A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine --- but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the author of MEXICAN GOTHIC.

A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine --- but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the author of MEXICAN GOTHIC.

A young woman wins the role of a lifetime in a film about a legendary heroine --- but the real drama is behind the scenes in this sumptuous historical epic from the author of MEXICAN GOTHIC.

1950s Hollywood: Every actress wants to play Salome, the star-making role in a big-budget movie about the legendary woman whose story has inspired artists since ancient times.

So when the film’s mercurial director casts Vera Larios, an unknown Mexican ingenue, in the lead role, she quickly becomes the talk of the town. Vera also becomes an object of envy for Nancy Hartley, a bit player whose career has stalled and who will do anything to win the fame she believes she richly deserves.

Two actresses, both determined to make it to the top in Golden Age Hollywood --- a city overflowing with gossip, scandal and intrigue --- make for a sizzling combination.

But this is the tale of three women, for it is also the story of the princess Salome herself, consumed with desire for the fiery prophet who foretells the doom of her stepfather, Herod: a woman torn between the decree of duty and the yearning of her heart.

Before the curtain comes down, there will be tears and tragedy aplenty in this sexy Technicolor saga.

SLOW DANCE is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

SLOW DANCE is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ELEANOR & PARK and ATTACHMENTS comes SLOW DANCE --- a novel of true love and friendship.

Back in high school, everybody thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together...everybody but Shiloh and Cary.

They were just friends. Best friends. Allies. They spent entire summers sitting on Shiloh’s porch steps, dreaming about the future. They were both going to get out of north Omaha --- Shiloh would go to college and become an actress, and Cary would join the Navy. They promised each other that their friendship would never change.

Well, Shiloh did go to college, and Cary did join the Navy. And yet, somehow, everything changed.

Now Shiloh is 33, and it’s been 14 years since she talked to Cary. She’s been married and divorced. She has two kids. And she’s back living in the same house she grew up in. Her life is nothing like she planned.

When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all Shiloh can think about is if Cary will be there --- and if she hopes he will be. Would Cary even want to talk to her? After everything?

The answer is yes. And yes. And yes.

SLOW DANCE is the story of two kids who fell in love before they knew enough about love to recognize it. Two friends who lost everything. Two adults who just feel lost.

It’s the story of Shiloh and Cary, who everyone thought would end up together, trying to find their way back to the start.

By turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s THE WEDDING PEOPLE is a propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

By turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s THE WEDDING PEOPLE is a propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

A propulsive and uncommonly wise novel about one unexpected wedding guest and the surprising people who help her start anew.

It’s a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the grand Cornwall Inn wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she’s actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn’t here for the big event. Phoebe is here because she’s dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sails with her husband. But she’s here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadent splurge on herself.

Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield…except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan --- which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can’t stop confiding in each other.

By turns absurdly funny and devastatingly tender, Alison Espach’s THE WEDDING PEOPLE is ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined --- and the chance encounters it sometimes takes to reroute us.