New Book To Come & Excerpt: Phantom's Dance

I've been thinking of the Phantom of the Opera a lot the last few months. So when I saw this book, I was drawn to it for that reason. This has the feel of the connection and the danger of the original Phantom of the Opera. I'm curious to learn more of what the book has in store for us.

I'm thrilled to share about the book with you. And an excerpt as well!

Check this out:

Phantom's Dance

By: Lesa Howard

Due Out: April 6th 2014

Blurb:

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 herself 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.

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EXCERPT!

After pacing a while, I went to the edge of the stage to sit down, hang my legs over the side, and look out on the pencil-straight rows of burgundy theater seats.

Several minutes passed when I heard, “Christine—I’m over here.”

I whipped my head to the left and my mouth fell open. Erik was standing on the stage for me to see, dressed in black warm-ups and arrayed in an elaborate costume mask that concealed his face.

With effortless grace he approached me, every step revealing his nimble dancer’s body. When he stopped he extended his open hand to me and I took it, allowing him pull me to my feet with a strong arm.

Mere inches from me, he waved a hand in front of the mask. “I know this is strange. But it was the only thing I could think of. And it didn’t seem right for me to be behind the curtain and you out here crying all by yourself.”

Still surprised to see him on stage, I stared open-mouthed at the mask. Full-faced, it was white with angular, almond shaped eyes. The upper half was stippled gold, with raised filigree swirling across the forehead and down the sides of each cheek. The lips were of a softer, more buttery, shade of gold. The face-piece connected to a length of black knit that was swathed in an Arabian style across the top of the mask, draped under his chin and wrapped back up to be pinned high on the other side. It was stunning.

“Are you afraid?” he asked.

I closed my mouth and shook my head.

He was still holding my hand in his, and lifting it between us, he placed his other on top so that he held my hand warmly between his, and asked, “Then will you let me dance with you?”

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Bio for Lesa Howard:
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 ever 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

Find Lesa and more about her books:
Site:  www.lesahowardboutin.com
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/lesakhoward
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/lesaHowrdBoutin
Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8056585.Lesa_Howard




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