Interview: The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz

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Welcome to my stop on THE MIDNIGHT DANCE by Nikki Katz blog tour hosted by Xpresso Reads! I am really excited to share Nikki’s responses to my interview questions with you. This book is one that I am highly anticipating and I think the whole dance concept is amazing.

Title: The Midnight Dance
Author: Nikki Katz
Publisher: Swoon Reads
Publication Date: October 17, 2017

Summary (from Goodreads):

When the music stops, the dance begins.

Seventeen-year-old Penny is a lead dancer at the Grande Teatro, a finishing school where she and eleven other young women are training to become the finest ballerinas in Italy. Tucked deep into the woods, the school is overseen by the mysterious and handsome young Master who keeps the girls ensconced in the estate – and in the only life Penny has never known.

But when flashes of memories, memories of a life very different from the one she thinks she’s been leading, start to appear, Penny begins to question the Grand Teatro and the motivations of the Master. With a kind and attractive kitchen boy, Cricket, at her side, Penny vows to escape the confines of her school and the strict rules that dictate every step she takes. But at every turn, the Master finds a way to stop her, and Penny must find a way to escape the school and uncover the secrets of her past before it’s too late.

Interview: The Midnight Dance Author, Nikki Katz

CC: The Midnight Dance sounds like a thrilling story! What was your inspiration for the theme?

NK: A commercial actually!! I was halfway through writing a different novel (which I hope to publish one day) when I got the idea for The Midnight Dance. The TV was on upstairs and a commercial came on. I wish I could remember which commercial but it was over five years ago and I don’t! Somehow the idea of Pinocchio and live puppets popped into my head. I really loved the idea of writing about a girl who had to find herself after she realizes her thoughts aren’t her own. I knew I had to write that book and I drafted the project in less than two months.

CC: What has been the most surprising aspect about your journey to becoming a published author?

N.K.: Selling this novel was certainly a surprise. I had rewritten the novel nearly from scratch to land my agent, who was then unable to sell it. We parted ways and I attempted to get a new agent, but many didn’t want to take it on because of the limited publishers left to take the novel to. I put it up on Swoon Reads as a way to let readers have access to the novel because I was proud of it, but never thought the imprint would choose the novel because it wasn’t really a romance! I was shocked when they chose it the very first time I submitted.

CC: Are there any authors that have inspired your writing?

N.K.: J.K. Rowling has been an inspiration in terms of her path to publication, her world and character building, and her insane ability to weave storylines together over the course of a series. There are also a wealth of young adult authors who inspired, and continue to inspire, me. The community is pretty close knit and everyone is supportive and encouraging.

C.C.: What is the most interesting discovery you have made while researching The Midnight Dance?

N.K.: I had to do a lot of historical research and one of the most interesting elements was checking the date certain words were first used. For instance (per Merriam-Webster) spotlight wasn’t used until 1904. I had to change the word spotlight to limelight, which is similar in definition and first used in 1826!

C.C.: Describe The Midnight Dance in 3 words.

N.K.: gothic, historical, retelling

Thanks so much for your wonderful responses, Nikki!