Stephanie Cage - Writer

I wonder how often those words have been uttered over the course of the 13 years that Strictly Come Dancing has been aired? The celebrities who speak them are usually referring to the intense roller-coaster ride of a single series, but those of us who have been fans from the start have travelled a much longer and more rambling route. When the show started in May 2004 I was an English graduate, ballroom dance lover and aspiring writer in my late twenties, living near London and working in market research.  Over the years, my Strictly journey and my writing journey have become intricately entwined, thanks to an idea I had as soon as I heard that there was going to be a competitive dancing show on TV again for the first time since Come Dancing hung up its dancing shoes.   I’d noticed at university that the dancing world was something of a hotbed of gossip and romance, and thought it would be fun to combine a dancing show with something more relationship-focused – think ‘Str...

If I'd had to place bets on the likelihood of anything I ever wrote appearing in a book on sports, I'd have placed it up there with the likelihood of me landing on the moon.  I don't do sports.  My husband is mad about football and tennis, but my involvement is generally limited to sitting in the same room as the football on TV, with headphones in, reading or writing. However, despite the total lack of hand-eye coordination which prevents me from getting involved in ball or racquet sports, I do love to ice-skate, swim and dance.  And it's that last interest which led to my inclusion in Crimson Romance's forthcoming sports anthology: 'Perfect Game'.   I don't do competitive ball games, but I do love competitive dance - I danced for my university teams while studying for my BA and Masters, and although I no longer compete, I still love to dance whenever the opportunity arises.  Some years ago, fuelled by my obsession with 'Strictly Come Dancing...

I may possibly have forgotten to mention my latest appearance on local radio - or at least, the appearance of Angela Wren, wonderfully voicing my story, New Horizons, as part of National Short Story Week.  The story is a tie-in to my book from Crimson Romance, 'Perfect Partners', and features Mark and Elaine, dance teachers and mentors to Lisa and Redmond.  Serendipitously, the story also mentions a trip to Australia, and where was I when the story was broadcast?  Why, in the sunny land of Oz!  A big thank you to Sheila North, David North, Jon Kelly and Angela Wren (and anyone else I've forgotten) for making it all happen without my physical presence - ah, the magic of radio!  You can catch New Horizons and the other 4 stories here: http://www.sinefm.com/a_z_of_shows/national_short_story_week But get in quickly, because I don't know how long the link will be valid!   Oh, and in case you need a brief escape from our chilly November, here's a pictur...

Isn't ' Romance Lives Forever ' a great name for a blog?  I'm excited to have 'Perfect Partners' on display at their site today - if you agree that romance really should live forever, why not click on the link and have a look around?   romancelivesforever.blogspot.co.uk