Phantom by Laura DeLuca Blog Tour Guest Post

Synopsis:
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.

Guest Post:
What are the differences/similarities between your High School setting in Phantom and your actual High School experience? Did you draw some from your High School experiences for this book?

It’s been almost twenty years since I was in high school, yet strangely enough, it still influences me a lot in my writing. Not only because I write young adult books, but because this is such an important time in life. A time when you begin to learn who you really are. I actually attended a Catholic high school, complete with blue cardigans and plaid skirts that came down to our knees. Aside from that, my school was very much like the high school in Phantom. Located at the Jersey Shore, my school was filled with boys that would have matched Tom’s physical description. Blue eyed, blonde haired surfers were a dime a dozen, and I dated my fair share of them, including one who was the star of all the drama club productions. He was my first love, and he was the inspiration for the character of Tom. But lucky for him, there was no handsome Goth around to give him competition.

The drama club is also something I had firsthand experience with, though my situation was the opposite of my heroine, Rebecca’s. I mention that she was hiding in the orchestra with her “mediocre violin ability” for the first three years of school. Then she comes out of the closet with her amazing singing voice. Well, I was in the orchestra and that was where I belonged. I could listen to a song once and play it completely by ear. So I was a savant violinist, where Rebecca had the miracle voice. I still play occasionally, but due to carpal tunnel, my fingers aren’t as dexterous as they once were.

I might not have been part of the actual cast, but even watching from the orchestra pit gave me a good understanding of how the stage works. I could sing along with all the songs, I knew all the lines, and I watched the rehearsals progress from awful to amazing in the course of just a few weeks as lines were learned, scenery was brought in, and finally dress rehearsals began. Most of my descriptions of rehearsals in Phantom were pulled from these distant memories. We never performed The Phantom of The Opera, but it was being a part of these high school performances that started off my love of the stage. I still go back with my own children every year to see by old alma mater perform their annual stage production. Of course I also make it a point to drop off a copy of each of my books to my favorite teachers. It might be twenty years later, but my high school and its drama club, will always hold a special place in my heart.

About the Author:

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 sole author 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.

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Tour Schedule:
10/1/2012 Girl Heart Books 
10/2/2012 Bookishly Devoted
10/3/2012 Bookworms Avenue
10/4/2012 Forget About TV Grab A Book 
10/5/2012 Project Read And Reviewed
10/6/2012 Crossroad Reviews
10/7/2012 Delphina Reads Too Much
10/8/2012 Bookish Whimsy
10/9/2012 AO Bibliosphere
10/10/2012 I Am A Reader Not A Writer
10/11/2012 Ginger Read Reviews
10/12/2012 Head Stuck In A Book
10/13/2012 The Cover (and Everything in Between)
10/14/2012 My Miscellaneous Book Shelf 
10/15/2012 Magic Immortals and being a good monster 
10/16/2012 **Qwerty**
10/17/2012 Young Adult Book Addict
10/18/2012 Student Spyglass
10/19/2012 Writers And Authors
10/20/2012 Reading Away The Days
10/21/2012 Simple Books 

10/22/2012 From The Bootheel Cotton Patch
10/23/2012 Book Nerds United 
10/24/2012 Read And Reviewed 
10/25/2012 The Book Hoard
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10/27/2012 Pink Kindle
10/28/2012 Realms Of An Open Mind 
10/29/2012 Becky’s Barmy Book Blog
10/30/2012 Book Breather 
10/31/2012 Bibliophiles Thoughts On Books