Sunday 3 November 2013

PROMOTIONAL SPOTLIGHT & AUTHORS QUICK INTERVIEW - BEHIND BARRES BY MIRIAM WENGER-LANDIS, AMANDA BRICE, & LESLIE DUBOIS

ASIN: B00F6BUK7G
Publisher: Self/Indoe
Pages/File Size: 646pages
Formats Available: E-Book
Release Date: 24th Spetember 2013

BLURB from Amazon.co.uk
Talent means nothing without desire... The dance world takes center stage in this limited-time bargain-priced collection of three full-length novels by popular young adult authors. 

GIRL IN MOTION by Miriam Wenger-Landis
At the School of Ballet New York, the most prestigious ballet school in the country, aspiring ballerina Anna works hard to understand her famous teachers and navigate her ups and downs with her friends. Everyone's goal is a contract with a professional ballet company, and as graduation nears, the pressure intensifies. Falling for one of the cutest guys at the school complicates things, but with the lead in the annual workshop performance, Anna gets one last chance to make her dreams come true.

CODENAME: DANCER by Amanda Brice
Bombs, poisoning, arson... Will aspiring ballerina Dani Spevak's 15 minutes of fame on the hit TV show Teen Celebrity Dance-Off be over before she reaches age 15? Dani and her friends are suddenly at the center of some serious sabotage. And if she doesn't find out who is behind it, her next pirouette could be her last.

THE QUEEN BEE OF BRIDGETON by Leslie DuBois
When fifteen-year-old Sonya Garrison is accepted into the prestigious Bridgeton Academy, she soon discovers that rich girls are just as dangerous as the thugs in her home of Venton Heights. Maybe more so. After catching the eye of the star, white basketball player and unwittingly becoming the most popular girl in school, she earns the hatred of the three most ruthless and vindictive girls at Bridgeton. Can she defeat the reigning high school royalty? Or will they succeed in ruining her lifelong dream of becoming a world class dancer?


REVIEW QUOTES
Offers an inside view of professional dancer training." - The Salt Lake Tribune on Girl in Motion by Miriam Wenger-Landis

"References that include everything from Snooki to Chewbacca will have you laughing out loud." - Romantic Times magazine on Codename: Dancer by Amanda Brice

"Even in the category of teenage fiction, DuBois has elegantly woven a deeper narrative throughout the book that transcends her intended age group." - DanceAdvantage.net on The Queen Bee of Bridgeton by Leslie DuBois

QUICKIE INTERVIEW

Did you always want to be a writer?

Miriam: I didn’t set out to be a writer. When I was younger, all I cared about was becoming a ballerina. After I retired [from a performance career with the Miami City Ballet], I tried on many hats, including premed student, book editor, site merchandiser, and ballet teacher. Today my titles include author, ballet teacher, online site coordinator/blogger, and most importantly, wife and mother.

Amanda: When I was younger, I used to carry around a purple pen and a tiny little purple journal and told everyone I was writing a book. We’re talking YOUNG here – like seven at the most. My masterpiece “Nancy Flew and the Mystery of the Lady Ghost” at age 10 was critically acclaimed by my 4thgrade teacher. By the time I got to my preteens, I couldn’t decide whether I was going to be a professional dancer or an author, but my dad encouraged me to “do something practical,” so I eventually went to law school instead. But I couldn’t squelch my creativity forever, so while I was supposed to be writing a paper on the patentability of indigenous medicinal methods I wrote the first 88 pages of a chick lit novel instead. Been writing ever since.

Leslie: Mostly, yes. For a little while I also wanted to be an illustrator. But then I discovered I couldn’t draw to save my life so I went right back to wanting to be an author only. When I got to college, however, I got discouraged and I gave up on writing all together. So instead of being an English and Journalism major, I became a Math and Music major. Quite a switch! But I couldn’t keep down my urge to write for long. While I was a math teach, I picked up the pen again and haven’t stopped since.


What made you decide to write this genre?

Leslie: Actually, I write many genres as Leslie DuBois and Sybil Nelson. But I think I like YA the best because of the emotion and the possibilities. We all remember what it was like to be a teenager. And I think most of us would like to go back except with the knowledge we have now. As a writer, I can do that all the time through my characters.

Amanda: I totally agree with Leslie. It’s amazing to be able to right the past through my teen characters. Whenever I see teens stressing out about something, I want to take them aside and say, “Don’t worry, it really does get better!” But that kind of perspective can really only be gained through experience. Writing YA is intense because teens wear emotions on their sleeves in a way we adults don’t. I decided to combine dance and mystery (for the Dani Spevak Mystery Series) because, well, I’d always sort of fancied myself a budding Nancy Drew – only hipper. And with dance such an important part of my life – as it is for so many other girls – I was always surprised there wasn’t more dance fiction out there. So I basically wrote the books I’d wanted to read.

Miriam: I started writing ballet fiction as a way to process my ballet career and expand who I was beyond just being a dancer. For so long my whole identity was as a ballerina, and reflecting on the experience helped change my perspective. As I wrote, I realized I was trying to create the book I wish I’d read before I became a professional dancer. There wasn’t much ballet fiction out there that felt authentic, and I wanted to add to what was available.
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