Local author Sarah Bird (The Yokota Officers Club, Virgin of the Rodeo, The Mommy Club, The Boyfriend School, and Alamo House) doesn't know how to just sit down and write a book. For her, research for a novel—say, one about flamenco music and dance—means picking up and moving to New Mexico for a summer to take flamenco dance lessons at The University of New Mexico.

This may sound a little extreme when she could've hacked it with Wikipedia and a few foreign films, but Bird is dedicated to the idea of the authentic experience, and the experience is one of extremes: she describes flamenco music as "obsessive-compulsive disorder with a beat," and her latest book, The Flamenco Academy, is an attempt to convey the passion, intensity, and pain of obsessive love.

Bird can't just show up at a bookstore and read and sign copies of her book, either. Beyond the requisite reading, Q&A, signing and hobnobbing, tonight's event at BookPeople tonight includes flamenco guitarists, dancers, and libations.

[Event Info]

Sarah Bird presents The Flamenco Academy
Thursday, Oct. 25th
BookPeople
7pm, free

Photo by Adam Blicharski on Flickr