After the Music Stops, What Do you Do?

[Now that When the Music Stops-Dance On is available in bookstores everywhere (hooray!!!), I thought you’d enjoy reading a typical press release.]

Edmonds, WA – September— How does a dancer who’s spent her entire young life training to dance and perform, step away from the choreography, the costumes, the music, and the bright lights?

Award-winning author Paddy Eger says, “Most dancers do not make that transition easily. Marta Selbryth is no exception.” In When the Music Stops— Dance On, book two of her YA trilogy, Eger addresses Marta’s roller coaster of emotions as her career faces steep challenges. “Her life becomes muddled; she loses the physical, mental and emotional tenacity that propelled her into dancing professionally.”

The problem of what happens after a professional career in ballet, mirrors what happens to others, especially athletes, when they are no longer able to perform at a level that keeps them ‘in the game’. Most began to focus on their careers before graduating from high school. Many never attend college or trade schools to pursue other interests, leaving them without direction. It takes a guiding hand, a mentor, to help them find their way toward a new career. Eger says, “In When the Music Stops-Dance On, Marta is fortunate to have family and other supporters helping her. At eighteen, most people are beginning or looking at careers. Marta’s was disrupted, leaving her young and directionless.”
Eger’s first book, 84 Ribbons, received several honors including a Moonbeam award for excellence in children’s books and inclusion as a featured book in the ForeWord Review Foresight article. Book two reviews continue to praise the story. S. Stiles says “I loved this sequel to 84 Ribbons. … and would recommend it to those who love the world of dance or love to read about the world of dance.” Reviewer Trish says, “Overall this was an enjoyable follow up book and I really enjoyed discovering what happened for Marta after the music stopped.”

Marta’s story in When the Music Stops —Dance On ($16.95, 272 pages, trade paper, ISBN 987-0-9858933-7-8 published by Tendril Press) is now available through fine bookstores across the United States and online.

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