Welcome to Day #4 of the Spin The Sky Blog Tour!
To celebrate the release of Spin the Sky by Jill MacKenzie (11/1/16), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Jill and 5 chances to win a copy of Spin the Sky, as well as a chance to win a Live 2 Dance Prize Pack in the Grand Prize Giveaway!
Judges Panel
by Jill MacKenzie
You know what I love about this question? It’s something I’ve never really considered before. Sure, I’ve thought about actors playing my judges in the same way I’ve imagined who’d play my main characters like Magnolia and George.
But have you considered who would be Elliot, Astrid and Gia if we were to put all actors aside here? It’s a lot harder to imagine, isn’t it? But, in a way, it’s more fun, too.
So, it’s almost election time here in the USA. Spin the Sky debuts only a little over a week before America decides whom the next President will be. At the moment, it seems as though we can’t turn on the television or radio without hearing something about the pending debates and future of this country, am I right? Doesn’t it feel a little consuming, almost in the way Mags becomes consumed with the constant media attention, the cameras following her every move?
The way Mags and Olivia describe the competition as a “life and death” situation got me thinking a little bit about the election and how it feels, at the moment, as if it were a life and death situation, too. At the end of my book, most of the characters realize that the competition isn’t everything, but rather a mere moment, a blip in time that they’ll remember later—maybe even remember forever—but won’t remember like this.
Sort of like all this election business. More than ever, this election feels like the most dire, most incredible, most important election we’ve ever faced. Yet every election in the history of time has been meaningful. Perhaps we’ll realize at the end of this cycle that our feelings here, currently so impassioned and strong no matter which political party you favor, are just that: momentary. Fleeting. Here today and lessened tomorrow.
So wouldn’t it be fun if, just for the duration of the 300 pages of my book, those same presidential candidates could instead be the judges for Live to Dance? Wouldn’t it be slightly awesome to see Clinton and Trump duke it out in the dance arena instead of the political one? If so, who would act as the third judge? Anderson Cooper? Michael Moore? Ken Bone? I sort of like the idea of both Trump and Clinton weighing in on George’s slip. Think of how Trump would react. Think of how Clinton would counter act. Think of how a third judge—non partisan of course—would attempt to diffuse the heated debate between them.
Moving away from current politics, what would it be like if other prominent historical figures played Gia, Elliot, Astrid and Camilla? I can totally see Mother Theresa replacing Astrid, her want to make all the contestants feel worthy and cherished. And what about Nelson Mandela? Can’t you picture him as Elliot Townsend? Can’t you just see every person in the room hanging on his words because you just know that, no matter what he says, it’s going to be prolific and awesome? Or how about Madonna as Camilla Skye? I know I said no actors, but Madonna doesn’t really count as an actor, does she? Or how about Malala Yousafazi? How would the story change if someone like Malala—with her background in feminist activism—were Camilla Skye instead of Camilla?
Of course, I made each character who they are to fit the purpose of the story, but it is fun to imagine the direction this story might have taken if each judge were a little more—or even less—scrupulous. I’d love to hear from you on it! Who would you have play my host and judges if you could re-design them?
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Stop by Crossroad Reviews tomorrow for the last day of the tour!
Blog Tour Schedule:
October 31st – A Dream Within a Dream
November 1st – Positively Book Crazy
November 2nd – Tales of the Ravenous Reader
November 3rd – Live to Read
November 4th – Crossroad Reviews
Magnolia Woodson wants nothing more than to get her and her sister, Rose, out of the pitifully small, clamming-obsessed Oregon town that hates them—she just doesn’t know how. Forced to put up with the snide comments and hateful looks the townspeople throw at them, Mags thinks she’s destined to pay for the horrible, awful thing her mom did—and that she’s left her and Rose to deal with—until the day she dies. But when a nationwide televised dance competition posts tryouts in nearby Portland, Mags’s best friend, George, says they have to go and audition. Not only have they spent the past fourteen years of their lives dancing side-by-side, dreaming of a day just like this, but also it could be Mags’s chance of a lifetime—a chance to win the grand-prize money and get her and Rose out of Summerland, a chance to do the thing she loves most with everyone watching, a chance to show the town that she’s not—and has never been—a “no-good Woodson girl,” like her mother. But will the competition prove too steep? And will Mags be able to retain her friendship with George as they go head-to-head in tryouts? Mags will have to learn that following her dreams may mean changing her life forever.
About the Author: Jill Mackenzie, a Vancouver native, is an ex-ballerina and contemporary dancer. Now working toward her MFA in creative writing at the University of British Columbia (UBC), Jill chasses between roles as part-time student, full-time mom, and always-writer. Though Jill no longer studies dance, she still tries to dance herself clean whenever she can. Currently she lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she spends her free time beach-bound with her husband and two beautiful daughters.
GRAND PRIZE GIVEAWAY
- One (1) winner will receive a Live 2 Dance Prize Pack featuring a Live 2 Dance necklace, signed copy of Spin the Sky, and Spin the Sky swag!
- Enter via the rafflecopter below
- US Only
- Ends 11/6 at midnight ET
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Magnolia and Rose sound like interesting characters. I can't wait to read this book!