**Sharing an interview I did for Dancing Barefoot with Flash of Romance***
Q: Where did you get the inspiration for
the title?
A: While writing this story,
I listened to a lot of U2. One of their songs is called 'Dancing Barefoot'
where they sing of spinning ceaselessly and losing gravity. "Oh God I fell
for you" is one of the lyrics. It truly struck a chord within me—no pun
intended. In fact, I've included the lyrics to the original Patti Smith song on
the dedication page of the novel.
Q: What are the lyrics to 'Dancing
Barefoot'? Could you share so we get a sense of what inspired you?
A: Definitely! Here are the
original lyrics sung by Patti Smith, later redone by U2.
Dancing Barefoot Song Lyrics (Patti Smith)
She is
benediction
She is
addicted to thee
She is the
root connection
She is
connecting with he
Here I go and
I don't know why
I flow so
ceaselessly
Could it be
he's taking over me
I'm dancing
barefoot
Headin' for a
spin
Some strange
music draws me in
It makes me
come up like some heroine
She is
sublimation
She is the
essence of thee
She is
concentrating on
He who is
chosen by she
Here I go
when I don't know why
I spin so
ceaselessly
Could it be
he's taking over me
I'm dancing
barefoot
Headin' for a
spin
Some strange
music drags me in
Makes me come
up like some heroine
She is
recreation
She
intoxicated by thee
She has the
slow sensation that
He is
levitating with she
Here I go
when I don't know why
I spin so
ceaselessly
'Til I lose
my sense of gravity
I'm dancing
barefoot
Heading for a
spin
Some strange
music draws me in
Makes me come
up like some heroine
Oh God I fell
for you
Oh God I fell
for you
Oh God I fell
for you
Oh God I fell
for you
Songwriters:
Kral, Ivan / Smith, Patti
Q: Why did you feel compelled to
write this story?
A: The characters' struggle
with learning to live according to their own truth rather than being bound by
others' expectations resonates with me on a core level. As human beings, it is
easy to be caught up in someone else's life agenda and forget that we are here
with our own purpose. There were times
in my life when I became consumed with putting other people's expectations
above my own and that is no way to live.
Q: What would you like people to
take away from this story?
A: We're all unique and the
status quo doesn't always serve us well. It's important to find what makes your
heart sing and pursue it even if it's scary as hell for you to take that leap.
Q:
Reviewers have said that this book crosses genres and breaks the rules
of the romance genre--but in a good way. What do you say about that?
A.
Dancing Barefoot is women's fiction combined with romance and straight
up mainstream drama. There is a mystery involved, but it's subtle. The
issues of co-dependency that Jessica, the heroine, has with her
alcoholic mother are a core element of the story and one of the main
reasons she has a hard time living her own life. The intensity between
Jacques and Jessica is scorching--this is a straight-up true love story
with them but there are some devious people sabotaging their
relationship. If you like Nicholas Sparks' novels, for instance, where
there is a lot of drama and real world issues present that aren't always
pretty, then Dancing Barefoot is the right read for you. I don't pull
punches when dealing with certain issues in this book, but I think
that's what gives it its edge.
Q: Why is the story split into two
parts—why not combine them into one large novel?
A. Well, originally that's
how I wrote it. In Between, book one, was simply that—book one under the title
Dancing Barefoot. By doing that I had an epic novel of over 150,000 words. I
had an agent at the time who suggested it would read better as a two-part
series. Then I had a publisher working with the story who wanted me to
completely cut the beginning in Italy and start the story where it now begins
in Dancing Barefoot. I did that—which is why Dancing Barefoot can be read as a
stand-alone—and published it that way initially. This didn't sit well with me
so I ended up publishing In Between, the true start of the love story, as its
own book. Readers love In Between as much as I do so I'm happy that I went with
my gut.
Q: As an author, what is your main
goal when connecting with a reader?
A: Entertainment. Despite the
nature of some of my stories, such as human trafficking in Reckless
Endangerment or breaking free of co-dependency/expectation in Dancing Barefoot,
my goal is to entertain the reader. When authors take real life issues and
frame them in a way that is non-threatening, we can make a true impact. But my ultimate goal is to take the reader
into someone else's world for awhile and to make them smile when they turn that
last page. The greatest compliment I receive from a reader is when they tell me
that they didn't want the book to end. That's when I know I've done my job
well.
An excerpt of Dancing Barefoot...
"I."
He kissed her lightly. "Will." He slid his mouth from her lips to the
line of her jaw. "Never." His tongue flicked over her earlobe.
"Date you."
Somehow
she'd kicked off the high heel and now her barefoot slid up the side of his
lower leg. "Yes, you will."
He
laughed at her audacity, relieved to see that fire in her eyes. "It is
good to know you have big dreams, Jess."
"Ava
said you'd make Boston your home base if only I asked." She moved her hand
over the bulge in his jeans and grinned with satisfaction. "I know there's
a lot of heartache here, that you don't trust me, but the way I see it, you're
worth me making a fool of myself over."
He
couldn't believe her, even though he wanted to very much. He'd given back the
ring, said all he had to say, had vowed to erase her from his heart. The
gallery idea with Miranda had slipped from his lips without conscious intent.
Looking at her now, he knew it would be too risky to let her close.
"And
then what? I leave for South America, you have a fit about me wandering off, we
break up again? Is that how this will play out?"
"Technically,
we never broke up," she whispered, gaze intent on his. "We never had
a fight, I still wore the ring, so did you."
"You're
confusing me and I don't like it." His dropped his forehead against hers
and tried desperately to reign in his desire.
"If
you don't want a date, then let's go back to my place, lock the door and see
what happens."
"You
know what would happen." He grabbed her wrists and made her stop touching
him. "What are you really asking me, Jess?"
"I
want..."
"What
do you want?"
"Us."
“No.”
“Yes.”
“You're
ashamed of me, of what we were to one another. Didn’t you say that last week?
Yes, you said you don’t talk about Italy to anyone here.” He knew it was the
truth when her eyes darted away from him. “You don’t want anyone here to know
about our affair. You don’t want your lover to get upset—”
“You
have the wrong idea about Marc. He—”
“Stop
lying. Is it even possible for you to stop?” He pressed his thigh between hers,
pushing her tighter against the bark of the tree. “You two are lovers. Deny
it.”
She
dropped her head against tree trunk and stared at him. “It’s complicated.”
“Of
course it is. Nothing with you is simple. Come back to my hotel with me. Right
now. Intervene.”
"You
think I won't, but I will." Her lips trembled, eyes searched his.
His
gaze locked on her mouth. “Is that your plan? Seduce me away from Simone? How
would Marc feel about that?”
“Stop
throwing him in my face.”
“You
want me back in your bed, Jess? Is that all you want? Sex and nothing more?”
Blue
eyes darkened to indigo. Body shifted toward him. Teeth bit into her bottom
lip. He knew she wanted him, but he wanted more than that.
“Do
you want me to beg?” Her hands settled on his hips.
“Yes,
I do. Beg me.”
The
war in her eyes was evident.
“Jacques,
please—”
“No
more.” He closed his eyes. “We aren't capable of a casual affair and you know
it. We'll get sucked in and then what?”
“It
could be different this time. We'll make it work.”
"Why
the change of mind? Ava? Last Friday night? What? Why? If you hadn't seen me
last week, I wouldn't be on your mind at all. If I hadn't come to Boston for
the exhibit, we would not be standing here. If I am the great love of your
life, then you would have tried to contact me and explain. According to Kevin,
I have a huge social media following. Not too hard to catch up to me. I don't
trust you. I don't trust this, not at all. Are you using me again? Is this
promotion scaring you and I happened along at the right time?"
"I
never used you, never. I thought about contacting you so many times, but what
would I say? Then what? I waited too long, was too messed up—maybe still am, I
don't know—I didn't know how to say what I felt. Think of all the places you've
been in the past five years, all you would have given up for me."
When
she stopped speaking, he started thinking. Without opening his eyes, he moved
his hands over her arms, felt the softness of her dress beneath his fingertips,
heard her sharp intake of breath, felt her lips caress his chin.
He
shook his head, reality waking him up like a cold shower. “We no longer fit.”
Her
hands fisted in his shirt when he tried to step away. “What does that mean?”
“It
means I think you and Marc will have a nice life together.”
“Marc
and I are not a couple. He does his thing and I do mine, that's it.” Her hold
on him intensified.
He
looked at her—really looked—and saw a woman who was as far removed from his
lifestyle as he was from a corporate boardroom.
“I
haven’t been fair to you. I came back here hoping to see you, that’s true. All
of it was designed to open that door for me.” Confusion twisted his thoughts
into meaningless meanderings going nowhere. “We were what we were and had what
we had. I gave you back the ring, meant what I said. We've had our closure, bellazza mia. The end.”
“The
end?” Fire returned to her eyes.
“I
look forward to seeing you at the gallery on Saturday. I hope you'll change
your mind about showing your art.” A hole opened up where his heart once
existed. “You should be there with me, like Ava says. You were there in the
beginning—”
“The
beginning.” Her eyes flickered with pain. “There are other reasons that I keep
Italy to myself, Jacques.”
“What
other reasons?”
"You're
mine, my memory, mine alone. I don't share you, us, with anyone who wasn't
there because no one would understand the magnitude of it. I don't tell anyone
because it's sacred to me, you, Ava, our life together that summer...sacred to
me." She shook her head, disbelief and sadness transforming her eyes into
the color of the deep ocean. “Even when I boarded the plane home, I thought
somehow, someway we'd be together. I didn't want it to end, but I needed to
come home. I returned too late, I know I screwed up, but I never intended to
end us, can't you see that? Now we have a chance to begin again. Brand new.
Jessica and Jacques the sequel. Think about how amazing it could be.”
She
made him doubt himself. The look in her eyes, the way her hands fisted in the
material of his shirt at his waist, the longing that emanated from her. It was
as if he had been caught beneath a wave and didn’t know which way was up.
Without
answering, he disengaged from her and strode across the park. He had to give up the idea of her, surrender
the notion that they'd once had a great love affair. Memory had a way of
glossing over reality. He broke his stride and looked over his shoulder. She
leaned against the trunk of the tree, a vision in yellow surrounded by green.
And
he wondered why walking away felt so damn wrong.
From the back cover...
Naked photographs plastered on a book cover remind Jessica
Moriarty that the past isn't as dead as she'd assumed. Her carefully
constructed life as an architect on the fast track to partnership is threatened
by a love she'd abandoned five years ago when responsibilities had trumped
dreams.
World-renowned photographer, Jacques Sinclair, could have
chosen anywhere in the world for his book signing and photography exhibit, but
he'd come to Boston to shake things up. He wanted answers, but they aren't what
he expected.
Reunions aren't always happy—sometimes they stir up unwanted
pain and forgotten passion. As Jacques and Jessica stumble their way back to
one another for a second chance at love, they're ensnared in a web of
conspiracy, manipulation, and sabotage designed to keep them apart. Will they
be able to break free of the ties that bind them to seize the love of a
lifetime? Or will the pressure to conform rip them apart forever?
**This is the conclusion of the two part Dancing Barefoot
series and can be read as a stand-alone. However, to get the full impact of the
love story, the author recommends reading In Between.**
Start reading now at
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