Books, Beads & More is pleased to host Julia  Ranson on November 16, 2024 for her book She Danced Anyway.

No one thinks Elizabeth Alter can manage independent living, and even she questions a future of eating only toast. She watches friends test society's boundaries, desperate for similar courage to push back. She loves dancing but the city's harridans and preachers want promiscuous dancing, wild jazz, and skimpy dresses ended and send the police often. In 1920s New York City. Elizabeth works at the public library. She befriends co-worker James, to whom she introduces the delight of dancing. James imagines a traditional future, while Elizabeth dreams of dancing and living alone. After a violent altercation with her mother, Elizabeth flees to her grandmother. She meets George, a piano player, and embarks on a tumultuous flirtation. Caught in the crosshairs of society's narrow expectations, will Elizabeth chase her dreams? Or will her own heart conspire against her?

Julie Ranson didn’t call herself a writer until she was in her 50s. It all happened suddenly and quite organically, truth be told. After experiencing a searing personal crisis, she pondered writing that story one day. Not yet though, so she started blogging. You can find some of her essays on her website.

Julie reads, gardens, hikes, and drinks wine in Virginia. While she writes, Julie listens to music with her two rescue dogs lounging nearby. Currently, she's working on Book Two of the His and Hers Christmas Series.