The Art of Change
by Kelly Andria
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
BLURB:
Gallery owner Nellie, a giving yet neurotic
New Yorker, brings together a mismatched cast of characters in the opening of
Ryan Whittaker’s debut, a phallic show. Little does she know that she is setting
the scene for odd and unpredictable relationships, much like Shakespeare in
Midsummer Night’s Dream. The frenzied, magical mix-up is an outrageous farce
with a deep moral message: there is a RIGHT place for everyone in this world
and love and friendship cement us in it.
The
Art of Change is a funny, smooth reading romance, which deals with bridging
differences in gender, education, social milieu, in an insane but pragmatic,
modern fairytale, set in New York City .
The twists of the plot are written without an ounce of cynicism but simply
acknowledging that life is neither here nor there, neither black or white and
all can be dealt with in real friendship and love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpt :
Chapter
1
“Vai,
Pipino, a year ago, who would have thought we would be going to a ritzy art
show—that’s high society, top-shelf society, Pipino!”
Pino
Napoleon Castagnasis had been stacking his famous meatballs in his special
aluminum container, one by one. He paused, meatball in hand.
“As
caterers, Aurora ,
as caterers—hired help. Don’t you go filling your head with hot air. Mrs.
Nellie, she’s a lovely lady, but we got to get everythin’ right for this artist
guy—his big opening. He is the star!”
Pino
also secretly believed his meatballs were a work of art, so they had to be
presented like a work of art. He refused to pour them in from the big
pomegranate ceramic platter. Pino Napoleon—Pipino only to his wife—was
meticulous to say the least, though his looks did not give that away.
He
was a burly man with wavy dark hair, which always fell across his left eye. He
would rake it back with his long sinewy fingers. Without the dark hair, he
could have passed for a Scandinavian lumberjack. Instead, he looked more like a
windblown fishing boat, banged ashore in Astoria Queens, straight from the Liguria Sea
in the Mediterranean .
Content
with his carefully piled “neatballs,” he snapped the last corner of the
aluminum top closed with a smirk. The tablecloths were already in the van,
ironed and folded, side by side with the appetizers. They were all in their
individual shiny containers, coded by cover: yellow for the Dijon mustard–flavoured crackers, red for his
classic bell pepper spread.
“Where
are the light blue ones for our mini–spinade poofs? Come on, do not stick them
in your mouth—now of all times, my Aurora Horora!”
“I
am so in love wit dem! Warm, crunchy and puffy . . . just like when I see you
in your red silk undies, my puffy Pipinusko. I see dem and I become naughty,
horrible Horora, I know . . .”
Each
container bore the label INSTROCTIONS so that Aurora would get everything
right.
Pino
looked sideways at Aurora :
cobalt sequin clutch in her lap, she held up a little round mirror as she
applied her plum lipstick. Once again he admired her indifference in the midst
of his panic. Aurora
had the ability to block out the world when she enjoyed herself, which she did
regularly. She derived pleasure from mundane daily activities in an endearing
way—simple meals, a TV show, spoonfuls of peanut butter, applying her Pond’s
night cream, even ironing the pleats of his treasured chef’s hat.
All
substitutes in a life without sex, thought Pino. If they had little else
between them, at least they lived their parallel lives in relative harmony,
seeking comfort in the common habits they had acquired over the years—cooking,
catering jobs, Corsican festivals, tango lessons, and, of course, eating. Together
they could polish off four pints of homemade ice cream on top of orange
tartelettes or demolish the mini–square napoleons, prepared with Pino’s amazing
handmade puff pastry dough. Pino sighed at the memory.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
AUTHOR Bio and Links:
Kelly Andria is the pen name
of two very close friends who decided to write a story to make people laugh.
The two authors, although different in many ways and viewpoints, have a lot in
common. Both Greek Americans coming from conservative vibrant families, they
learned to speak and act as they believe. Fair but always kind. Their passion
for art, food and romance led them to become authors of a comedy that redefines
the “boy meets girl” norm. The wacky one
of the group knew that they had the stories in them. The other half quickly
became convinced as their quirky characters took shape and form and gained a
voice of their own.
Website: http://www.kellyandria.com/
Buy Links:
Amazon Kindle Edition: http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-of-Change-ebook/dp/B008PEXGQ8
Kelly will be awarding a $25.00 GC for either Barnes & Noble or Amazon, winner's choice, to a randomly drawn commenter during the tour. Be sure to check out the entire tour for more chances to win!
Thank you for hosting
ReplyDeleteI think you really have a hit on your hands. I am definately going to read this book.
ReplyDeleteI like the sounds of this one!
ReplyDeleteandralynn7 AT gmail DOT com
Thanks so much for posting! I'll drop back by later to answer any questions that might come up!
ReplyDeleteKelly
Intersting cover did you design it yourself?
ReplyDeleteJibriel.O at web dot de
Thanks for hosting!
ReplyDeleteKelly