I’ve always been fascinated by leap years. Who hasn’t? Magically, out of nothingness, a day appears every four years. Where does it hide, squished between the 28th of February (a special month anyway) and the 1st of March? What does it do when it is hiding?
Equally, I’ve been torn by envy of and pity for people born on the 29th of February. The uniqueness of the day surely makes you a special person. But poor you! How does it feel to have a real birthday only once in four years?
I was so fascinated by the idea that in the very first book I wrote (which was, thankfully, never published), I created a special day – the 31st of November to echo the magic of a day that springs into being out of nothingness. It was not enough, though, to satisfy my love for this day.
And so, in Sisters at New Dawn, I built an event around it. A proper event for leap day. At New Dawn High School, students celebrate the 29th of February. They explore their creativity, they do new things – for Leap Day is the epitome of creativity, isn’t it? Where something is created out of nothing?
Explore Sisters at New Dawn or buy the book. It’s leap day, a special day that won’t come back for FOUR YEARS.
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