Local Author Returns to Hermosa for Writers Workshop
Beach Cities native and New York Times Bestselling author Dallas Rose is returning to Hermosa Beach this month to offer a 2-day workshop for aspiring writers.
The acclaimed author has been basking in the spotlight since her latest novel A Tale of Beach Cities hit the shelves in early 2020. This fiction piece centers on a novelist in her 30s who is spending the summer in Hermosa Beach in hopes of finally finishing her novel. With a touch of satire she writes that if the fresh ocean air mixed with the picturesque backdrop of the mountains of the South Bay doesn't do the trick then her fate may be just that of a dreamer.
Event host and bookstore owner Don Glynn of Don’s Olde Book Shop on the Pier says Rose’s work is a favorite among local reading enthusiasts. “A Tale of Beach Cities was so popular it went on back order in the first week. In the novel she mentions places like Mickey’s Deli and the Greenbelt. I think the surfer statue even made the cut. It’s kind of neat to see Hermosa’s staples intertwined in a great story.”
If writing about Hermosa isn’t enough for local book lovers, Rose intends to take it a step further and write with them. Similar to her main character’s strife, Rose is hoping to offer a little push to the creative souls who may be stuck in the heavy fog that is writer’s block. “One thing I’ve learned in writing is that when you’re sitting in front of the blank page you have to kick the critic out of your head,” she says. “Let the ideas flow onto the paper without judgment. Later you can come back and apply all of the fancy literary rules you learned in school but at the start you have to just get it all out. It’s like author Robert Olen Butler said once, ‘Art does not come from ideas. Art comes from the place within you where you dream.’ That’s the message I want to get out.”
Whether writing a book is on your bucket list or you have a healthy stash of published pieces under your belt, Rose says all are welcome to the workshop. “This is an opportunity for writers at any stage in the process to come together and shift the creative floodgates open to tell your story.”
Glynn expects a big turnout for the event. “I think Hermosa residents like supporting native talent that made it big, especially when they come home to share the experience with them. It doesn’t get much better than that,” he said.
The workshop will be held on Sunday, May 23rd and Monday, May 24th, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. each day at Don’s Olde Bookshop, 555 Pier Avenue, Hermosa Beach, CA. To purchase tickets visit www.dallaswrites.com.
