Category: new works
Saying Good-bye to Ballet (for now)
As I say my blog good-bye to ballet-influenced stories are articles, I want to leave you with one last reflection on dance: Ballet is an intense pursuit. Ballet dancers are truly athletes. They: * train daily from morning until afternoon from age 12 until they retire. * perform before audiences three to four times a week during their 9-10 month season. * seldom have more than two weeks off at a time during the year. * maintain their bodies through eating protein-filled snacks and meals. * learn precise body placement movements as well as choreography. Professionals dedicate their lives to...
Tasman
I’m currently changing writing gears. While I enjoyed writing the ballet-themed trilogy, I have had a story gnawing at me for several years. It all started with a trip to Australia. Our foursome of travelers decided to visit the island of Tasmania. We flew across Bass Strait and stepped back in time to the Pacific Northwest in the early 50s. Life on the island was a slower pace than Melbourne and Sydney, even more laid back than Adelaide. The west side was still wild and remote; the east side filled with small towns and lovely beaches. On the southern end,...
Marta: Epilogue to Her Story
Friends and readers at book talk often ask, “What happened to Marta after her stories ended?” Here’s my answer. I wrote this several years ago, but it’s still how I think an unwritten future chapter might progressed. Marta stood at the kitchen sink washing carrots from her garden. Her mind wandered a thousand miles away from her present view. Lynne had just written from her touring along the west coast. She laughed to herself. Lynne was always a joy with stories to keep them the phone for hours. R.J., Ryan Jonas, crawled across a rag rug toward her, dragging his...
Excerpt from Letters to Follow-Dance On
The following is a sneak peak into the opening of Letters to Follow-A Dancer’s Adventure; book 3 in the ballet trilogy. Let me know what you think! If you wish to order a copy of the book, contact me through www.http://paddy@paddyeger.com or call me at 425-420-5161 and I’ll get a copy to you ASAP.
Update: Letters to Follow – A Dancer’s Adventure
The only things better than finishing writing a book is having it arrive at my door as a real book! When that UPS truck backs up and opens the back of the truck and my name appears on several neatly stacked boxes, I realize that I’ve done it! I’ve taken ideas, written and rewritten them, and edited those words until I feel I could recite the entire book with my eyes closed. Now I can hold it in my hands, turn the pages, checkout all the special touches the publisher/creative artist Karin Hoffman has added, and know my followers will...
Sonnet Treasures from the Past
Cleaning can lead to unforseen treasures. Several years ago, tucked away in my hope chest, I found a small cloth-covered book inherited through my father. The battered book had loose pages, long broken away from their binding. Inside I found beautiful, script-written sonnets and love poems written by Herman Young,my grandfather. Herman died decades before my birth. I don’t remember seeing his photo or hearing anyone talk about his personality. I always assumed the Augustana Luthern minister to be a tight-lipped father of 5 who kept busy with parishioners. I pictured him in profile, quiet and serious; probably sporting a...
Impressions Notebook
Summer time, winter time, all year ’round. It’s always a great to write down your impressions as you experience them. It’s almost too simple, so give it a try! 1. Keep a small Impressions Notebook in your pocket and jot down what you see and feel at various moments in your day and across the year. 2. Record the weather: sky conditions and colors,the temp, the way you feel looking around you or what you feel when you step out into the weather. 3. Outside, touch objects to record their impressive temperature. A chair in the sun feels different from...
Letters to Follow – Unsent Letter Part One
Lynne story, in LTF, Letters to Follow-A Dancer’s Adventure, contains post cards and letters she sends to Marta and her new friend, Noel. Below is part of a too-long letter I didn’t use in the book. (Space is a luxury when I write such long books!) Dear Marta, I arrived safely after a smooth sail. Northern France is flat as a long-play record. No mountains to help me get my bearings, only the hot sun. Hope I don’t get lost in Paris. The streets are spokes and higgity-piggity instead of straight rows like back home. It’s a bit scary...