have been the last person to see the missing girl, things start to take a decidedly un-amusing turn.

Difficult Girlsis the culmination of years of hard work and dedication from Bane, who has always dreamed of publishing under her own name after ghostwriting over 20 books for others. Prior to penning her debut novel, she also worked as an English teacher for several years and graduated from Chapman University with a BFA in Creative Writing, according to herPenguin Random House author’s page.

Difficult Girlscomes out on July 8, 2025 and is available for preorder wherever books are sold.

source: people.com