Cirrus@Austlit

'When the mysterious Tatee walks into the renowned Manhattan Tango Studio all hell breaks loose, not a single person stays unaltered: old friendships are challenged and put to the test; seemingly confident women are alarmingly threatened by the novel newcomer’s presence; cool sleek men lose their steps, stuttering incomprehensible disobedient words. Unprepared for surreal and outlandish relationships she takes the role of an intrigued observer witnessing the unfolding drama where the dance floor reveals a theatre of the absurdity of human nature.

'The other stories explore the profoundness of human psyche where joy, suffering, humour and even madness can all be found. Encounter stories about cult escapees, an incompetent lawyer, a liberated husband, a case of mistaken identity and the serendipitous nature of synchronicity.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When Gregor Truba, the God of eighties Rock, exchanged his guitar in the nineties for a machine gun, he couldn’t know he was going to be dethroned not only from the centre stage which he dominated for a decade, but from his own soul as he set off on a bloody rampage with his elite troupe of Brothers in Arms. He loved a young gifted poetess Pia, the great-grandniece of Nikola Tesla, who wasn’t able to return Gregor’s love, for she was dethroned from love after witnessing the most shattering scene possibly staged by her father. Would she ever be able to find love on her mysterious journey from Amsterdam to London, Sydney to Japan? How many dark secrets did the Catholic Priest, Friar Marag, keep under his tightly-lipped smile, whilst purposely manipulating the faithful, shaping and sculpting their minds and realities as if he were a co-creator working in alliance with the Devil himself to generate chaos and leave his personal stamp on the existence and history of his country? Was he dethroned from humanity for his numerous and well-planned misdeeds? Was Veronika Truba dethroned from her original self when she changed her name to Nikki Barlow upon her arrival to London, where she formed an unusual friendship with a flamboyant man and the commitment-phobe Dean Bloxham? “And where do I go to be myself again?” The question no one could answer at that time, a time when everyone lost, everyone was dethroned and everything was meant to be broken.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'Otto Visconti creates a theatre of the absurd in which he is the main character and the anti-hero, the victor and the victim, the celebrity and an irrelevant, obscure and insecure poet misplaced in an isolated and cold world created by his insecurities, obsessions and illusions, governed by the strange inner forces throwing him mercilessly into absurd situations and even more bizarre conclusions and outcomes. He is the main protagonist and the narrator of his misfortunes in the first part of the collection. The second part of the collection offers stories collected from Sydney to New York featuring odd characters in their constant search for meaning, for satisfaction, fulfillment or adventure. They chose unusual avenues in their pursuit of personal happiness; the avenues that often lead them astray.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'When a chance meeting with a mysterious, yet familiar, 'Stranger' at a party in Sydney sets off a cycle of memories, Beatrice Szabo opens Pandora's Box which she had kept under lock and key for over seventy years: she left her native town of Fiume eloping with a famous writer, an event that provoked a local scandal and broke hearts and souls of a few families for several generations. When Beatrice came to Vienna with her lover in the aftermath of the Second World War, she never dreamt that beautiful Vienna would not be her last destination. Under unfavorable circumstances she marries David Goldberg, a Viennese Jew; while the atmosphere of war engulfs Austria they witness 'Crystal Night' and the fear and panic that widely spread; she sets off alone on a journey through war and panic-stricken Europe only to find herself in a Faraway Land—strange, exotic and sleepy Australia where her life takes an unthinkable turn.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.

'She called the lump in Her breast ‘a black pearl’, She called her Mother to nurse Her in the darkest hours, She called memories of the three men She loved at different times of Her life to draw the parallels between seemingly similar situations of betrayal. Who is going to betray Her, who is going to stay... ? She struggles with the meaning of life trying to find it through themes of motherhood, friendship, betrayal, displacement, illness, pain, grief and loss. She travelled to Andalucia, London, The Isle of Man, where She met colourful characters believing that the unknown can reverse the fragmentation and change reality, believing that all the little broken selves can once again bring the broken pieces into a cohesive mosaic.'

Source: Publisher's blurb.