Publication Date: February 5, 2015
Percambio Press
Formats: Print & ebook
256 pages
Series: Come Dancing, Book Two
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult/Chick Lit
Genre: Contemporary Romance/New Adult/Chick Lit
Julia is a young book editor on the rise. Jack is a British rock star at the pinnacle of his fame.
Can they both get what they want—if what they need threatens to tear them apart?
It’s January, 1982. Twenty-four-year-old Julia Nash has just moved in with her boyfriend, rock and roll guitarist extraordinaire Jack Kipling. Their connection sizzles as Jack takes her to England to meet his mother, and then to a private Caribbean island for a sensual post-holiday retreat.
But back in New York, they hit a turbulent patch. Career-focused Julia is in the running for a new job, while Jack’s life becomes even more chaotic with an upcoming thirty-city tour. Although free-spirited Jack enjoys his partying lifestyle, he craves more support on the home front. But Julia doesn’t know if she can ever be a domestic goddess—or if her wild boyfriend can ever be domesticated.
On tour, Julia experiences private jets, mind-blowing concerts, shocking hotel room antics, and screaming headlines. Back home, she has to decide if their relationship can withstand the ravages of fame and conflicting interests—not to mention a suave bestselling author who seems to like more than her grammar sense.
Emotionally poignant, hilarious and steamy, Keep Dancing will delight brand-new readers as a stand-alone novel, and also serves as the perfect follow-up to Come Dancing.
Praise for Keep Dancing
“Set in the 80s and dripping with the excesses this time period excelled at, Julia and Jack have reached a point in their relationship where the hard work begins. Julia is working towards her own stardom, while Jack continues to play in the world that made him. As external forces do their best to force this unusual couple apart, Jack and Julia will need to decide if they should keep dancing or find new partners. Emotionally plump with laughter, love, and heartbreak…” —Smexy Book Reviews
“HOT”—“In book two of the Jack and Julia series, Wells once again titles chapters after hit songs, and finds even more ways to describe the excitement surrounding New York City as she did in the debut…” —Romance Times
“This is a 5 star series, and I recommend this as a wonderfully fun yet angsty read. I loved the chemistry between Jack and Julia and their crazy bad communication skills (they didn’t have cell phones, after all). The breakups were worth it, if only just so they could make up!” –Cindy Becker, The Book Enthusiast
Purchase this duo by Leslie Wells:
Come Dancing: http://amzn.com/B00KVQAL98
Keep Dancing: http://amzn.com/B00T7278PM
Shel: Some of the reasons I enjoyed Come Dancing are the same reasons I enjoyed Keep Dancing--remembering life before social media and the age of the internet, imagining life as young woman in publishing, and the funny Brit-isms and behind the scenes things you'd like to think happen in a rocker's life. Additionally, we got a story of figuring out how you work when both of you love what you do and neither of you really want to sacrifice the job. We got to see these characters explore the idea of family and trust and love and hardship and how juggling all of those things can be hard and rewarding. Court: Keep Dancing like I said gave us all of the things that we loved in the first trip to the 80's, but I also enjoyed like Shel said us getting to expand on their relationship, and get to see Julia spread her wings a bit. Jack is a larger than life character, and it would be easy to just go on tour with a rock star and get swallowed up by that life style, but Julia definitely is not the type of girl to go down that road and lose herself to a man at all...which is why we and Jack both love her to death!
Shel: I'll be honest and say that the first part took me a little longer to connect with--it sometimes dragged a little for me; but as the novel progressed, the plot progressed and before I knew it I was at the end of Julia and Jack's story. If you're looking for something different than your typical alpha/rock star story, this would be a fun place to start. Court: It IS SO FUN! And I must admit that it was a little bit of adjustment to get back into since it had been a while, and I had to remember where we'd been...but it is explained in a refreshing way, and not obnoxious, so I fell back into life and love with these characters and wouldn't mind returning again!
First of all, thanks to Shel and Court for inviting me to do a guest post on their amazing blog, Must Read Books or Die. Today I’m going to write about what inspired me to write certain scenes in Keep Dancing:
1. The scene on the tropical island of Mustique is based on a trip I made to a similar Caribbean island. Iron-gated villas, bougainvillea and frangipani, white sand beaches… but the luau scene is pure imagination.
2. The disastrous cooking scene where Julia tries to make Cornish Hens is taken directly from my own experience. I burned those little chickens to a crisp…
3. The chapter where the television late show writer lets loose a bunch of rabbits in Julia’s office as a joke: This really did happen to me, but with different animals.
4. The scene when Ollie, Jack’s nephew, lets the praying mantises out of the cage: I had an ant farm when I was Ollie’s age. One morning I went into the kitchen where I kept my ant farm on the counter, and there wasn’t a single ant in it. They had all gotten out somehow… I’ll never forget the look on my mother’s face when I told her all the ants were missing.
5. Adopting a pet from the SPCA in New York City: Inspired by adopting a pet from SPCA in NYC.
6. The mirrored ceiling in the hotel—did you know hotels really did use to have those mirrored ceilings? And also you could put a quarter into a little machine, and it would shake the bed?
7. Erica Graham, the bitchy editor who competes with Julia: Based on real-life experience.
8. The big-shot author, Dermot Chase, is somewhat based on several bestselling authors I’ve known. But only in a good way.
9. Julia’s dream in the beginning of Chapter 19: She’s dreaming the same dream that haunts Anna inAnna Karenina, the pleasure reading she’s brought with her on tour.
10. The scene with the woman in the purple mask… I’m going to let readers use their imagination about that one!
Praise for the first novel about Jack and Julia: Come Dancing, an Amazon Bestseller and Apple iBooks Breakout Book
“Wells builds an emotionally poignant love story, abounding with romance and humor.” —Smexy Book Reviews
“Sometimes a book like this comes along and takes me out of the niche reading that I tend to find myself in…. I am in love… So very sex + the city.” —Must Read Books or Die
“It reads like a very, very good romantic comedy movie.” —Michelle & Leslie’s Book Picks
“Once you start, you are completely unable to put it down.” —Devilishly Delicious Book Reviews
“Like a well-oiled machine or a well-tuned guitar, Julia and friends work their way into your heart.” —Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
“Hot, sexy, and combustible.” —Blushing Divas Book Reviews
“Come Dancing is brimming with both humor and heart.” —Flashlight Commentary
“It’s a fun romp, and the sparkling characters definitely made it worth the read.” —A Bookish Affair
“I enjoyed reading Come Dancing! It had a good story, fascinating characters, and a charming vibe.” —Julie Anne, Teacups & Book Love
About the Author
Leslie Wells left her small Southern town in 1979 for graduate school in Manhattan, after which she got her first job in book publishing. She has edited forty-eight New York Times bestsellers in her over thirty-year career, including thirteen number one New York Times bestsellers. Leslie has worked with numerous internationally known authors, musicians, actors, actresses, television and radio personalities, athletes, and coaches. She lives on Long Island, New York.
