This whole project began in 2010, when I was performing in Verdi’s Otello with Opera Philadelphia.
(I didn’t realize I was at the beginning of a saga, but we rarely realize when we are at the beginning, do we?)
My friend Becky Oehlers, who had just gotten into photography, was taking photos of everyone in their costumes backstage.
She and I were bouncing from dressing room to dressing room, and she had me snap a photo of her and another chorister.
I immediately saw a romance novel cover.
So I went into Photoshop and made one.
Once the cover was created, the obvious next step was to write the actual novel. So I did.
No, I did not write a complete novel.
I wrote as much as I could write while the chorus was backstage, and I would read each “chapter” aloud in the dressing room.
Nine years later (almost exactly a year ago), I had a whole pile of romance miniatures that I had written during various shows, and a dear friend suggested that I set one of them to music.
That idea turned into a single song commission into a song cycle commission project to the one-woman show that it is today.
My intention for this blog is to share musings, snippets, and updates as I go through the development process. If you want even more updates as well as exclusive content, sign up to my Bodice Ripper newsletter here.