Tonya Plank's Blog, page 4
July 9, 2017
TO A MOUSE: My New Animal Literature Blog
I started a new Tumblr blog focused on books about animals. It’s called “To A Mouse: An Animal Literature Blog.” I had been writing a Tumblr called “Literary Aperitif,” in which I paired a cocktail with a book. But I started to get migraines every time I went near alcohol 
December 20, 2016
RT Book Reviews Gives SASHA 1 a Great Review!!
So so SO over the moon about this review from the esteemed Romantic Times.
“The storyline is unique, the interaction between the emotionally complex protagonists is compelling, and the dash of suspense adds to the fast pace.”
I am so happy that people – both readers and editorial reviewers alike – are liking the Sasha duet. Honestly, Fever veered a bit toward women’s fiction, but I feel that writing from the man’s perspective forced me to focus on the romance more. I now feel like a proper romance author. In the future, I will definitely write more from the hero’s perspective. It’s actually quite fun!
October 30, 2016
SASHA Book Two is Up for Pre-Order, Only 99 Cents Till 11/16!
Hey Everyone!
SASHA Book Two is now up for pre-order at a special price of only 99 cents. It will go up on its release date, November 16.
If anyone wants an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review before its release date, please fill out this form, if you haven’t already.
Thank you and happy reading!
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October 20, 2016
SASHA is Currently FREE!
Hey Everyone!
Just a heads up that SASHA, Book One will be FREE on Amazon from October 20-25. So, if you – or a friend – haven’t downloaded yet, now is the time! It will go back up to $2.99 on October 26th.
Also, SASHA just got an excellent review in InD’tale Magazine!
“‘Sasha’ is an excellent read, and one that will entice readers to read more of Ms. Plank’s books and eagerly await the next installment of Sasha and Rory’s story.”
I’m so psyched because I’m a big fan of this journal, and their annual late-summer California conference, and because I know what hard-asses they are with their star system 
So, a getting a four-star review there really means a lot to me.
I’ve finished SASHA, Book Two, the final installment of this duet, and will have it up for pre-order shortly. Its release date is November 21st. If you want an ARC in exchange for an honest review, here is the sign up form.
Thank you so much for your support, you guys!
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July 17, 2016
ExploreDance Kickstarter Campaign!
Hey everyone,
ExploreDance.com has a new Kickstarter campaign to help with costs of running the magazine and paying writers. This is an excellent online magazine, and it’s one I used to write for, and hope to contribute to again What makes it so wonderful is that it covers all kinds of dance anywhere in the world (where there are reviewers of course!) It doesn’t discriminate against or favor any kind of dance. They let me review ballet performance in New York, big ballroom dance competitions in England and Florida, and small studio-run dance showcases. I even reviewed some ballroom dance classes. They cover anything and everything dance related. But they need help to continue running the magazine.
So if you want to support good, critical writing about this most important and amazing dance form, please consider making a small contribution!
July 12, 2016
I Have a Short Story in the Romance Anthology SUMMER SIZZLE!
Hey everyone,
I am super honored to have a short story included in the new anthology, SUMMER SIZZLE, put out by the Los Angeles Romance Authors chapter of RWA. My story is called “Lead Me” and is set in a ballroom dance studio. Of course!
There are lots of great romance authors in the collection as well, including best-sellers Samanthe Beck, Charlene Sands, Lynne Marshall and Roz Lee, and some newer but really good authors like Mia Hopkins, Claire Davon, Ophelia Bell, Beverly Diehl, Kara Winters, Karen Ehrenberg, Shelby Ellis, etc. etc. etc. There are all subgenres of romance. There’s a story involving a dog — and I am always a sucker for stories with animals 
June 9, 2016
SASHA Has Arrived!
Hey Everyone!
I am super excited to announce that Sasha, Book One is now available for pre-order and will release on June 14th! Sasha tells the Fever story but from Sasha’s mad hot Russian dancer perspective! The Sasha subseries will be a duet, so it will conclude with Sasha, Book Two, which will be out soon.
Here is the blurb:
From the moment I saw her, I knew we were destined to be together. Both on and off the dance floor. I was second-place World Latin ballroom champion. I just needed the right partner. And with her passion, her immense talent, and her beautiful, sweet soul, I knew Rory was the one. But she was also a ghost of someone I’d lost back in Russia, and missed dearly. And she had her own demons, I soon realized. We were two halves in desperate need of completion. Before we could rise to the top, we had to heal each other.
If you would like a FREE advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review, and you have a kindle for me to send it to, please fill out this form.
As always, thank you so much for your support, everyone! And happy reading
March 19, 2016
SoCal Romance Writers at LA Times Festival of Books!
Hey everyone,
If you’re in LA or will be on April 9th and 10th, the Southern California chapters of Romance Writers of America will have a booth at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books
March 5, 2016
THE RIPPED BODICE Bookstore Opens in LA!
Last night marked the grand opening of The Ripped Bodice, the first brick and mortar bookstore in the U.S. to sell exclusively romance novels! So of course a couple bookish friends and I went down to Culver City for the festivities.
It’s a really lovely space, right on Main Street, with a very cozy, female-centric vibe. It was founded by sisters Bea and Leah Koch, which they backed by their kickass Kickstarter campaign, through which they raised over $90k. I love their mission statement, which hangs on the wall right when you walk in:
The store is fairly large and beautifully designed with lots of cozy chairs and couches and reading nooks. There’s a nice little reading space in the back that has outlets where you can connect to mobile devices. They have sections devoted to every romance sub-genre (that I know of anyway), including sports romances, which was close to the food bar so I got a good look at that area! They also have some mainstream women’s fiction (like Jennifer Weiner) and literary novels. I saw some self-published books as well as books put out by big and small presses. They even had a Spanish language section. Lots of Sylvia Day, Eloisa James, Courtney Milan, Shayla Black, Tessa Dare, Kate Perry, Katy Evans, Tiffany Reisz, etc. etc. – too many authors to mention. And a whole table devoted to Nora
I didn’t see (but could have just missed; it was so crowded!) a section devoted to local authors. I just like those; they’re always the place I find authors new to me, like the wonderful Betty Webb, who I found at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale, AZ.
They had a large cardboard statue of Fabio at the front to greet people Here I am with him and my friend, writer Tiffany Current:
The founders have said they hope to have lots of signings and readings and book launch parties, as well as lectures and panel discussions centering on “issues currently at play in the genre.” And, they plan to have a book club and do screenings of romance-related TV shows and movies. All sounds fabulous to me! And they have seem to have a large enough place for all of that.
In addition to books, they have some artwork for sale, jewelry, demitasse teacups, tea towels, candles, picture frames, etc. But there are mostly books
Here are some more pics:
This evening, they’re having their first series of tea-time readings, by Tessa Dare, Rebekah Weatherspoon, and Francesca Lia Block, followed by jazz and champagne. Visit their website for more info.
Thank you to my fabulous friend, the literary publicist extraordinaire, Liz Donatelli, for inviting me Always so exciting when a new bookstore opens, right!
January 25, 2016
Giveaway!: GIRL THROUGH GLASS By Sari Wilson
If you’re a fan of ballet, or just a really good, well-told story with lots of suspense, you’ll love GIRL THROUGH GLASS. The novel
releases tomorrow, and you can enter a giveaway here (see bottom of post).
The novel goes back and forth between Mira, an eleven-year-old ballet student living in New York in the late 1970s, and Kate, a dance historian and college professor living in Ohio in the present day. It doesn’t take long to realize Kate and Mira are the same person, but the novel’s central mystery is the story of that transformation.
Mira is a ballet student whose love of the art form becomes all the more intense after her family life starts to unravel. Her hippy-esque mother runs off to California, and her father soon becomes involved with another, very plain woman who has little aesthetic sensibility and respect for dance, seeing ballet mainly as an eating disorder waiting to happen. Mira meets an older man named Maurice, a patron of New York City Ballet, who is crippled by polio. When Mira is accepted to the prestigious School of American Ballet, Maurice becomes her main support, as she navigates this hyper competitive world. Through hard work, raw talent, and advice from Maurice, who tells her she can’t achieve beauty without sacrifice, Mira becomes a favorite of George Balanchine (A Mr. B girl), and she’s cast in lots of coveted roles for young dancers, such as Marie in his Nutcracker. At one point, Mr. B even remarks that Mira reminds him of “Tanny” – Tanaquil Le Clercq, a star NYCB dancer, and partner of Balanchine, who was in her prime when she was tragically stricken with polio. This foreshadows Mira’s impending downfall.
When Kate receives a mysterious letter she is compelled to return to the New York of her childhood, to try to make amends with her past. I won’t say any more because I don’t want to give too much away, but it’s a really intense story about loss of self, broken dreams, recovery, and reinvention. I couldn’t put it down. And, for dance fans, it’s chock full of details about what it was like to live during the Balanchine era, by far the most exciting period in ballet history in this country. Mira’s story made me feel like I was there with her. And Kate’s narrative made me so sad for what she had lost but hopeful that she could find the same intense passion in her adult life that she had in her childhood. That’s the best kind of fiction in my opinion, when the reader begins to live the main character’s story.
The winner of the giveaway will receive a hardcover signed by Ms. Wilson, who is a former dancer from New York. It will ship directly from HarperCollins. To enter, just comment below, or on the post on my Facebook page. The winner will be announced next Monday, February 1, and I’ll collect the address then. Good luck!
