Author: Tonya

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Launch Day!

5x8TemplateSo, today marked the launch of my Fever series! I had a really nice day. I am so thankful for all my friends who made it such a success – all the wonderful people in three  different writers’ groups I belong to, one of them filled mainly with mystery writers, who all nevertheless bought and touted my romance novel on social media 🙂

And I’m really grateful to my friend, literary publicist Liz Donatelli for all of her awesome support! I’m super excited to read at her upcoming Book’d in Burbank event.

I would also like to give particular thanks to Debra Eckerling, the leader of one of the above-mentioned writers’ groups, for giving me the opportunity to do an early interview about the series for her Write On! newsletter. I had so much fun yapping on and on about ballroom dancing and writing and romance and self-publishing. I didn’t realize how much I had to say!

I’m also super appreciative of all of my friends in general, who aren’t writers and who don’t necessarily read romance, and still bought Book One 😀 You guys are all true friends and you all rock!

I hope everyone who bought the first book, or any of the books in the series enjoys them. Let me know what you all think!

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“Love Between the Covers” Movie Premiere!

LoveBtwCoversIf you’re one of the bazillions of fans of romance novels, there’s a new documentary film about to hit the circuit called “Love Between the Covers.” Director Laurie Kahn interviews over a four-year period several romance authors and their fans, as well as many industry professionals, about what makes romance the most fascinatingly vibrant, and by far the best-selling genre in fiction.

The movie’s getting awesomely rave reviews! I particularly like this one, from Marsha Lederman in “The Globe and Mail:”

“It’s easy to dismiss this H.E.A. (Happily Ever After) literature, but the film surprises with its feminist message: Romance fiction is sneered at, we’re told, because it’s written by, read by, and is about women. This is the one place where you will consistently find women’s sexuality treated fairly and positively. As one author puts it: “You can have sex without dying horribly, which I thought was a plus.”

It’s having its premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival, and I definitely plan to be there. If you come to the LA screenings, Kahn’s is giving away gift baskets full of – what else – romance books 🙂

If you can’t be at the premiere, visit the movie’s website to check it out and see where it’ll be showing near you. There’s so much cool info on their site – I honestly spent quite a while clicking through it all!

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Arunas & Katusha, Blackpool Champs Again!

arunaskatushaI’m mainly a Latin girl, but these two have really given me an appreciation for standard ballroom as well. I really think they’re the closest thing we have to a contemporary Fred and Ginger. They’re not just technical perfection, they’re fun to watch as well. He’s so charming and she’s so elegant.

Anyway, they’ve just won the pro standard ballroom championship at Blackpool, now for the sixth time. And they’re the first American couple to have done so.

Left is a photo I took of them at the Manhattan Dancesport Championships when they first started dancing together, and below are a couple of more recent videos I love. The first is a quickstep – my favorite of the standard dances. (And I love how they’ve altered Heart of Glass by Blondie!) And the second is a beautiful, romantic waltz. With her in that gorgeous white dress, she kind of looks like a bride. How’d you like that to be your wedding dance! Enjoy 🙂


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FEVER Now Up for Pre-Order!

5x8TemplateJust letting everyone know, the three books in the Fever series are now up for pre-sale orders on Amazon, Kobo, and Smashwords. They will soon be up in the ibookstore and Barnes and Noble, and paperback copies will soon be available on Amazon and other online sites as well. I’m so excited to hear what everyone thinks of Sasha and Rory’s story 🙂

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RT Booklovers Convention and Upcoming Events

rt_party

I just got back from the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Dallas and had a spectacular time! It was my first RT, and I’ve decided this is one I’ll always try to go to every year, no matter where it’s held. I saw many of my favorite authors – Emma Chase, Alice Clayton, Sylvia Day, Julie James, and Abbi Glines – to name just a few, and I also met many writers who are new to me – Sonali Dev, Tara Pammi, Delores Fossen, Michelle Madow, and M.J. Pullen – whose novels I snagged copies of and can’t wait to read! I came back with far too many books to count, most of them free. There were parties held by publishers and literary agencies, panel discussions on the craft and business of romance writing, a big awards ceremony, and a giant book fair. And then there were more parties 😀 The photo above is from one of the many said parties, where the author featured at my table – M.J. Pullen- served delicious cupcakes and champagne!

If you’re a serious romance addict, I can’t recommend this convention highly enough. Next year’s is held in Las Vegas!

RNC_casanovas

Speaking of Vegas, I will be signing copies of my Fever series at another conference, the Romance Novel Convention, at Harrah’s Resort and Casino on June 24-28. The book fair I’ll be signing at is held on that Saturday, the 27th. This is a super fun convention with lots of parties and workshops, but also focuses heavily on the male cover models, or casanovas. They have things like a casanova bingo (where the models strip!), “pin the heart on the hunk” contests, and a casanova cabaret where the audience votes on the best cover model. There’s lots of entertainment, basically! This year they also have a special night out in Vegas, where you can see one of the shows on the Strip.

The photo on the left is of me with last year’s casanovas. The guy on the right, Weston, was the overall winner. See more of him here.

I also have a couple of upcoming readings. I’ll be reading from the first book in the Fever series at Lady Jane’s Salon in Anaheim, CA, on Monday, July 13th. And, later that week, on Thursday, July 16th, I will be one of the featured authors at Book’d in Burbank. I’m really excited about all of these events! I hope to meet you at one of them. I know it’s still early, so I will post many reminders 🙂

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America’s Ballroom Challenge Tonight on PBS!

Don’t forget, tonight is the beginning of America’s Ballroom Challenge on PBS! It’s the first of a three-part series. The initial episode features the American Smooth and Rhythm competitions. In Rhythm, I’ll be rooting for my looooongtime favorites, Emmanuel Pierre-Antoine and Liana Churilova, pictured at left. Photo from here.

I have to admit I’m so out of it, I’m not very familiar with any of the current Smooth contestants. But from their photos and bio, I can’t wait to see this couple – Travis and Jaimee Tuft!

 

 

 

 

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Some Other Dance Books You Should Read

In preparation for publication of my ballroom-set romance series, I thought I’d point to a few other books I’ve recently read and enjoyed that are also largely about ballroom dance or ballet:

Patrice Tanaka’s charming memoir illustrates how learning to ballroom dance made her a better business partner, CEO of her publicity company, and all-around happier person.

Sharon Savoy is an icon in the world of ballroom show dance. She’s one of the first dancers I ever saw perform a cabaret routine, at a swing championship in Atlanta, and I was immediately mesmerized. Her memoir traces her early days training with Balanchine (which I hadn’t known!) at the School of American Ballet, to becoming a Blackpool show dance champ.

American dance fans likely remember Pasha Kovalev from So You Think You Can Dance, where he was a finalist on one of that show’s early seasons. Since then he’s gone on to become a champion pro dancer on Strictly Come Dancing -the U.K.’s version of Dancing With the Stars. (He’s also my former teacher 🙂 ) I didn’t even know he had a memoir out!

Former New York City Ballet dancer Sophie Flack’s enjoyable young adult novel is set in the ballet world. What I found most compelling were the main character’s body image issues and the way she was treated for not having the ideal ballet body.

Former New York City Ballet principal Jenifer Ringer’s memoir deals largely with her eating disorder, which led to “Sugarplumpgate.” Her writing and voice are so sweet and engaging, you really feel like you know her through this book.

Carlos Acosta’s memoir delineates his journey from growing up poor in Havana with a super hardass father, to becoming a superstar at the Royal Ballet.

I haven’t yet read Misty Copeland’s memoir, about her journey from underprivileged youth to becoming the first African American female soloist at a major ballet company.  As I said in an earlier post, I’ve loved watching her dance at ABT for a long time now and must read this.

One of my all time favorite books, Colum McCann’s novel is a fictionalized account of the fascinating life of Rudolf Nureyev.

I’m sure I’ll find more later. Until then, happy reading 🙂

 

 

 

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Favorite Romantic Pas de Deux

This is ballet, not ballroom, but it’s just so beautiful, I couldn’t resist. Alessandra Ferri, always my favorite ballerina, with Wayne Eagling, from the Royal Ballet performing the balcony scene from Kenneth MacMillan’s “Romeo and Juliet.” Poetry in motion!

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Overall Favorite Couple: Sergey and Melia

I first saw them dance in 2006, at Blackpool, when they first finaled, and they’re still overall my favorite couple. Sergey Surkov is so powerful, and Melia is somehow both strong and delicate. Their dances are always so dramatic and passionate. And when you see them together it’s so clear how much in love they are 🙂 Here’s a high-charged Paso: