I’m a self-confessed Strictly nut. I follow the stars and dancers on social media. I watch Tango on TikTok, gather dance intelligence on Instagram, follow the Foxtrot on Strictly’s Facebook feed and learn about the Paso Doble via podcast.
Not only have I never missed a show of Strictly in all of its years, but I’ve also watched every single episode of It Takes Two. Oh, and I listen to radio programmes and podcasts about it. In fact, if anything in the media mentions Strictly, I’m on to it, faster than a foxtrot. I think you might be starting to get the idea just how jangled up in jive and wrapped up in waltz I am about the show.
If I’m away from home when Strictly season starts, it’s a must that the hotel I’m staying at can get BBC, just in case my phone gives up. I’ve even watched the show in Spanish bars and on holiday in Lanzarote lounges. Did I already tell you that I never miss a show? Nothing and no-one comes between Strictly and me. Woe betide them if they did.
When the show ends each December, I’m bereft. The loss of my
favourite show after being intensely involved with it for months feels like
I’ve gone into mourning. If I had a glittery black arm band, I’d wear it while
I grieve.
And so, the last time the show ended, I had an idea.
What if I didn’t have to leave the Strictly bubble? What if it carried on in my imagination? What if I created my own dancing troupe who would dance to my tune?
That’s when my Strictly thoughts turned to crime.
During a harsh winter, writing a cosy crime inspired by my love of Strictly
Come Dancing seemed the perfect way to bring glitz, glamour and
glitterballs, colour and camp, sequins and spray tans into my life until
Strictly aired again.
However, I knew nothing about the world of dance. I began to research extensively. I read a mountain of books about ballroom and Latin dancing. I watched dancing DVDs. I even tried to learn (and failed at) dancing myself. I know now I’ve definitely got two left feet. I also spoke to dance teachers and dance students.
I visited Scarborough Spa and watched amateur dancers take to the floor. Some were hesitant, others enthusiastic, but all of them shared a love of dance.
Best of all, I spent a few glorious days inside Blackpool’s Tower Ballroom watching dancers from all over the world. While in Blackpool for research, the weather outside was grey, wet and cold, but inside the Tower Ballroom was a different world. There was a live orchestra, pretty lighting, colourful dresses, beautiful women and handsome men. I soaked up the atmosphere, closed my eyes and swayed to the music, then made as many notes as I could to capture my mood and the way dancing made me feel. All of this helped fuel the dancing atmosphere in the book.
My novel became Deadly Dancing at the Seaview Hotel. In it, I invented a quirky troupe of ballroom dancers including Tommy Two-Shoes and Ballroom Bev who bring the glamorous world of ballroom dancing to the seaside town of Scarborough.
However, beneath the glitter balls and sequins, there's bitter rivalry between the dancers - both on and off the dance floor - and the dancing turns deadly when one of them is murdered.
Seaside landlady Helen Dexter's Seaview Hotel plays host to the dance troupe when the murder takes place. Aided by her rescue greyhound Suki and the Seaview Hotel cook Jean (a no-nonsense Yorkshire woman you don't want to mess with!), Helen steps out and puts her best foot forward, but can she solve the crime?
As Tess and Claudia might say, if you want to find out. K-e-e-e-e-p Reading!
Glenda Young’s cosy crime series was shortlisted for Best New Crime Series with Richard Osman and Val McDermid in the Dead Good Reader’s Awards at Harrogate Crime Festival 2022.
Glenda’s website: http://glendayoungbooks.com
Deadly Dancing at the Seaview Hotel is published by Headline in hardback, ebook and audiobook on September 11and in paperback on December 4. http://bit.ly/DeadlyDancing
__Glenda Young
X: @Flaming_Nora
BlueSky: @Glenda Young
Facebook: GlendaYoungAuthor
Website: GlendaYoungBooks.com
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