Today we are delighted to unveil the cover for Signal to Noise, the debut novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (coming February 2015)!
Behold: the Smugglerific Cover!
Mexico City, 1988: Long before iTunes or MP3s, you said “I love you” with a mixtape.
Meche, awkward and fifteen, has two equally unhip friends – Sebastian and Daniela – and a whole lot of vinyl records to keep her company. When she discovers how to cast spells using music, the future looks brighter for the trio. The three friends will piece together their broken families, change their status as non-entities, and maybe even find love…
Mexico City, 2009: Two decades after abandoning the metropolis, Meche returns alone for her estranged father’s funeral.
It’s hard enough to cope with her family, but then she runs into Sebastian, reviving memories from a childhood she thought she buried a long time ago. What really happened back then? What precipitated the bitter falling out with her father? Is there any magic left?
Silvia Moreno-Garcia on the book:
The first line of Signal to Noise used to be “This is not a love story.” I changed it because it was a blatant lie. This novel is a story about a love affair with music.
Signal to Noise jumps back and forth in time, from Mexico City 2009 to the late 1980s when three teenage friends discover how to cast spells using vinyl records. But despite the magic this is not a tale of wizard friends saving the world. It’s a look at family, friendship, romantic love, with a mention of very many songs. It’s intimate.
I remember reuniting with some friends and them telling me how some people we knew are doing. So and so got married, so and so moved away, so and so just had a baby. At one point they were talking about a classmate of ours and my friend paused in the middle of a sentence.
“You know, same old drama as always,” he concluded.
And I thought, yes, we dance the same tune over and over again. Signal to Noise is about the capacity or incapacity to change the soundtrack of our lives.
Signal to Noise: A Playlist
1.”Dancing with Myself,” Billy Idol
2.“En Algún Lugar” Duncan Dhu
3.“Oh Sherry” Steve Perry
4.“Persiana Americana” Soda Stereo
5.“Total Eclipse of the Heart” Bonnie Tyler
6.“Tu y Yo Somos Uno Mismo” Timbiriche
7.“A Whiter Shade Of Pale” Procol Harum
8.“La Guerra Acaba” Ritmo Peligroso
9.“Heart of Glass” Blondie
10.“Nena” Miguel Bosé
11.“Love Will Tear Us Apart” Joy Division
12.“Perdido En Mi Habitación” Mecano
13.“I Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore” REO Speedwagon
14.“More than a Feeling” Boston
The Giveaway
To celebrate the cover reveal, we are giving away three copies of Signal to Noise! This giveaway is open to EVERYBODY ANYWHERE, and will run until Sunday, September 7 at 12:01am EST. To enter, use the form below!
(For press enquiries or if you would like to register an interest in receiving a review copy ahead of publication please email Lydia Gittins at press@rebellion.co.uk)
35 Comments
Brie
August 28, 2014 at 4:55 amI remember mixtapes and spending hours trying to figure out exactly what a guy meant by each song he chose to put on the tape for me. It was fun and involved lots of work to make a mixtape.
I would love to read this book because it sounds like it would bring back some great memories as well as entertain me with the story between the covers of the book.
Liat
August 28, 2014 at 5:43 amVinyls were a little before my time, but I have a soft spot for stories about music, especially those that take place several decades ago. I was a little disappointed when I started reading the blurb, because, although I love YA fiction, I had a little overdose of books-about-teenagers, but then I continued reading and saw that it’s also about grown ups. Yay! The premise sounds wonderful and very interesting.
pr
August 28, 2014 at 6:56 amAh, I love books about music and the connections it creates! And I totally understand the “same old drama” comment. Friendship stories are the best.
Laura Hartman
August 28, 2014 at 8:05 amWho could resist a love affair with music? Not me! Sounds like a great book.
Mary Anne
August 28, 2014 at 10:29 amThe cover is OK – but once I read the blurb, it made more sense. The blurb sounds great! Music….Mexico – for something a little different….magic….friends and family. And again – music! I have high hopes.
Kaethe
August 28, 2014 at 11:15 amCover: fine.
Blurb: awesome! And I really like the idea of reading a story set in Mexico City, which hadn’t occurred to me.
Playlist: tugging at the strings of my heart like you wouldn’t believe.
Gerd D.
August 28, 2014 at 11:26 amThe cover gives me actually more of a seventies vibe, I think rather “Disco” than “Oh, late 80’s” looking at it.
But I really like the blurb, although I’m really sure what to expect from the book, where to place it.
Positively love the soundtrack.
Grace
August 28, 2014 at 12:09 pmLove the cover and the blurb!
Mara
August 28, 2014 at 12:19 pmThe blurb sounds interesting! And I definitely think the cover has flair.
Jenna O
August 28, 2014 at 1:12 pmThe cover is amazing!
Michael Healy
August 28, 2014 at 2:09 pmThat’s a pretty nice soundtrack.
NicoleL
August 28, 2014 at 2:34 pmI miss mix tapes and Mexico City. I’m intrigued. Thanks for the playlist.
Alexandra the Great
August 28, 2014 at 2:55 pmI’m a little too young for mix tapes per se, but I was a champion at making mix cds to listen to in my car (and to give to my poor friends). I know veeeery little about Mexico City, but that’s what books are for. Regardless of whether or not I win anything, I think I’m going to have to check out Signal to Noise 🙂
Jacqui
August 28, 2014 at 2:57 pmLooks great!
Hebe
August 28, 2014 at 3:52 pmGosh, this sounds terrific! I love the idea of magic from music – I wish I’d come up with that! I definitely HAVE to read this.
Sean Hoade
August 28, 2014 at 6:22 pmThis comes much closer to real synesthesia than anything dreamed of by most writers … or readers. LOVE the mixtape idea.
Margo-Lea
August 28, 2014 at 6:33 pmI like the concept… & the playlist. But mostly I like Silvia on Twitter
Anita Yancey
August 28, 2014 at 6:59 pmIt sounds like a great read. I think the cover is cute. Thanks for having the giveaway.
jennie t
August 28, 2014 at 9:09 pmThe blurb sounds fantastic. I can’t remember the last time I gave or received a mixtape which is too bad because I was a champion of using every millimeter of tape that was available.
Jessica
August 29, 2014 at 2:48 pmI’m really excited about this! I love the connection with music and the playlist to go along with it. I have a lifelong love affair with music, so I’m really interested in this book <3
Eliza
August 29, 2014 at 3:21 pmPretty excited about this!
Mary Preston
August 30, 2014 at 6:41 amIt’s an interesting cover.
Kyla Alyanna Fontalva
August 30, 2014 at 11:41 amI LOVE THE COVER! It looks really good.
Ailla @ Le Bibliophile~
August 30, 2014 at 11:48 amawesome cover? check! Interesting blurb? double check! This one looks promising 🙂
Isabelle
August 30, 2014 at 12:34 pmThe blurb makes the novel sound like magic. I really want to read this. Sounds [no pun intended] like the story my life could be.
Melissa Yuan-Innes
August 30, 2014 at 12:35 pmI’m excited. I don’t want to click on the playlist because I’m supposed to sleep before my night shift. But I will after!
Nino Cipri
August 30, 2014 at 4:04 pmLet me just shower you with praise from the very bottom of my little mixtape-loving heart.
Amalia
August 30, 2014 at 7:19 pmI love the synopsis–basically anything in which music plays a large part is usually something I’ll enjoy.
Stephanie Burgis
August 31, 2014 at 12:29 pmI *LOVE* that blurb!!! I can’t wait to read the book.
Danielle Fulton
September 1, 2014 at 7:16 pmEverything about this book looks fantastic! Magic, music, coming of age. Love it all.
acrisalves
September 2, 2014 at 6:39 pmGreat giveaway 😀
Lily
September 3, 2014 at 4:51 pmWhat a great concept! Looking forward to the book!
Valeria
September 4, 2014 at 10:29 amI loved your story on We see a different frontier and I’m really looking forward to this!
Mary
September 4, 2014 at 12:28 pmI’ve been having my own love affair with music since the 80’s myself. Thanks for the contest!
Assunta
December 26, 2014 at 8:18 amI found a streamable playlist of all tracks in the book:
http://cubic.fm/#!playlist/4062889447