What is the name of the book and when was it published?
Come Dancing by Leslie Wells was published in June 2014.
What’s the book’s first line?
“Are you ever getting out of there?” my friend Vicky asked.
What’s the book about? Give us the “pitch”.
Julia is a book-loving publisher’s assistant. Jack is a famous British rock star.
“Opposites attract” is an understatement.
What inspired you to write the book? A particular person? An event?
I began writing Come Dancing on the thirtieth anniversary of my arrival in New York City. I wanted to describe what it was like in the early Eighties, when Manhattan was still rough along the edges. When SoHo was still the domain of artists and galleries, and the occasional local bar or cafe. And when nightclubs like the Palladium, the Roxy, Danceteria, and the Mudd Club attracted a huge mix of people from many different strata of society.
Back then, you could go out dancing and run into just about anyone: actors, politicians, rock musicians. Celebrities weren’t surrounded by bodyguards; the assumption was that if you were allowed into a club, you were cool. No one was going to harass anybody; after all, this was downtown. And there were no cell phones back then. People didn’t walk around with a camera in their pockets 24/7–so if you were famous, you didn’t have to worry about being photographed every time you turned around. That made for a much more open atmosphere, where regular people rubbed shoulders with the glitterati as everyone cut loose on the dance floor.
I also wanted to write about book publishing before the advent of e-readers and computers, when we were all lugging home 400-page manuscripts every night. As with the music biz, the changes have been seismic. Unfortunately the salaries are pretty much the same, especially for assistants (when you account for inflation). I really did find those lavender shoes on the street, and I wore them until they fell apart.
What’s the main reason someone should really read this book?
Come Dancing is for anyone who’s ever wondered what it’s like to go out with the lead singer of your favorite band.