Dance, Dance, and Write by Chelsey M. Ortega

MUSE MONDAY

I love to dance, but I don't have the talent my guest, Chelsey M. Ortega, has. Enjoy her delightful post today on Discover... for Muse Monday.

Nothing opened up the U.S. to ballroom dance like “Dancing with the Stars”. But in my corner of the world, Utah County, ballroom had been popular years before; and popular at Brigham Young University decades before. And with such a long history, it’s not surprising that a handful of DWTS pros every season hail from Utah County; including one of the judges and co-hosts. 

My mom danced through the BYU ballroom program in the ‘80s, and my dad provided the sound system for a local high school’s ballroom concerts in the ‘90s and early 2000s. So, with that as my background, I wanted to be a ballroom dancer. 

My mom signed me up for my first class when I was eleven. My teacher was a lady in our neighborhood who had refurbished her garage into a small dance studio. After a year with her I went on to another studio owned by my dad’s friends. After a year there, I entered secondary school, where ballroom classes and performance teams were offered as elective classes. I spent 7th-12th grade taking technique classes through my school and performing and competing on the school teams. I danced for two years in college, and then chose to focus on starting my family and finishing my academic degree. 

I was good enough to make the teams, but I wasn’t the best dancer on the team. Trying to keep up with
the girls who did have natural raw talent taught me hard work and dedication. Most of my time I started out as an alternate and worked my way onto the team and competition routines. And my Senior year in high school, I made all three competition routines the first time, without needing to start as an alternate. It felt good to earn those spots; and the years of never giving up have bled over into my writing career as I took rejection after rejection, and worked on my writing craft before The Wild Rose Press said yes.  

Today, a little over ten years after I stopped dancing, ballroom dance is still something that I cherish. I cheer on teammates who turned dance into their career, religiously watch DWTS, and dance in my kitchen while I’m cooking and cleaning. Latin is my favorite style: Cha Cha, Samba, Rhumba, Paso Doble, and Jive. With my very favorite Latin dance being the Samba. I discovered my Senior year that I also had a talent for American Smooth: Waltz, Tango, Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz; with Viennese Waltz being my favorite -though based on the judges scores, Waltz was my best dance of the four. 

Since dance is no longer a huge part of my current life, I have chosen to live vicariously through my fictional characters. When I was creating Annamaria’s social life, I put her on her high school dance team. But since I placed her in a tiny fictional town in Wyoming, the chances of it being realistic for a ballroom team to be at her high school were slim; so she is on a dance company which covers jazz, contemporary, lyrical, and hip hop. Later on in the story, Annamaria meets two professional ballroom dancers… who are also vampires. The three become good friends, and Annamaria joins their online dancing channel. 

These scenes were some of my favorites to write. I chose the type of dance, picked a song with lyrics that matched the planned message, and choreographed it in my mind. Then, I had to sit down and write it in a way that the reader would be able to see what I saw. And I would like to share with you the Viennese Waltz: 

The first routine was a Viennese waltz. They told the story of a man and woman meeting and falling in love. Tyler and Annamaria portrayed a couple starting off as shy, then blossom into comfortable and loving. The entire process had been so fun, like swaying through clouds. 

The TV showed the preview screenshot of Annamaria with her right arm around Tyler’s neck, the left trailing behind her with her left foot popped. Tyler’s right arm was around her waist, his left trailing behind him. Both leaned away from each other in a frozen twirl. 

The music started, and Annamaria danced into view. Tyler danced in from the opposite direction and the duet began. They spun and swayed, Annamaria’s light blue dress swirling around her, the rhinestones catching the light. For the last verse of the song, Annamaria completed a seamless onstage costume change by using magic to replace her blue dress to a flowing white gown. Their human audience would think it was just superb editing. 

BONDWITCH

Eighteen-year-old Annamaria Lyons has never left her small hometown of Harrison, Wyoming. She has lived with her aunt, Trinity, since her parents died when she was two years old. Trinity has been a wonderful guardian with one exception—she won’t allow Annamaria out of the house after sunset. That is, until the night of senior prom. Annamaria's long-lost sister arrives, bringing with her a world full of hidden family secrets and the supernatural. 

Forced to flee her childhood home without a proper goodbye to her human life and first love, Annamaria immerses herself in the magical world. New friends and a new suitor challenge her original dreams for the future, and when she finds herself caught in the middle of a centuries-old conflict, Annamaria must decide to rise above it or give in to the darkness. 

Bondwitch can be purchased here:

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/Bondwitch-Chelsey-M-Ortega-ebook/dp/B0CF6H8NYC?ref_=ast_author_mpb

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1143894193?ean=9781509251940

Bio:

Chelsey M. Ortega is a teacher by day and award-winning author by night. History is her first love, and any story involving magic and romance, her second love. She especially loves witches and is still awaiting her acceptance letter to a well-known school. Chelsey received her Bachelor's in History Teaching from Brigham Young University. In addition to writing, Chelsey teaches high school U.S. History and ELD. She lives in Utah with her husband, three children, and two cats. Follow Chelsey at www.chelseymortega.com.