The Music Box Dancer was a new type of story for me and my first using openly black characters. I typically create characters that could fit several racial or cultural profiles, preferring to let my reader build them as they envision them, but this one, it felt it was necessary.
It was an inner-city story. It was based a young single mother and her daughter, just trying to lead a peaceful life with the mom working to provide all she could to give her daughter a better start.
The daughter wanted ballet lessons that they could not afford, but she had this precious music box with the ballerina inside and she and her mom would spend a few special minutes a day just twirling and twirling like ballerinas. It was their bond, their special connection. I'll stop here to avoid spoilers, but this one hit me a bit hard. It's a beautiful story, despite the sadness.
This one is sad, heavy on family and maternal love themes, as well as justice for those that harm others.
You can find it in The Horror Collection books from KJK Publishing, the Turquoise edition.
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