There Be Dragons’ Book Launch Brings Stories of Loss and Renewal to Life

LOS ANGELES – Inside a warmly lit, beautiful living room, filled with voices, and a quiet echo of what has been lost and what has been found carried a weighty presence. The busy, yet still room was filled with friends, writers, and authors, supporting Marianne Simon as she read from her debut book, There Be Dragons. 

“Thank you so much for coming and celebrating this labor of love,” she told the crowd. “I know many of you spent over 30 minutes circling, looking for parking.” The audience of about 25 laughed, circled on the floor and on the couches, settling in as she explained the collection she was diving into: Emerging, Becoming, Arriving. Each chronically expressing the emotional riptide of grief and transformation that followed the death of her husband, Mike. 

The author began with a segment called “Angles Everywhere,” a piece describing a meeting on the Santa Monica pier with a homeless man named Merle, who brought her the most unlikely compassion in the early days of loss. Simon’s voice wavered in the moments when she recounted the scene. She read, “We were both in need of comfort.” As she finished the first reading, tears flowed down people’s cheeks onto the sunlit hardwood floor. Yet, the sense of calmness also circled the room, eager to hear Becoming.  

Continuing, she reads off, “The shock wears off and we are faced with a new reality.” She explains, “Though it feels like it should resemble past experiences, it doesn’t.” The room is still, with the cameraman slowly panning in on Simon’s face. Later, in “The Year of Firsts,” she described milestones she encountered without Mike. First night without sleeping pills, or the first-time laughter returned. Many, still wiping tears off their cheeks, also cracked smiles. The piece ended with, “It is a step by agonizing step as each of us finds our way to the beings we are becoming.” The room shifts once more. 

The final section may even have brought the vibrant berry vanilla cake to a somber note. “Rising Sun,” she says boldly. “I am heading east toward the rising sun, toward new beginnings.” The audience, comforted in the living room atmosphere, rises to applaud Simon. 

Following the readings, attendees mingled near the cake and sparkling water, while bringing their books for the author to sign. Many in the room, filled with love, had known her for decades, or even longer.

Christina Dunbar recalled, “I have known Marianne for years.” Simon is a part of Dunbar's writing group, where authors develop even the first sentences of their stories.

Dunbar says, “Watching this project evolve from journal pages to publication was deeply moving. I have watched her work through pain by putting it into writing, and to whiteness it today is spectacular.” 

Another longtime friend, Anne Plageman, says, “I’ve known Marianne for 34 years. I was friends with her through her marriage to Mike, and even the birth of her baby. It has been so beautiful, almost like a paradox, to see her turn so much pain into beauty and showcase it here today.” 

Simon explained that she initially planned to combine her book launch and public reading into one big celebration. She says, “At first I was going to do it all at the same time, but then I realized if it became all about trying to get people to an event to sell my book, it could be too much.” 

Instead, she launched There Be Dragons online earlier to reach readers, then hosted the gathering weeks later to connect to others on a much more personal level. “This was less about marketing and more about being together,” Simon explained. 

Throughout the afternoon, the sun sank behind the clouds, and the event took on a warm tone. Guests hugged in the kitchen, exchanged stories, and commended each piece that mirrored their own experience of loss. 

Deborah Elder Brown, another friend and sister in grief, commends Simon. Brown explains, “Well, I always admire anybody who completes a book, and then you know, it's a tricky topic. It's not foreign to me, but I also lost my husband.” Many, including Brown, connected to the book and event itself on a personal level. 

For Simon, it was simple, “Being an actor, I love being able to read my book in front of others, because it is so different from them reading it on the page,” she says. 

The smell of coffee flew slowly around the room, while children took advantage of the rest of the mocktails and frosting on the cake. The room became silent, and the light flickered above. The presence of loss withered away, and joy filled the empty corners of Simon’s home.