Wednesday, October 31, 2012

My review and Interview with Johnny Ray on his new book: The Salsa Connection

I am pleased to announce another great book of well known

Author Johnny Ray 

Winner of the Royal Palm Literary Award for Best 

Romantic Thriller in 2012




Title: THE SALSA CONNECTION—AN INTERNATIONAL ROMANTIC THRILLER 
Author: Johnny Ray
Length: 93,000 word 
Awards: Royal Palm Literary Award for best thriller. 
Published by: SIR JOHN PUBLISHING
Available at: Amazon  
The story moves from the salsa clubs of St. Petersburg, Russia to New York to Louisiana and, finally, to Italy. The red-hot thread of the dance runs through a novel that explores the Russian mob, slavery and prostitution rings, and the art world, as well as love, loss, revenge and the strength of family ties.

Blurb: When Nickolay Panov left St Petersburg, Russia to go to New York City for an international ballet competition 25 years ago, he was considered one of the best ballet dancers in Russia.  The Americans say he was murdered. The Russians say he defected.  In any case, he never returned. Just before Nickolay disappeared, several priceless paintings and icons from a major museum were stolen.  While he was accused of the theft, no solid proof has ever been offered to tie him to it. However, evidence shows that the stolen goods were shipped to America. The CIA and the Russian Government are still pursuing all leads connected to the heist, and so is the Russian mafia.Sveta was three years old when her father disappeared, so it’s a shock when, in the mail, she receives an invitation to a salsa dance competition in New York. At the bottom of the invitation is a note: “Please come to the competition and enter, my little lady.”  No one but her father has ever called her that. Why has her father surfaced after all these years? Sveta wants answers, even if it means entering the late-night, sultry world of salsa dancing in St Petersburg and New York City and coming into uncomfortably close contact with the Russian mob.

Author's Interview:

1.       Where did the idea come from for the book? 
My Wife is Russian and it was easy to use experiences I had in getting her to the United States. I have also danced salsa for my entire life.
2.       What genre does your book fall under? 
It is a mixture of suspense, mystery, romance and a family saga. The romance will sneak up on you and you will not realize it until you finish the book.
3.       Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie rendition?
Jennifer Lawrence would be good as Sevta, and perhaps Zac Efron as Danny, Also Jane Seymour for Seveta’s mom, and if he was still alive Patrick Swayze as her father.
4.       What is the one-sentence synopsis of your book? 
The red-hot thread of the salsa dance runs through this novel that explores the Russian mob, slavery and prostitution rings, and the art world, as well as love, loss, revenge and the strength of family ties.
 5.       Will your book be self-published or represented by an agency?
I will go through my own publishing company SIR JOHN PUBLISHING
6.       How long did it take you to write the first draft of your manuscript? 
The first draft was about 6 months, but I have worked on it for over 6 years since then.
7.       What other books would you compare this story to within your genre?
 This is an interesting question and I read a lot, I can’t think of one close to this.
8.       Who or What inspired you to write this book? 
My wife who was born in Russia and my love of dancing salsa.
9. What else about your book might pique the reader’s interest?
 When Nickolay Panov left St Petersburg, Russia to go to New York City for an international ballet competition 25 years ago, he was considered one of the best ballet dancers in Russia.  The Americans say he was murdered. The Russians say he defected.  In any case, he never returned. Just before Nickolay disappeared, several priceless paintings and icons from a major museum were stolen.  While he was accused of the theft, no solid proof has ever been offered to tie him to it. However, evidence shows that the stolen goods were shipped to America. The CIA and the Russian Government are still pursuing all leads connected to the heist, and so is the Russian mafia. Sveta was three years old when her father disappeared, so it’s a shock when, in the mail, she receives an invitation to a salsa dance competition in New York. At the bottom of the invitation is a note: “Please come to the competition and enter, my little lady.”  No one but her father has ever called her that. Why has her father surfaced after all these years? Sveta wants answers, even if it means entering the late-night, sultry world of salsa dancing in St Petersburg and New York City and coming into uncomfortably close contact with the Russian mob. She never expected to find the love of her life along the way.

About the author

JOHNNY RAY
AUTHOR OF THE ROMANTIC THRILLERS

Johnny Ray is an award winning novelist who won the Royal Palm literary award for best thriller and is quickly making a name for himself as the master of the romantic thriller. 
He loves social interaction with his readers and can be found on
He can also reach by e-mailing him at sirjohn@wwisp.com,
or you can just follow him on his blog at www.sirjohn.us
for updates and future releases.

                Johnny Ray’s previous works include:

THE REJECTION LETTER
Published by Sir John Publishing in 2011

THE HERITAGE
Published by Sir John Publishing in 2011

MODELS AND LOVERS
Published by Sir John Publishing in 2012

HER HONOR’S BODYGUARD
Published by Sir John Publishing in 2012

FOR LOVE AND VENGEANCE
Published by Sir John Publishing in 2012

                           More information on these can be found on his kindle author page

My 5 Star review

The first thing you notice when you start to read this new book of the author is his love of Salsa dancing. His in depth look at this exotic and very sensual dance that brought all the characters of the story together in New York City.
We are taken from St. Petersburg in Russia to New York in USA to Tuscany, Italy visiting the night life and introduced to the beautiful dance and the training to make this a beautiful and sensual dance. 
The suspense building as Sveta learns that her father after twenty-five years is still alive. The strong willed woman made decisions to follow every lead with what she has. Joining a exhausting training schedule to learn all she can to get to America. On her journey we met her good friend Olya, Denis, Andrew, Danny, her boss and her mother. The mafia follows her trail and people started to get murdered. Doors open up to make her dream come true and she embarked on a adventure of a life time.
Danny was a wonderful young man that had all the best attentions and lead her further on her quest. His willingness to help and making sure she was safe as a true gentleman should do. A man of his word.
Secrets unraveled as you get closer to the end. Interesting and well written plot right through the end.
I really enjoyed this book with all its interesting twists to keep you wondering if she would find what she was looking for while capturing the man' heart as her own.
Once again a very good book I can recommend to all suspense readers with a touch of romance on the side. Traveling the world and learning to appreciate the passion filled dance of Salsa.

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