Dear friends,
One of the unexpected-- and delightful-- ripple effects of publishing my book last year has been the astonishing number of people I've met, connected with, and even begun to work with since its launch.
As a first time author, all I hoped was that people would read my book. It truly did not occur to me that any of them would subsequently feel moved to reach out to me. But that's exactly what happened, in a variety of ways. I remember the first message I got from a reader. It was via Instagram, and was from a friend of my sister's who I barely knew. She'd just finished reading BEING A BALLERINA, which moved her so much that she wrote me a detailed expression of exactly why. It was a Sunday morning, and I spent the rest of the day floating.
BEING A BALLERINA's appearance on the stage, so to speak, led to many more wonderful connections, but perhaps the most validating to me (again, as a first time author who spent her life training to dance, not to write) have been with other authors-- real ones-- who've let me know that my work matters, not just to the dance world, but to everyone else, too.
This is all to say that two fellow dance authors and I have joined forces to try to convince the readers of the world that dance is not a niche subject. That ballet dancers live and breathe just like anyone else, but in a way that encapsulates those mysterious forces that drive the human spirit. Unveiling the how and why a dancer dances can help anyone find their own inner pilot light.
I will be presenting with Barbara Quick and Martha Anne Toll, whose recent novels also both center on the psychological journey of dancers, at the wonderful Quail Ridge Books in Raleigh, NC, on October 12 at 7pm.
It's a live, in-store event (hooray!), so if you are in the area, please consider coming by. And if you're not, but know someone who is, feel free to tell them about it!
Our "performance" is free but you sure can RSVP as space is limited.
Below is a link for more details about our event, about Quail Ridge, and about our books.
https://www.quailridgebooks.co...
It makes me so happy that BEING A BALLERINA has legs strong enough to keep her going well past her first birthday. Here's to many more years of power and perfection in all of our dancing lives.
Warmly,
Gavin
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