Stephanie Cage - Writer

Continuing my series of posts about the inspirations behind 'Perfect Partners', I'd like to introduce you - if you haven't already come across it - to the story of one of the most unlikely celebrities to emerge from the hothouse of talent that is Strictly Come Dancing.  ' Better Late than Never' is the life story of Len Goodman, head judge of the UK series.  Witty, surprising and occasionally heartfelt, Len's book gives an insight into the life of a ballroom dancer before and after fame and fortune - just what I needed when creating the story of Lisa and Redmond, who were taking the dance world by storm as juniors but found their partnership derailed when Red left for a summer on the cruise ships, only returning eight years later to ask Lisa to partner him in a dance competition with a twist: the dancers must be partners in life as well as in the studio.  Len's story of his dancing marriage with first wife Cherry helped give me a taste of some of the...

Wow!  I absolutely love the cover that Crimson Romance have put together for my dancing novel, 'Perfect Partners'.  Lisa and Redmond look glamorous and romantic, and I could just see them on Strictly Come Dancing or Dancing with the Stars , or indeed Couples , the 'dance meets romance' show I created especially for this book.  And if you look closely, you'll see that the hot pink title text is studded with sequins... just in case my hero and heroine weren't sparkly enough already!  There's more about the story on Crimson Romance's website here , and I'm so excited to see my book lined up alongside all their other fantastic new releases .  Roll on February 25th, when the ebook hits the virtual shelves. Coming soon to a Kindle near you...

In the run-up to the publication of my ballroom dancing novel, 'Perfect Partners', I've been thinking about the things that inspired me to want to write about dance, and realising that my fascination with the subject goes back a very long way.  Unlike many of my childhood friends, I didn't take ballet classes, so apart from the odd country dance in the school gym when it was too rainy for outdoor play, I didn't do a lot of dancing until I took my first ballroom class, aged sixteen.  Having said that, though, I can trace my interest back much further than that, to a book by that most beloved of children's authors, Noel Streatfield.   I wonder which book came to mind for you when I mentioned that name?  Usually when I talk to people about Noel Streatfield, their eyes light up and they respond with fond memories of the Fossil children in 'Ballet Shoes', and it's true that is a wonderful book, but it's not the one that I've returned to time ...

Thanks to Maureen Wood , I just discovered squidoo's Reading Meme.  A chance to chat about books and reading?  How could I resist?  There are some really interesting questions for bloggers and others to answer.  If you'd like to play, just visit the site here and grab a copy. What have you just read? Carol Marinelli's 'Banished to the Harem', one of Mills and Boon's more dramatic sheik stories, as the heroine nearly becomes part of the hero's harem!  Although it's loaded with stereotypes, I was fascinated by the interplay of the two cultures.  What are you reading now? I've just started P.D.James' 'Death Comes to Pemberley'.  I love the concept of bringing together crime and high romance, and since I enjoyed 'Pride and Prejudice with Zombies', I think I'll have fun with this one too. Do you have any idea what you'll read when you're done with that? I have a fairly extensive to-read pile, both physical and on...

So, we're a week into January and pretty much every mailing list, group and magazine I subscribe to has asked me about my goals for 2013.  Up to now I've largely avoided the question, partly because I was still pondering the answer, and partly because I tend to resist sharing goals/resolutions in January in case anyone tries to hold me to them later in the year! I can just about cope with concentrating on a goal for one month at a time - NaNoWriMo , for example - but any longer seems to be a struggle.  So, this time, instead of setting goals for the whole year which I'll probably have forgotten by March, I've decided to focus on some areas of my life, like writing, fitness, work and clutter-clearing, and setting smaller goals that I might have a chance of reaching before they've totally faded from my mind! So far, in the name of my January 'goals', I have collected together a to-read pile which was previously scattered all over the house (you can see par...

Can you believe it?  I'm still not sure how 2013 arrived without my noticing.  Possibly I was a little distracted by all the Christmas celebrations - not least the final and Christmas Special of Strictly Come Dancing .  I loved all the finalists' performances, as well as the festive fun on Christmas day, and I'm feeling a little lost now the series has finished.  It's a good thing Dancing on Ice is coming up soon!  When I haven't been busy with seasonal fun, I've also been busy with edits on 'Perfect Partners', which is due out this year from Crimson Romance .  Wow!  I'm so excited that I'm finally sharing Lisa and Redmond, my lovely dancing heroine and hero, with the world.  I suppose I should have tracked down a dancing-related New Year's image just for them, but never mind.  I've always been a fan of fireworks , and these are very pretty ones.  So, Happy New Year, everyone, and don't forget to look out for 'Perfect Partners...