JOSEPHINE BAKER'S LAST DANCE
SHERRY JONES' SEDUCING THE PEN VIRTUAL AUTHOR'S TOUR
JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE
From the author of The Jewel of Medina, a moving and insightful novel based on the life of legendary performer and activist Josephine Baker, perfect for fans of The Paris Wife and Hidden Figures.
Discover the fascinating and singular life story of Josephine Baker—actress, singer, dancer, Civil Rights activist, member of the French Resistance during WWII, and a woman dedicated to erasing prejudice and creating a more equitable world—in Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.
In this illuminating biographical novel, Sherry Jones brings to life Josephine's early years in servitude and poverty in America, her rise to fame as a showgirl in her famous banana skirt, her activism against discrimination, and her many loves and losses. From 1920s Paris to 1960s Washington, to her final, triumphant performance, one of the most extraordinary lives of the twentieth century comes to stunning life on the page.
With intimate prose and comprehensive research, Sherry Jones brings this remarkable and compelling public figure into focus for the first time in a joyous celebration of a life lived in technicolor, a powerful woman who continues to inspire today.
Purchase Josephine Baker’s Last Dance in paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats on Simon and Schuster’s website ( also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, BooksAMillion, Indiebound, Kobo, and other sites).
'Josephine Baker's Last Dance': Paula Patton To Star In And Produce Project On Legendary Performer
Los Angeles film star and recording artist Paula Patton has optioned the film and TV rights to JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE, a novel by Sherry Jones about the 20th-century entertainer, World War II spy, and civil rights activist Josephine Baker.
Patton plans to produce the project and star in the title role, fulfilling a desire since childhood to portray the dynamic Ms. Baker, one of the world’s most famous performers of all time.
“Josephine Baker had an incredible life and was a remarkable woman,” Patton said Monday in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s been a childhood dream of mine to play such an inspirational person and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to tell her story.” A search for writers to adapt the material is underway.
Josephine Baker was an African-American dancer, singer, comic, and actor from St. Louis, MO who made her Paris debut in 1925 at age 19, and was an instant sensation. Although best remembered for her scandalous dances wearing a skirt made of bananas and little else, Josephine Baker broke new ground in a number of ways for African Americans as well as for women.
She was the first black woman to star in a feature film (La Sirene des Tropiques, 1927) as well as to headline with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York, among other distinctions, and during the early 20th century she was the most highly paid performer in Europe.
She also worked as a spy for the French Resistance during World War II and helped to launch the American Civil Rights Movement by insisting that all venues in which she performed during her 1951 U.S. tour be integrated. As a result, nightclubs, theaters, and other venues throughout the country opened their doors to black people for the first time.
In recognition of her accomplishments as an activist, Ms. Baker was invited to speak with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at the 1963 March on Washington. She was the only woman to speak.
JOSEPHINE BAKER’S LAST DANCE by Sherry Jones debuted in December 2018 from Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to work with Paula Patton, a talented actor who shares my vision for a portrayal that goes beyond the iconic ‘banana skirt,’ ” Jones said.
“Josephine Baker was like no other on the stage, true—she was a veritable whirlwind—but she was also a complex and courageous force of nature who dedicated her life to promoting love and equality in spite of the racism she experienced every day. Ms. Patton’s experience in the media industry, ebullient spirit, and passion for this project make her the perfect person to bring Josephine Baker to life on the screen.”
Patton last starred in the 2018 thriller Traffik and on the ABC series Somewhere Between. She is known for her work in such movies as The Do-Over, Warcraft, and Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. Patton is repped by ICM Partners, Management Entertainment and Ziffren Brittenham.
Author and journalist Sherry Jones is best known for her international bestseller The Jewel of Medina. She is also the author of Josephine Baker’s Last Dance , The Sword of Medina, Four Sisters, All Queens, The Sharp Hook of Love, and the novella White Heart.
Sherry lives in Spokane, WA, where, like Josephine Baker, she enjoys dancing, singing, eating, advocating for equality, and drinking champagne. Visit her online at AuthorSherryJones.com.
WHAT THE MEDIA IS SAYING...
Sherry and Paula are excited about the partnership!
LISTEN TO SHERRY READ FROM JBLD
Listen to the audio introduction here:
http://www.audioacrobat.com/note/Cw3wm04X
Famous for her sexually charged performances as a scantily clad Paris revue showgirl, Josephine Baker also had a secret career as a pilot and intelligence spy for the French Resistance during World War II, and as a Civil Rights activist who was the only woman invited to speak at the 1963 March on Washington.
In this revealing biographical novel, Sherry Jones revisits Josephine Baker’s difficult childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, and examines some of her many troubling experiences with discrimination that would propel her lifelong fight for racial justice.
As Josephine’s star rises in Europe, she finds herself mingling with some of the greatest artists of the Jazz age, including Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, Colette, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin.
Following her extraordinary transformation from “Tumpy” McDonald to Joséphine, “Queen of Paris,” and her momentous decision to become a citizen of France, Baker experiences personal and professional triumphs and disappointments that reveal her fascinating character in all of its complexity.
ABOUT SHERRY JONES
Author and journalist Sherry Jones is best known for her international bestseller The Jewel of Medina. She is also the author of Josephine Baker’s Last Dance , The Sword of Medina, Four Sisters, All Queens, The Sharp Hook of Love, and the novella White Heart.
Sherry lives in Spokane, WA, where, like Josephine Baker, she enjoys dancing, singing, eating, advocating for equality, and drinking champagne. Visit her online at AuthorSherryJones.com.
Website: http://authorsherryjones.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sherryjones
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Book Bub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/sherry-jones
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sherryjonesfanpage
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/josephinebakerslastdance
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cybersecuritytechnologywriter
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1219600.Sherry_Jones
INTERVIEW AND SPECIAL FEATURES
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[Interview] Spokane Public Radio An NPR member station
[Interview] The Spokesman-Review
[Special Feature] Reader's Entertainment News
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#BondingThruBooks Day 8: Sherry Jones, Audrey & Larry Jones, Dr Raye Mitchell
ARTICLES AND MEDIA SPOTLIGHTS
[Article] Josephine Baker’s secret life as a World War II spy
The 20th century icon Josephine Baker was so much more than a sex symbol who danced in a skirt made of bananas. Yes, she took Paris by storm in 1925 with her “Savage Dance”—performed in little more than a strategically-placed feather—and went on to increase her fame with the infamous banana skirt which, legend has it, she designed as a joke for her first revue at the Folies-Bergère.
Josephine Baker also became, over the next twenty years: a chanteuse, or stage singer, and international star; the first black woman to star in a feature film and to headline in New York’s Ziegfeld Follies; a recording artist; an opera diva, and – the detail that most surprises and fascinates people—a spy for the French Resistance during World War II.
[Article] Black Pearls Magazine Blog
Author Revealed interview with Sherry Jones on the creation of Josephine Baker’s Last Dance.
[Article] Spokane author Sherry Jones finds inspiration in kick-ass women from the past
Sherry inspiring novel that women everywhere will find to be an important piece of literature in helping to bring about total equality in our current world.
[Article] Popsugar: Novels About Badass Women Written by Badass Women
Sherry inspiring novel that women everywhere will find to be an important piece of literature in helping to bring about total equality in our current world.
[Article] Playbill's Guide to Upcoming and Current Broadway Bio-Musicals
Josephine Baker’s Last Dance mentioned as more exciting information about Josephine in a Broadway-bound musical.
[Article] St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Josephine Baker has 'last dance'
Josephine Baker was born in segregated squalor in St. Louis in 1906 but rose to fame in France in the 1920s as a singer, dancer and all-around entertainer.
[Article] Samantha Stevenson St. Louis Magazine's associate editor.
"Josephine Baker's Last Dance," author Sherry Jones weaves milestones from the dancer's real life into a fictional narrative.
[Article] The Seattle Times Book Picks
Calling Jones’ novel “a satisfying life of one endlessly fascinating person,” Kirkus Reviews wrote that “Jones’ deft juxtaposition of Baker’s internal and external worlds throughout the novel is what readers will appreciate most.”
[Book Spotting] Novel Bookstore Memphis | Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
[Book Spotting] The Book Report | Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
[Publishing Article] Sherry Jones: Start Writing, or Shut Up
[Publishing Article] Sherry Jones: Self-Publishing The Elephant In The Room
REVIEWS FOR JOSEPHINE BAKER'S LAST DANCE
[ BOOK REVIEW] Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association
[ BOOK REVIEW] Book Reviews & Musings - 5 Star Review: Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
[ BOOK REVIEW] Linda’s Book Obsession Reviews “Josephine Baker’s Last Dance”
[ BOOK REVIEW] Roots & Reads Kyra Leseberg Review | Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
[ BOOK REVIEW] JENNIFER ~ TAR HEEL READER
[ BOOK REVIEW] ReecasPieces Literary Blog
[ BOOK REVIEW] Lauralee History from a Woman's Perspective- A Book Blog
[ BOOK REVIEW] MONDAY'S MUSICAL MOMENTS: Josephine Baker's Last Dance
[ BOOK REVIEW] OLD TIMEY BOOKS: Review: Josephine Baker’s Last Dance
Josephine Baker’s Last Dance by Sherry Jones, available in ebook, paperback, hardcover and audiobook at: https://www.amazon.com/Josephine-Bakers-Dance-Sherry-Jones/dp/1501102443
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