No Intermission

A passionate story of ambition versus the universal desire to be loved, A young aspiring ballerina from a sleepy town in the Pacific Northwest and an elegant dance master with a secret past, come together in post-WWII Europe. This well-researched historical fiction takes the reader backstage, hanging out with the Rolling Stones, and other celebrities of the '60s and to Cairo sitting next to the King of Jordan, the President of Egypt, and heads of state from the Arab world to Palm Beach Casino, Cannes on the French Rivera. Smuggling of Nazi-looted art masterpieces by Degas, Picasso, Pissarro, Van Gogh, seems to follow the multi-racial dance troupe everywhere they perform. Margaret Alice Dinsdale from North Oyster on Vancouver Island learns the truth of wartime devastation in Europe, anti-Semitism, unimaginable poverty, smuggling, and the not-so-glamourous life of a professional dancer. Funny, articulate, and partly based on a true story.

Mary Spilsbury Ross' life is a gala of dance, travel, art, and the written word. A graduate of the University of British Columbia (BA '63), No Intermission is her first historical mystery novel. During the 1960's she danced professionally through eleven countries in Europe and the Middle East before returning to Canada where she taught ballet, modern jazz dance, and turned to write. Her first publication, an international cookbook titled Frugal Feasts (Doubleday Canada) became an instant bestseller and led to a newspaper column, "A Matter of Taste" (Black Press Ltd.) that she penned for five years. No Intermission was inspired by her theatrical career, and the love of fine art and years of family travel. Mary Spilsbury Ross lives on Vancouver Island, in British Columbia.