73 ~ Grier Cooper - Author of WISH

Grier began ballet lessons at age five and left home at fourteen to study at the School of American Ballet in New York. She has performed on three out of seven continents with companies such as San Francisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, and Pacific Northwest Ballet, totaling more than thirty years of experience as a dancer, teacher and performer. Her work has been praised as “poignant and honest” with “emotional hooks that penetrate deeply.” She writes and blogs about dance in the San Francisco Bay Area and has interviewed and photographed a diverse collection dancers and performers including Clive Owen, Nicole Kidman, Glen Allen Sims and Jessica Sutta. She is the author of Build a Ballerina Body and The Daily Book of Photography. Grier, who touts herself as “a writer in a dancer’s body” just released her debut novel WISH, which is book one in a three part series for young adults.  The series features Indigo Stevens, an aspiring ballet dancer who hopes to have what it takes to become a professional.  Grier impressively uses her personal life as a professional to paint a perfect portrayal of a teenager striving for success in the world of professional dance.