Welcome to my stop for Phantom's Dance by Lesa Howard Teaser Tour. Phantom's Dance is a YA modern retelling of Phantom of the Opera and I know I can't wait to read it!
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Christine Dadey’s family uprooted their lives and moved to Houston for her to attend the prestigious Rousseau Academy of Dance. Now, two years later, Christine struggles to compete among the Academy’s finest dancers, her parents are on the brink of divorce, and she’s told no one about her debilitating performance anxiety and what she’s willing to do to cope with it.
Erik was a ballet prodigy, a savant, destined to be a star on the world’s stage, but a suspicious fire left Erik’s face horribly disfigured. Now, a lonely phantom forced to keep his scars hidden, he spends his nights haunting the theater halls, mourning all he’s lost. Then, from behind the curtain he sees the lovely Christine. The moldable, malleable Christine.
Drawn in by Erik’s unwavering confidence, Christine allows h
erself to believe Erik’s declarations that he can transform her into the dancer she longs to be. But Christine’s hope of achieving her dreams may be her undoing when she learns Erik is not everything he claims. And before long, Erik’s shadowy past jeopardizes Christine’s unstable present as his obsession with her becomes hopelessly entangled with his plans for revenge.
Since I've been a huge fan of Andrew Lloyd Weber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, having gone to the theater alone to watch the 2004 movie with Gerard Butler as the phantom--helloooo hotty--attended a live presentation at the Hobby Center in Houston, bought the audio for the car and the DVD for the house, well it would stand to reason that it was what I listen to for inspiration while writing PHANTOM'S DANCE. And even I thought I would. But this piece, Dance of the Knights from Romeo and Juliet, turned out to be the inspiration for Erik, the phantom. It's also the piece Christine is listening to when she senses she's being watched while attending Romeo and Juliet. The heavily metered rhythm was almost intimidating to me. At the same time, it has these softer more tender elements that speak to Erik's character, too.
“You scared the crap out of me—again!” I wailed, and a low chuckle rumbled from behind the heavy, velvet drapes.
With my hand pressed to my overexerted lungs, I breathed deeply. “I see you’re still behind the curtain. But I suppose that’s where a stagehand would be, wouldn’t he? Behind the curtain?”
“Ouch. And here I thought you were a nice girl—not like the Academy snobs looking down their noses at the hired help.”
“Ah-ha! So you are a stagehand.”
“I never said that. What I said was you’re a snob.”
“I am not!”
He half laughed half snorted.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I came to see the ballet. Isn’t that why you’re here?”
“Of course, but that’s not what I meant. The ballet has been over for an hour. Why are you still here?”
“I might ask you the same thing.”
The pink flower chose that moment to fall from my hair and float to the stage floor.
“You were playing the ballerina, weren’t you?” He teased.
His voice had moved from where it started at my right to the curtains behind me.
“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ll keep your secret.”
My face heated and I bent to recover the flower then stood to face his voice.
“You won’t tell Mr. Darby or the theater manager?”
“I said I wouldn’t tell.”
Spinning the flower between my fingers, I asked, “Why do you stay behind the curtain?”
“I don’t like the stage.”
“But you said you’re a dancer. What kind of dancer doesn’t like to be on the stage?”
“This kind.”
He’d been yanking my chain long enough. Two could play this game.
“So, are you handicapped or what?”
An unpleasant silence stretched between us and I realized I’d stumbled onto something.
“Oh, God, you are.”
Lesa Howard lives in the greater Houston area where she works as a writer-in-residence for the nonprofit organization Writers in the Schools, but her students know her as Lesa Boutin. Lesa was passionate about writing for teens before it was even labeled Young Adult, and her latest YA novel is PHANTOM'S DANCE, which is a modern retelling of Gaston Leroux's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA. She has two books written under the name Lesa Boutin: AMANDA NOBLE, ZOOKEEPER EXTRAORDINAIRE, and AMANDA NOBLE, SPECIAL AGENT. Visit Lesa at www.lesahowardboutin.com or contact her at lesaboutin@gmail.com
$20 gift card to choice of book store
1 comments:
Hi! I wanted to stop by and thank you for hosting the Phantom's Dance teaser tour. I think it's awesome that you're willing to take a chance on an unknown author.
my best,
Lesa Howard
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