Dancing for Your Life: The True Story of Maria de la Torre and the Secret World of Hong Kong Go-Go Bars

DANCING FOR YOUR LIFE chronicles the true story of a beautiful, young Filipina who, in order to help her family financially, leaves her home in the quiet Philippines countryside to work as a dancer in Hong Kong's red-light district of Wan Chai. This book will hold special appeal for readers interested in gaining a behind-the-scenes look at the workings of an Asian go-go bar and will serve as a companion guide for individuals interested in cultural studies, gender studies, or spirituality. It presents a rare first-person account that is thought provoking and controversial. Here is the “untold story” of faith, friendship, and sacrifice, but also of triumph and forgiveness.

Brandon Royal is an award-winning writer whose educational authorship includes The Little Red Writing Book, The Little Gold Grammar Book, The Little Green Math Book, and The Little Blue Reasoning Book, as well as the fictional works The Map Maker and Paradise Island. A Canadian by birth and graduate of the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business, his interest in writing began after completing fiction and scriptwriting courses at Harvard University. Since then he has authored a dozen books and reviews of his books have appeared in Time Asia magazine, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal of America, Midwest Book Review, The Asian Review of Books, Choice Reviews Online, Asia Times Online, and About.com. Brandon is a five-time winner of the International Book Awards, a five-time gold medalist at the President's Book Awards, as well as a winner of the Global eBook Awards, the USA Book News "Best Book Awards," and recipient of the 2011 "Educational Book of the Year" award as presented by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta.

Paul Strahan is the author of several children's books including The Farm Girl and the Butterflies (Bronze Medal Winner - Moonbeam Book Awards), The Woodcutter Prince, and The Never-Ending Bag of Crisps, as well as the fiction novel Empty Playgrounds. After a globe-trotting career as a corporate executive for giants such as AIG, Philips, and Bank of America, Strahan now lives in Hong Kong where he spends his time revitalizing a long-held passion for creating works of fiction. An accomplished poet who describes himself as "a storyteller rather than a writer," he continues to draw inspiration from everyday life, as well as from a wealth of experience gained from working in technology and traveling the world.