Sunday, November 11, 2012

Passion and Pain (Dancers and Divas #1) by Kathy Petrakis Book Spotlight and Review

Does passion and desire guarantee success? Can friends really be trusted? Can true love be found beneath lust and deceit? 

These are questions street dancer Elena Martinez faces as she struggles to compete against the most talented students at New York’s top Performing Arts High School. Along with her best friend, the cheeky and mischievous Sebastien Duval, they are determined to make center stage. 

But the singing diva Letitia has other plans. Beautiful, talented and popular, her desire for revenge could ruin everything for Elena and Sebastien. Now, they must fight against prejudice, treachery and deceit as Letitia sets out to destroy Elena’s friendships, her romance, her dignity and her dreams. Can Elena win the battle for true love, happiness and success?

Passion and Pain (Dancers and Divas #1) to be The Next Best Seller!

SUMMARY: 

The publishers of Passion and Pain(Dancers and Divas #1) have announced the launch of a huge internet campaign to promote the book just in time for the SYTYCD 2012 tour. 

Right on target with the SYTYCD 2012 tour, publishers of Passion and Pain(Dancers and Divas #1) are launching a huge campaign to promote the book. As the millions of followers of So You Think You Can Dance know, it’s not just about the talent - it’s about the person and personality as well. This is well understood by Kathy Petrakis, author of Passion and Pain(Dancers and Divas #1). In this young adult fiction book, she creatively combines real teenage drama in a New York performing arts school setting. 

The book is character focused taking the reader on a roller-coaster of emotions as the characters experience love and lust, friendship and betrayal, hope and fear. “It’s FAME meets GOSSIPR GIRL with a touch of GLEE,” the author says. “They (the characters) will laugh, cry and have their heart broken all while auditioning and training to reach their dreams.” The characters are incredibly believable and, just as in real life, some are quite lovable, while others are so easy to hate. Passion and Pain(Dancers and Divas #1) is sure to be a hot hit for young adults and even older adults too. Readers who don’t want the book to end will be elated to know that this is the first book of a series. 

Learn more about Passion and Pain Dancers and Divas and even purchase a copy by visiting http://www.amazon.com/Passion-Pain-Dancers-Divas-Volume/dp/0987419404. To get a glimpse of the amazing author, Kathy Petrakis, visit her website at http://kathypetrakis.com. 

Contact: 

Kathy Petrakis 

Director of Antartis Publishers 

Author - Passion and Pain(Dancers and Divas #1) 

Phone: +447591492754 

Email: Kathy.petrakis@gmail.com 

Website: http://kathypetrakis.com

MY REVIEW

5 of 5 PASSION AND PAIN

Passion and Pain is a wonderful read in my eyes. I love stories that take place in performaning art schools. It has so much to it that it draws you in and you really get to see how people will do anything to get what they want. In Passion and Pain it is no different. There is drama, stress and anger all wrapped up in a neat bow just waiting to be unleashed. When you have raw talent come together each individual is fighting for a spot that is important for them. To them it is make it or break it and they will stop at nothing to get what they want.

Elena Martinez and Sebastein Duval are performers attending New York’s top Performing Arts High School. This is their Junior year and they have a lot to prove. This will make them or break them and they want to succeed. Only there is one problem Elena has an enemy that will stop at nothing to destroy her and anyone who side with her. Letitia wants revenge and she will stop at nothing to sabotage Elena and her friends. As all the performers struggle with one thing or another you find yourself rooting them on and to continue their dreams and hopes despite what has happened to them. At least Elena has Sebastein who is there for her to support her and she is there for him.

In Passion and Pain we learn that the characters come from all walks of life and some have been bullied. Some have been raped. Some have been pressured by peers to do things they would normally never do. Some have been doing drugs and alcohol to cope with the everyday stress of the performaning arts school has. What will happen Elena is faced with some of those things? Will she run or will she fight? Will she be able to overcome some of the pressures her peers are putting on her? What will she do when Letitia comes after her for her chunk of revenge? Want to know and so much more then read this book because it is everything you love to watch. It is like a train wreck and you can't help but watch it.

Passion and Pain (Dancers and Divas #1) by Kathy Petrakis 

FAME meets GOSSIP GIRL is this new Dancers and Divas book series. Passion and Pain - Book 1 – is the beginning of the story of street dancer Elena and her best friend, the cheeky and mischievous Sebastien, as they enter Montacrue Performing Arts School, New York. They will experience love, lust, betrayal, friendship, doubt, hope and anxiety. They will laugh, cry and have their heart broken all while auditioning and training to reach their dreams! 

As one reviewer said: 

“I think we can all relate to the emotional turmoil and ecstasy of the experiences that happen in our teens, especially when the characters are so believable and lovable. I feel like I know them! “ 

As Martha Graham once said “Dance – the body says what words cannot.” Hence, here are 3 dance choreographies that inspired some part of the novel – mostly the complex relationships! 

This first one to me feels like Elena’s relationship with Jay. You may recognize it from So You think You Can Dance. Elena’s inability to let him go and her actions as a consequence lead her down a path that could destroy her. It also clearly expresses Frankie’s downhill spiral as she seeks happiness in all the wrong places. 


The second one is in regards to Sebastien’s unrequited feelings for Elena. I think every reader is hoping Sebastien finds some happiness in the end. 


The third one reminds me of a unique and special romance that develops between characters (don’t want to spoil it). It is intimate and compassionate and so beautiful that when I wrote it, I watched this piece repeatedly as inspiration. 

Kathy Petrakis was born and raised in Sydney Australia by Greek immigrant parents. She always had a passion for the performing arts - dancing, acting and singing but they were hobbies giving way to a traditional professional career in banking. Before this book, her writing was used to entertain friends with her unusual, and often disastrous travel adventures from around the world. 

By the hand of fate, Passion and Pain and Bittersweet were born while unemployed and living in London, heaven for lovers of the performing arts. At the time of publication of Passion and Pain, she was still living in London with plans to prepare for the launch of the sequel in either Sydney or New York. 

For more information, visit http://kathypetrakis.com/

1 comment:

Megan Hand said...

This is right up my alley. I love dance books. Thanks!