July (Rose's friend, who gets her own story in March)

This morning I saw a news item and photos that made me sit up straighter and say, "That's July!"
If you've seen any of the promotional materials for my debut novel "Curves for Days," which comes out 8/22/23 (!!!), you know that main character Rose Barnes leaves her old life looking for a new one, and that she finds that new better life in Galway, NC. That better life comes complete with friends, one of whom is restaurateur July Tate. 
July's story, "Just the Way You Are," will be released in March 2024. She's a wonderful person, a force of nature, and an absolutely vital part of Galway (If you've seen Encanto, think of July as Galway's Luisa, only with blonde hair and a cooking utensil in her hand.). 
Anyway, this morning's news contained a story about Jolien Boumkwo, a Belgian track and field athlete in shot put and hammer throw. At a recent international competition, two of Belgium's hurdlers couldn't compete due to injuries, and that could have disqualified the Belgian team. But someone suggested--and Jolien agreed, with her coach's support as long as she take care to avoid injury--that Boumkwo compete in the event.
She did, coming in far behind the other hurdlers, as she had to step carefully over each hurdle. But she finished, earning two points for the Belgian team and smiling the whole time. 
She wasn't worried about embarrassing herself. She was taking one for the team.
That's July, in a nutshell: Doing what needs to be done, with a smile.
​You can read one of the articles about Jolien here.