I like to say I was dancing before I could walk, mostly because it feels true. I grew up in a little ballet academy on Long Island, danced on a competitive salsa team in my twenties, and bought a one-way ticket to South America when I turned thirty, where I spent my time taking classes and dancing with strangers who instantly felt like friends.

Somewhere in between all those late nights and all that music, I kept thinking, someone needs to write a romance set in the social partner dance scene. Salsa, bachata, and tango…it’s the perfect setting to explore heat, connection, and body movement, all with an intoxicating soundtrack.

Years later, I’m finally writing the story that has been living in my mind forever, the one that starts playing every time a salsa song comes on, which my family will tell you is basically all the time at my house.

I believe the path to happily-ever-after is so much hotter when you dance your way there. Hang around a while and see for yourself.

Jessa Leads writes contemporary romance and women’s fiction from a desk near the beach. Her work brings together sensual dance worlds, heartfelt character journeys, and sun-soaked San Diego magic.

Friends know her as the author of seven children’s books, an accomplished executive ghostwriter, and a startup marketer. She uses this pen name to explore the more…passionate side of her writing.

A graduate of the University of California, San Diego with a B.S. in Cognitive Science, Jessa has spent her career exploring how people think, communicate, and connect. Her fiction writing grows out of that curiosity, too, and is inspired by the way dance can stir emotion and awaken desire.