Dance Of Shadows #1

DANCE OF SHADOWS:
Dance Of Shadows by Yelena Black

A Ballet That Transcends!

As a freshman in her first year at the New York Ballet Academy it should have been impossible for Vanessa to be cast as the principal dancer in the upcoming ballet, but Vanessa has a talent for dancing, even if she lacks the passion for it. However Vanessa came to New York for more then dancing, she came to walk in the footsteps of her missing sister Margaret, to dance where she danced and to hopefully discover the truth of what happened to her.

Vanessa is consumed by two mysteries, her sister and the dance. It was the ballet her sister was meant to dance and now the part is hers, Margaret is the reason Vanessa dances, her motivation to go one when she no longer feels the will to. But when she dances she forgets everything, only the dance matters, the erratic, chaotic dance that is somehow linked to her sister. As her dancing improves she comes ever closer to discovering what happened to her sister, but will it be enough to find her.

Dance Of Shadows combines ballet with the supernatural, where dance opens a portal to another world and a ballet of love, loss and danger mirrors life. Like the dance, Vanessa is erratic in her thoughts and chaotic in her actions as she is drawn deeper into the mystery of her missing sister and driven closer to discovering the secrets of the ballet La Danse de Feu. With two leading men and supporting friends this dance is sure to please the romantics at heart.

Yelena Black @ Bloomsbury Australia

On sale: 12 February 2013
Price (AU): $15.99
ISBN: 9781408829974
Recommended age: 14+
In a word: Vanessa
Re-read it: possibly
Recommend: yes
Star rating: three out of five
xx

Guest Post - Dance Of Shadows: Sisterly Love

Blog Tour - Dance Of Shadows
 
Sisterly Love
Guest Post by Yelena Black

 

Sisterly Love

There is nothing like the relationship between siblings. They can be incredibly close, or completely distant. Your sister or brother can be your best friend, or even your worst enemy. (I’m thinking specifically of Joan Crawford and Bette Davis in Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? or even, to a slightly lesser extent, the character of Louise and June in Gypsy.)

The bond between siblings is undeniable. Although I don’t have a sister, I do have an older brother … and often times he is my refuge and companion when my parents are acting crazy and I don’t what to do, or when something bad—or extremely wonderful—happens in my life. We have a special connection, and I wanted to write about a character who also had that kind of connection with her older sister. (I.e. explore a happier sibling dynamic than the ones in the above-mentioned films.)

In Dance of Shadows, Vanessa’s older sister Margaret is also a dancer—and she goes missing from the New York Ballet Academy, the very same school that Vanessa is about to attend. For Vanessa, Margaret was the person she always looked up to: she was a caring, kind sister and a talented dancer. She and Margaret were extraordinarily close, so when Margaret disappeared, it broke Vanessa’s heart.

Vanessa doesn’t want to believe that Margaret is dead, and so finding out what happened to her sister gives Vanessa a drive, and raises the stakes for her—she must find out what happened to Margaret because she cares about like her no one else does in the entire world.

In my own life, I have seen friends come and go, relationships begin and end … but family is always there, for better or for worse. This is true in Vanessa’s case as well, and it is why I wanted to include sisters in my story. Vanessa’s love for Margaret is what drives her passion and her sense of curiosity … and I hope it drives yours as well when you read the book!

 

Dance Of Shadows

 

To uncover the mystery behind Margaret's disappearance
and discover more diary entries visit the
Dance Of Shadows Facebook page.

To find out more about the book Dance Of Shadows
and its author Yelena Black visit the
Dance Of Shadows Bloomsbury Australia page.

  

Guest Post - Dance Of Shadows: Margaret Alder's Diary Entry

Blog Tour - Dance Of Shadows
 
Margaret Alder's Diary Entry
Guest Post by Yelena Black

Where is Margaret Alder?

  

Not too long ago, Vanessa was informed that her sister Margaret had run away from the New York Ballet Academy. The school said Margaret left NYBA because of all the pressure, but Vanessa knows that her sister wouldn't give up on her dreams like that.

After driving down to New York City to look for her, her parents found pages of Margaret's diary in her dorm room. Vanessa is convinced that if she can find more of these entries she will discover something about her sister's disappearance.

  

Margaret's Diary

  

Dear Diary,

Another day, another creepy exchange with Anna and Chloe. They pointedly were doing their warm-up stretches right behind me, talking loudly. (They are about as subtle as bricks, these two.)

Anna:         You know, I’d really love to have some light reading.

Chloe:        You mean like a novel?

Anna:         Maybe. Or, you know, a, like, reality book.

Chloe:        Oh, you mean like a journal!

Anna:         Right. Like a diary! The one I’m thinking of would be covered in, like, orangey leather, and have a tiny little locked clasp.

Chloe:        Locks like those, you just look at them funny and they pop open.

Anna:         Or you drop them on the ground, and oops! The clasp broke!

Chloe:        You may as well post your innermost thoughts on a blog.

Anna:         Or Facebook.

Chloe:        Because really? There’s no such thing as privacy.

There’s only one way they could know about you, Diary. I am going to kill Maddy.

xoxo

Margaret

Dance Of Shadows
  

     

To uncover the mystery behind Margaret's disappearance
and discover more diary entries visit the
Dance Of Shadows Facebook page.

To find out more about the book Dance Of Shadows
and its author Yelena Black visit the
Dance Of Shadows Bloomsbury Australia page.