Jenn Dawson is home. She’d fled to LA, leaving behind the ghost of her late wife and the friends they shared, but now she’s back in Salt Lake and managing the Deseret Rose Theater. If she still sleeps on the couch, and can’t talk to those friends yet, well, that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, she has to prepare for rehearsals for her adaptation of Cat’s Eye and the arrival of her star, Siobhan Kinnally. So what if Jenn is realizing that the crush she had twenty-five years ago hasn’t really faded. As the show moves from table read to rehearsal, and previews through closing night, Jenn and Siobhan can’t deny the feelings that arise, even though Siobhan is heading to France after the show closes and Jenn isn’t leaving the theater. Will the community Siobhan finds and the lesson Jenn learns about what it means to honor lost love by loving again keep them together despite distance, or will the realities of theater life force them both to start over again?
I need your help to bring this project to life!
Dancing in the Ghost Light is the first book in the Queer Salt Lake romance universe. These books follow an ever-growing found family celebrating what it means to be Queer in Utah.
More than that, these books celebrate what it means to be Queer and middle-aged. These characters aren't 25. They aren't even 35. They are in their forties (and older!) They're divorced and widowed and never settled down because they have a tendency to fall for the unattainable. The baggage they carry is just a little bit different and they don't screw around and wait to see if they get sentimental at Christmas.
There's two things Salt Lake is known for: Mormons and Skiing. While the second one is fun for people who enjoy throwing themselves off of mountains at breakneck speeds, the first has impacted how the Valley is perceived - both internally and externally. Yes, Salt Lake is the headquarters of a major world religion but it's also home to a lot of folks who shimmer, despite the long shadows the temple has been known to cast.
Salt Lake is incredibly queer. There are queer owned bookstores and bars and cafes and flower shops. There is a community here that is as intimate as it is growing, and despite the pressures of a patriarchal legislature, we even thrive. Not saying it's easy. But I'm saying we are here, we're Queer, and really, we just want to know how long the line is at Squatters for brunch on Saturday morning.
To celebrate this community, I'm turning to you.
What will your support do?
I need your help to bring this project to life!
Dancing in the Ghost Light is the first book in the Queer Salt Lake romance universe. These books follow an ever-growing found family celebrating what it means to be Queer in Utah.
More than that, these books celebrate what it means to be Queer and middle-aged. These characters aren't 25. They aren't even 35. They are in their forties (and older!) They're divorced and widowed and never settled down because they have a tendency to fall for the unattainable. The baggage they carry is just a little bit different and they don't screw around and wait to see if they get sentimental at Christmas.
There's two things Salt Lake is known for: Mormons and Skiing. While the second one is fun for people who enjoy throwing themselves off of mountains at breakneck speeds, the first has impacted how the Valley is perceived - both internally and externally. Yes, Salt Lake is the headquarters of a major world religion but it's also home to a lot of folks who shimmer, despite the long shadows the temple has been known to cast.
Salt Lake is incredibly queer. There are queer owned bookstores and bars and cafes and flower shops. There is a community here that is as intimate as it is growing, and despite the pressures of a patriarchal legislature, we even thrive. Not saying it's easy. But I'm saying we are here, we're Queer, and really, we just want to know how long the line is at Squatters for brunch on Saturday morning.
To celebrate this community, I'm turning to you.
What will your support do?
- Recover editing and publication costs for Dancing in the Ghost Light.
- Pay for purchasing of books for sale on consignment.
- Pay partner artists, including cover and sticker artists.
- Set the stage for publishing additional books in the Queer Salt Lake series.
Banner Art by Becca Mellema.
Latest from the Creator
Kayleen Martin
about 10 hours ago
Moving Forward
The clock ticks ever closer to launch. I still don't know what I'm doing but I hope I get it right.
Coming this week: detailed information about the levels of support and what you'll get when you join up and help make this happen.
But, where is the series in this process?
This week I signed a contract with a local editor. Crystal Yang of Rabbit with a Red Pen editing is going to be taking her red pen to Dancing in the Ghost Light and helping to make it stronger.
I'm excited to bring this to all of you!
Coming this week: detailed information about the levels of support and what you'll get when you join up and help make this happen.
But, where is the series in this process?
This week I signed a contract with a local editor. Crystal Yang of Rabbit with a Red Pen editing is going to be taking her red pen to Dancing in the Ghost Light and helping to make it stronger.
I'm excited to bring this to all of you!
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Kayleen Martin
5 days ago
I'm leaping right off the cliff into the crowdfunding void!
Halp! It's update #1! I'm launching and I'm scared and I'm not sure what to say here.
The part of me that wants to be sleek and professional is at war with the part of me that only knows how to be myself. So, here in this first update you get the chaos and the weirdness and ... me.
I don't know what I'm doing, but I do know that I need to do it. I need to stop waiting for the gates (of the temple?) to open and just storm them myself. I've looked at other campaigns, been utterly terrified of what it all means to put something together, decided I'm not good enough, decided I am good enough, and trust me, I'm terrified.
So, what will you get with this campaign? You'll get me. You'll see me doing my best to raise the funds for publication. You'll see me hoping that I'm doing this right. You'll see me getting it wrong and hopefully getting it right.
What can you expect from me? Honesty. I'll be upfront with you about how things are going, where things sit, and what it all means. If I'm running late, you'll know. If I can't make it work, you'll know.
But this is me. Getting this party started.
The part of me that wants to be sleek and professional is at war with the part of me that only knows how to be myself. So, here in this first update you get the chaos and the weirdness and ... me.
I don't know what I'm doing, but I do know that I need to do it. I need to stop waiting for the gates (of the temple?) to open and just storm them myself. I've looked at other campaigns, been utterly terrified of what it all means to put something together, decided I'm not good enough, decided I am good enough, and trust me, I'm terrified.
So, what will you get with this campaign? You'll get me. You'll see me doing my best to raise the funds for publication. You'll see me hoping that I'm doing this right. You'll see me getting it wrong and hopefully getting it right.
What can you expect from me? Honesty. I'll be upfront with you about how things are going, where things sit, and what it all means. If I'm running late, you'll know. If I can't make it work, you'll know.
But this is me. Getting this party started.
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