Wallflower in Bloom

From the critically acclaimed and bestselling author of eight novels including Must Love Dogs comes WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM: A Novel (Touchstone Hardcover; Simon & Schuster; June 5, 2012; $24.99; ISBN: 978-1-4516-7276-3). Claire Cook dazzles once again in this winning and witty novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself dancing with the stars. Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it’s just not her own. She’s the round-the-clock personal assistant to the family star: her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, Deirdre feels stuck in her job, living on her brother’s New England compound, and in a relationship that’s been going nowhere for the last ten years. After drowning her sorrows in a bottle of vodka one night, Deirdre comes up with an idea. She’ll use Tag’s massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute replacement on Dancing with the Stars. It’ll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre Griffin’s fifteen minutes of fame have begun! Set against the backdrop of Austin, Boston, and L.A., WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM is irresistible, offbeat, and with a thoroughly relatable and appealing heroine. It is an original and deeply satisfying story of one woman who’s ready to take a leap into the spotlight, no matter where she lands. Claire Cook wrote her first novel after decades of procrastination, in her minivan, while waiting for her daughter’s swim practice to end! That first novel was published when she was 45, and at 50, she walked the red carpet at the Hollywood premiere of the adaptation of her second novel, Must Love Dogs, starring Diane Lane and John Cusack. The inspiration for WALLFLOWER IN BLOOM comes from a real-life experience. GalleyCat once asked its Facebook readers which author they’d most like to see on Dancing with the Stars, and Claire was the fan favorite, alongside finalists David Sedaris and Jodi Picoult. GalleyCat sent the petition off to DWTS. Although she hasn’t gotten that call just yet, Claire turned that experience into her latest novel! Claire loves speaking to groups and teaching reinvention workshops for women coming into their own at midlife. They give her the opportunity to tell her story to the many women who have buried dreams just like she and her character Deirdre once did. She is living proof that it’s never too late to reinvent yourself, and she thanks her lucky stars every day for the career she almost didn’t have.