Dancing with Paris
About the book (City of Light, Book 2)
Straitlaced marriage therapist Claudia Davis had a plan—and it definitely did not involve getting pregnant from a one-night stand or falling for a gorgeous French actor. She thinks her life can’t possibly get more complicated. But when Claudia takes a tumble in her grandmother’s San Diego dance studio, she awakens in 1950s Paris in the body of Ruby Kerrigan, the glamorous star of a risqué cabaret—and the number-one suspect in the gruesome murder of a fellow dancer. As past lives go, it’s a doozy…especially when an encounter with a handsome and mysterious French doctor ignites a fire in Claudia’s sinfully beautiful new body.
But time, for all its twists and turns, is not on her side: Claudia has just five days to unmask the true killer, clear Ruby’s name, and return to the twenty-first century. To do so, she must make an impossible choice, one that will change the course of both of her lives forever.
inspiration for Dancing with paris
I’ve always said I must’ve been French in a past life. My fascination with France began at a young age, and by the time I was fifteen years old, I knew I wanted to live in France and teach the language one day. This idea that my love for France was perhaps rooted in another life I’d lived before led me to the idea for Dancing with Paris.
I also knew I wanted to try my hand at writing time travel and murder mystery, and thus was born the idea to send my main character, Claudia Davis, back in time to a past life she’d lived in France—a past life where she was the star of a 1950s Parisian cabaret and a suspect in the murder of a fellow dancer. I describe Dancing with Paris as Moulin Rouge meets Midnight in Paris. This book excited me like no other!
I grew up as a ballet dancer, so I pulled from my love of dance and performing to write the cabaret scenes. The character of Titine—Ruby’s best friend—was inspired by my Grandma Martha—red hair, always getting into trouble, and endless fun. If my grandma were to have lived in 1950s Paris, I imagine she would’ve been a lot like Titine!
Dancing with Paris ultimately took two years to write. I poured a lot of my heart and soul into this book, and looking back, it was probably my favorite book to work on. Emotionally, I still feel very attached to this story. I will always be thankful for the way the characters came alive for me on the page, and for how the story ultimately revealed itself to me.
