 Brazil 1990s A problematic social issue, a unit called to respond. A man struggles to right his wrong. “If I had said ‘no’ instead of ‘yes’ when they asked me to do this thing, then maybe I would have turned out a hero instead of what I’ve become. We were trained, hired with the promise of a good wage, to take care of a problem, to get things under control. As a man, I needed to succeed for myself, for my family living in a cycle of poverty in the sertão, the backlands. The earnings proved excellent, and far outweighed the promises made by the controlling peasant guerrillas. But the other part of it… If I knew then what I know now… I can’t live with myself… I can’t live. If I could take it back. Everything I’ve done-- Ach, who could do such things? And if one could, then who would forgive such things?” This is the story of one man's dark path to redemption. Now available:
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Please meet my New Adult, Paranormal Romance, Speculative, angsty novel written from a Biblical Worldview (if that is not a mouthful). Freshly published.  Elyse Magellan auditions at a dance conservatory for the elite. Privileged she is not, and so presses on by sheer determination, talent—and hopefully a great deal of luck—to get into the prestigious school and resident company. But nothing overwhelms her more than the aristocratic Gabriel Krist – the school’s accompanist and concert pianist. Not only does he possess a compelling demeanor, he looks like a god, an angel pale and beautiful. He’d like to possess her, but is it for love or something else? What others in the wings say about him is a shrouded story. His promiscuous reputation has Elyse, the innocent, on edge. That’s not the only thing that troubles her. Gabriel is…different. Something dark resides in him. She doesn’t know what it is, this thing that urges her to run, yet she can’t seem to pull away. At the same time, Gabriel is desperate for someone to find even a flicker of goodness in his cursed and heartless soul. Dare he lead this young fawn in his irreparable dance through the dark? Or does she possess the wherewithal to lead him out of the shadows and into light?
Once, during my early balletic days, a director appointed me to a challenging role, instructing me to dance, said, “With attitude, Darling.” What he meant – what I learned – was to dance with complete heart, sense, and purpose; to abandon myself in that role. Since flamenco is such an individualistic art form, yet this particular discipline is still fairly new to me, I often hear those words of early advice trickle up from the deep recesses of my memory. I’m finding my voice, so to speak, my stylistic language within the flamenco context: to mean what I say. What I’ve added to my Bucket List, however, and what I yearn to do, is express flamenco in a worshipful/liturgical/Christian piece and venue. I believe in possibilities and have a vision for that day. In the meantime, here are a few pictures of my continuing, enriching education toward a flamenco dream.
When Argentine cardinal, Jorge Bergoglio, was elected as the 226th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church, I had muttered to those around me that they’d soon see his link to the Dirty War plastered over media, propelled by critics. It’s not that current president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner (leftist) had treated the cardinal as a political archenemy, or that the cardinal supposedly tattled on or had warned—depending on whose side you favor—two left-leaning slum priests back in the day, but that every person who lived through that era has a link. Even some of my Argentine friends who were just children at the time will be reticent when you ask them about that period in history. It takes a bit of work, or more wine if you’re prone, to extract information, probe through the almost tangible shroud over his/her countenance.
Since I had written a book entangled in the Dirty War, several have asked for my take on the newly inaugurated Pope Francis and this hoopla over his supposed past political ties. I shrug, saying, “I predicted it, didn’t I tell you?” But it really doesn’t take much foresight. I’m proud for Argentina and for Pope Francis. As far as who has ties, including those who have been prosecuted for involvement, we may think we know but we will never know the truth. In politics there are few truths and it was everybody’s war, the dirtiest of dirties. Man will continue to take secrets to the grave with them. But that’s partly what’s so fascinating. |
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TESSA STOCKTON, AUTHOR -
Pressing through life, love, a few things that matter, and a lot of things that don't.
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