In the 1970s, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where for twenty years she worked as an assistant director on feature and television films, and later as a screenwriter.
"[7] Reviewing the novel for JazzTimes, Gwen Ansell wrote: "Allen engages with what it might feel like to think through and play a solo; tour depressing, racist Southern towns; haggle with agents and managers.
The wry, weary wit of backstage conversation rings true and the details play out before a fascinating panorama of pre-1960s jazz and vaudeville stages.
"[13] As Kevin Le Gendre put it: "Allen astutely balances the heady excitement of Valaida's artistic growth, a trajectory during which she gains the confidence to push her trumpet phrases from 'low notes to mid with shake-butt flourish', with the grim realities of discrimination and exploitation.
[16] According to the review in the New Statesman, "Allen simply opens her ears and mind in wonder at everything she has seen and heard, rejoicing in and also questioning the values and beliefs that brought her where she is.