Happy new year! Do you have a New Year’s Resolution? Read on for mine – and how it ties into one of my latest releases!
But first… did you ever see Billy Elliot the Musical? I was lucky enough to see it on Broadway years ago, and I adored it. What I remember most is that brilliant song “Electricity.” Eleven-year-old Billy, an unlikely dancing phenom from a working-class English town, is asked to describe what it feels like to dance. At first, he doesn’t know how to answer – but soon launches into that show-stopping number that brings the audience to tears and garners the biggest applause of the evening. My favorite lines of that song are:
And suddenly I’m flying
Flying like a bird
Like electricity
Electricity.
Sparks inside of me
And I’m free. I’m free…
It’s a sensational song… and while it’s about dance, I think it also speaks to that feeling people get when they do something that engages them from head to toe, something that they know deep inside they were born to do. Check it out on Youtube and see if you don’t agree!
So back to my New Year’s Resolution! This year I promised myself I would take a dance class—something I’ve loved to do all my life and haven’t done since the start of the pandemic. I was scared – was I going to fall on my face, make a fool of myself? Would I find that too much time had passed and I no longer had the stamina?
Not gonna lie, my legs did feel like jelly the next day! Still, it turned out to be a glorious experience, one of the best ways I can think of to spend 75 minutes! I’ll be going back next week for sure!
My 2020 novel, THE LILAC HOUSE, is also about a dancer – someone who is tempted, yet scared, to put her pointe shoes back on many years after suffering a career-ending injury.
Does she have the strength to do it – and is she brave enough to face the way her life will transform as a result? If you’ve ever faced anything that was both terrifying and magnificent, I hope you’ll check out THE LILAC HOUSE, which has just been released in a well-priced mass-market paperback edition.
While we’re on the subject of life-changing moments, have you ever experienced that feeling of doing something you are certain you were absolutely born to do? For a chance to win an ebook copy of THE LILAC HOUSE, please respond and let me know what you did and how it felt! U.S. only, please. Good luck!
The randomly chosen winner of last month’s social media drink giveaway was Yvonne Holmes Guenthner, who sent me this lovely picture of all the goodies I’d sent!
Thanks to everyone who played along and submitted drink recipes and ideas! You can check them out by going to my author Facebook page and scrolling down until you reach the drinks post. Lots of nice ideas to keep you toasty this winter!
My Next Release
I am sooooooo close to announcing the title of my new series and showing the cover of the first book, which will launch in May. Stay tuned – I should have big news and an exciting graphic to share next month!
Have a mentioned that I’m a sucker for celebrity memoirs? Well, this one is in a class by itself. With raw honesty, Perry details his decades-long struggle with addiction. The contrast between his enviable stardom and his harrowing struggle is shocking. And yet somehow, Perry manages to tell his tale with wit and even humor. This is a quick-paced, surprising, and smart book. I think it will stay with me for a long time.
Olivia Waite, New York Times Romance Columnist, called THE DEAD ROMANTICS her most-loved book of 2022! Well, as a romance lover, I had to grab it after reading that endorsement. And while I’m not as bowled over as Waite, I do think this story – about a young romance writer with an unfinished manuscript who is haunted by the dashing ghost of her now-dead editor – is unique, fun, and charming. Poston has a young and appealing narrative voice. Very enjoyable!
