Welcome to my stop on
the Super Book Blast for Phantom and Demon: The Dark
Musical Series by Laura DeLuca.
Please leave a comment or question for Laura below to let her know you
stopped by. Laura will be awarding to a
US Only Winner: a signed copy of Phantom with original cover, crystal geode,
rough crystal point, stone pendant, sterling silver pentacle pendant, mini
Buddha figurine, smudge stick with abalone shell, 2 Gothic style key chains,
incense set with leaf holder and lavender purification bath salts to a randomly
drawn commenter during the tour. You can
follow Laura’s tour here, the more often you
comment, the better your odds of winning.
Phantom
by Laura DeLuca
Dark Musicals, Book
1
Description:
The
“Phantom” was a musical phenomenon that Rebecca had always found enchanting.
She had no idea that her life was about to mirror the play that was her
obsession. When her high school drama club chooses “Phantom” as their annual
production, Rebecca finds herself in the middle of an unlikely love triangle
and the target of a sadistic stalker who uses the lines from the play as their
calling card.
Rebecca
lands the lead role of Christine, the opera diva, and like her character, she
is torn between her two co-stars—Tom the surfer and basketball star who plays
the lovable hero, and Justyn, the strangely appealing Goth who is more than
realistic in the role of the tortured artist.
Almost
immediately after casting, strange things start to happen both on and off the
stage. Curtains fall. Mirrors are shattered. People are hurt in true phantom
style. They all seem like accidents until Rebecca receives notes and phone
calls that hint at something more sinister. Is Justyn bringing to life the
twisted character of the phantom? Or in real life are the roles of the hero and
the villain reversed? Rebecca doesn’t know who to trust, but she knows she’s
running out of time as she gets closer and closer to opening night. Only when
the mask is stripped away, will the twenty first century phantom finally be
revealed.
Excerpt
The
orchestra tuned for its virtuoso, and Justyn stood ready. But no one else was
ready for the magical performance he began. Beside her, Carmen was rambling on
about something mundane. Rebecca elbowed her to silence so she could listen to
the perfectly thrilling tenor. As she listened to the song unfold, the world
around her started to slip away. Gone was the high school auditorium. Gone were
the rowdy teenagers. The Gothic stranger on the stage had become the embodiment
of Erik, and Rebecca watched him in all his dark glory, belting out his
tormented love through the words of his song. And she was as breathless with
wonder as Christine herself must have been when the masked stranger serenaded
her in the candlelit labyrinth of the opera house. In that moment, Justyn
wasn’t just portraying the phantom. Justyn was the phantom.
“Let the music touch
your soul.
Let the darkness make
you whole.
Do not fear what is
unknown.
Your true path has now
been shown.
Listen to the words I
sing.
Embrace the peace that
night will bring.”
As
he continued to sing in his deep but somehow angelic voice, Rebecca found that
she couldn’t tear her eyes away from him. With every line, her heart began to
beat faster. She truly felt the arms of
night wrapping her in a warm embrace. She could almost feel the hands of the
phantom glide along her body as the words poured forth. The music caressed her.
It possessed her—mind, body and soul. Each word left her longing, yearning for
more.
She
was gawking so obviously, it was hardly surprising when Justyn felt her eyes on
him and steadily met her gaze. She realized her mouth was hanging open in
stunned awe, and she quickly snapped it shut. His lips moved into just a small
hint of a smile. He never took his eyes off her while he sang the final verse,
making her cheeks flush to the point that she felt almost feverish. But it
wasn’t embarrassment but excitement, arousal even, which was sending her mind
spinning in so many directions.
When
the song was over, and Rebecca had recovered just a hint of her composure, she
couldn’t help but burst into a healthy round of applause. A few scattered
people joined in, including Debbie and Carmen after she nudged them in the
ribs. But only Miss King seemed to truly appreciate the brilliance of his
talent as much as Rebecca did.
“That
was amazing, Justyn!” the teacher gushed.
“Lord Justyn,” he corrected as he stepped down
from the stage.
A few others complimented him as well, but he
took in all in stride. In fact, his serious expression never faltered as he
stepped down from the stage. He seemed almost bored, like it was all he could
do to hold back a yawn, despite the smiles and words of encouragement.
But
not everyone in the crowd was pleased as Justyn glided down the aisle, so
ethereal in his dark garments that he still resonated the spirit of the Opera Ghost.
Miss King might have been excited about the newest male addition to her cast
after being limited for many years, but Tom and his group of boisterous
companions glared at him as he passed them by.
Jay sneered and tossed a balled up piece of paper in Justyn’s direction,
but the Goth was quick, and caught it in his hand without missing a beat.
“I
think you dropped something,” he said.
His
speaking voice was no less melodic than his singing voice, but something about
his tone made Rebecca shiver. He tossed the paper back at Jay, who was nowhere
near as coordinated as Justyn. He practically fell off his seat in his efforts
to catch it.
“Hey
vampire,” Tom called when Justyn went to walk away. “Are you sure you can
handle the competition?”
Justyn
smiled, a cool, sarcastic half-smile, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Are
you?”
Miss
King didn’t notice the short confrontation, and Justyn vanished from the
auditorium as quickly and mysteriously as he had appeared. Only Rebecca had
noticed the very real tension between the two boys. She wondered if it was a
bad omen for them to start off the production with hard feelings and envy. That
could only lead to trouble. The kind of trouble that could end with someone
getting hurt. The kind of trouble that
Rebecca would do whatever it took to avoid.
Buy Links
Demon
by Laura DeLuca
Dark Musical Series, Book 2
Description:
When
Justyn and Rebecca set off for the New York School of Performing Arts, they
think their dreams are about to come true. To their dismay, they aren’t in high
school anymore, and the competition is steep. Rebecca must compete against
accomplished singers for a role in the production of Demon Barber, including a
stunning Gothic diva with her sights set on Justyn
It
doesn't help that things keep disappearing from their apartment or that
Rebecca's father refuses to accept that Justyn is an essential part of her
life. Yet, all this seems minimal in comparison to the serial rapist
terrorizing the campus.
Consumed
by fear and obsessed with revenge, Rebecca and Justyn start living the story of
Sweeney Todd—both on and off the stage.
Excerpt
“What
the hell are you looking at?” Livy demanded.
At
first Rebecca just ignored her hostility. She walked back to her cubbyhole and
opened it to stowaway her bags until practice was over. She was going to forget
the whole stupid idea and just walk away. But Livy was still standing there,
leaning against the lockers, looking just as sad as she did angry. Rebecca
couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. She was reminded of how horribly everyone
had treated Justyn during the production of Phantom and thought perhaps Livy
was just as misunderstood.
“Livy,”
she started, “can we talk for a minute?”
The
Goth just gave her a dirty look. “I don’t know what we could possibly have to
say to each other.”
“I
just wanted to apologize about what happened at the party,” Rebecca spoke with
as much sincerity as she could muster. “No matter how we feel about each other,
I never meant to … to embarrass you the way I did.”
Rebecca
had never seen the cliché of flashing eyes come to life like it did at that
moment. “Don’t you dare!” Livy spat. “Don’t you dare pity me!”
“That’s
not what I meant,” Rebecca tried to explain, though she knew she was fighting a
losing battle. “I just regret—”
“Do
you want to know what I regret?” Livy interrupted and actually shoved Rebecca
against her locker. “I regret not ripping every strand of hair out of that
pretty little head of yours when I had the chance. This isn’t high school,
Becca! We aren’t going to be friends. And I’m not going to stop until Justyn is
mine and you run back to New Jersey with your tail between your legs. Is that
clear enough for you, deary? Don’t try to make nice with me again.”
Livy
stomped away, and Rebecca just stood there, feeling shocked and a little stung.
She couldn’t believe how vicious Livy could be. So much for olive branches.
Instead of trying to hand her one, Rebecca should have shoved it straight up
her….
“Wow.”
Frankie came up beside her, shaking his head. “It’s girls like that who give
PMS a bad rep. I seriously think the next play she should star in is the Taming
of the Shrew.”
“There’s
no taming that one,” Rebecca replied, still shaking her head.
Buy Links
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Laura
“Luna” DeLuca lives at the beautiful Jersey shore with her husband and four
children. She loves writing in the young adult genre because it keeps her young
at heart. In addition to writing
fiction, Laura is also the editor of a popular review blog called New Age Mama.
She is an active member of her local pagan community, and has been studying
Wicca for close to eight years. Her
current works include Destiny, Destiny Unveiled, Phantom, Morrigan, Player, and
Demon.
Social
Media Links:
http://authorlauradeluca.blogspot.com
www.twitter.com/authorldeluca
www.facebook.com/authorlauradeluca
http://pinterest.com/authorldeluca/
http://www.goodreads.com/authorlauradeluca
These look interesting.
ReplyDeleteFun excerpts.
ReplyDeleteFun covers and wonderful excerpts.
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Thank you for hosting
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