This book event is through Rachel’s Random Resources.
The Starling Dance blog tour includes an exlcusive excerpt from the book. Comment, share, follow.
Book Details
In a sweltering Roman summer, Laure is trying to start a new life. But can she manage in a city where walls have ears, trees have eyes and even the birds are acting strangely?
It’s been exactly one year since the shit hit the fan and Laure’s anxiety exploded into a full-blown burn out. In search of a new start she’s moved to Rome – pasta, Aperol and sunshine should make everything better, right?
But with her 30s around the corner, la bella vita isn’t going to plan.
- Her boyfriend, the dreamy Davide, has disappeared (Either Laure’s been ghosted or he’s accidentally fallen off a cliff – hopefully)
- She wants to murder her neighbours: their arguments are keeping her up all night.
In her local café, Laure meets a handsome stranger and the sparks fly, that is until she finds herself caught in a big lie.
‘Hmmm, it’s not ideal,’ says her best friend Eva, as she puffs on a spliff in the bathtub.
Just as things are heating up, a talking tree enters the fray (as if this Roman summer wasn’t weird enough, just ask the birds).
That tree is Viviano, a dynamic and adventurous street performer who poses around the Eternal City dressed as a tree, well, sometimes a cat too and sometimes a ripe tomato. He could be thriving in life but something is holding him back. One thing is certain though: he wants to meet Laure.
Will Laure find her path? Will she accidentally put pineapple on a pizza? And is there a real love story to be found in the surreal swirls of the Italian capital?
The Starling Dance is a love story full of quirk, humour and heart-warming characters, each trying to overcome their personal obstacles and demons to give themselves a chance at life and love.
Lucy Elena is a journalist who has worked across Europe and Latin America. The Starling Dance is her debut novel. It was initially dreamt up as a film while Lucy was working in Rome and became interested in the street artists she passed every day on her way to work, eventually getting to know them. The artsy film of her imagination never materialised but The Starling Dance was born in the form of a book, with a big dose of love, fun and healing thrown in for good measure.
Extract
In this extract, the reader is introduced to Trastevere, the area of Rome where our main female character Laure lives, as she heads to her local coffee shop before work. While pining for her boyfriend, Davide, who has suddenly stopped replying to her messages, Laure fails to notice that someone is watching her.
At this hour the normally buzzing neighbourhood was just starting to show glimmers of life. Trastevere lay south of the river, over the bridge from Rome’s Centro Storico. Visitors were enamoured by the narrow, cobblestone streets, dotted with cute cafés and restaurants that came out of hiding behind every twist and turn. Tangles of vines crept up buildings, which were painted the colours of autumn leaves, to windows where the few original residents that remained still hung out their washing. Over the years it had gentrified, filling up with the trendiest hangouts and attracting tourists, students and Roman up-comers alike. They thronged the streets, packed out pizzerias and gathered in the ancient piazzas to smoke and drink with friends into the early hours. Laure could tolerate the crowds in exchange for the freedom that she felt here. It was different from Paris, where the lines of grey buildings had started to close in, until her only option was to escape.
The mornings, at least, were peaceful, and Laure navigated the uneven cobbles on the way to Da Antonio, her local coffee shop. Only a small, beeping rubbish truck disturbed the quiet as it reversed at pace around a corner and almost knocked Laure over. Even though it wasn’t her fault, Laure waved in apology to the driver and hopped out of the way.
‘Bonjour salvation,’ she said, as the café’s cream veranda came into view and the aroma of freshly ground coffee hit her nostrils.
Da Antonio wasn’t a fancy nor particularly personable place, but Laure had come to feel comfortable there. Antonio, the owner – sixty-odd, with bright white hair and a dark tan – spotted Laure as she slipped in behind the row of elegantly dressed customers at the bar.
Some were gawking at newspapers, still stunned by the results of the weekend’s General Election, while others pleaded ignorance, choosing instead to stare at football highlights on the mounted screens. Most, however, were silently savouring their first coffee of the day – a sacred moment in Italian culture. Then, one by one, they would head off, dropping a few coins on the counter, slipping on their sunglasses and nodding to Antonio before making way for the next early riser.
Laure no longer needed to order. No sooner had she perched on the swivelly bar stool, than Antonio slid a macchiato her way. Laure quickly read through the news headlines that flashed along the bottom of the TV screen. She liked to be informed at the office, even if no one actually asked for her opinion. Finally, she lifted the petite cup to her lips. As the rich, dark liquid slid down her throat, she closed her eyes and savoured it circulating around her body, turning on a few more lights in her head.
Some much-needed energy, she thought, which could be put towards something useful, such as work or making weekend plans, but certainly not, she told herself, to be expended pining over Davide.
‘I’ll just see if he’s online,’ she said, pulling out her phone.
Her brain tutted its disapproval.
7.50 a.m. Davide Damiano is online! Great! Laure thought, staring fixatedly at the screen. And now, Davide Damiano is offline, too bad.
‘Well, what a fun game,’ Laure muttered to herself, as she sipped down the last mouthful and made for the door.
She flashed a half-hearted smile towards Antonio, who wasn’t looking, but would have been mortally offended if she’d left without at least trying to say goodbye.
As she walked, Laure couldn’t help running over her last date with Davide. Had there been any signs that he was planning to ditch her? Anything she had missed or something she might have said? Could she have done something differently?
Lost to obsession, she failed to notice a pair of eyes shining out of the shadows. They tracked her every step, right until the moment she disappeared around the corner and out of sight.
Purchase Links
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Starling-Dance-riotous-heartwarming-romance-ebook/dp/B0FL12DQ34
Author Bio:
Lucy Elena is a Londoner with a love of languages and exploring new different cultures. For most of her career she has been a journalist reporting across Europe and Latin America. But she has also experimented with career forays into pasta making (yes, like an Italian nonna) and teaching. Lucy has always loved dreaming up and telling stories and The Starling Dance is her debut novel. When not writing or working, Lucy enjoys spending time with friends and family, trying out new foods and pretending she can play the ukulele.
Social Media Links –
Instagram:
Facebook: Lucy Elena
Tiktok: @lucyelenabooks
