# "Our Lives as Kites," how the artists do it, literary



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



What makes an artist tick, go on and, to use the dirty word, create?

We enter the world of ballet through Yvonne Fillon, a one-time soloist
ballerina who is on a journey of self-discovery in rough waters. We
enter it during one of her days out in the outdoors, when she launches
a kite and takes in everything from the wind and the clouds as
a source for inspiration. For, at the onset of middle age, she
attempts to cross over into the even more competitive world of
choreography, her lifeline to staying in ballet.

When, years later, success in this endeavor comes her way, it
would seem strange to her that others envy her, either for her loves
or for her dance pieces, for she knows the toll. Still, Cain strikes.

~~~

A Buildungsroman (the growing up) and a Künstlerroman (the life of an artist) in one, this is an
impressionistically told, character-driven novel. 117,000 words.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Marius ---------------------

Welcome to KindleBoards, and congratulations on the book! 

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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

Excerpts from *"Our Lives as Kites,"* my arts-centric literary novel, are available at my blog:

Yvonne in Ballet School 

Yvonne as Mercedes and the Queen of Dryads in "Don Quixote" 

Yvonne Does It Stream-Of-Consciousness Style 

How does a choreographer create, really? And how does she manage to stay cool and sexy in the process?

A woman beating the odds. The sharp brain and the sensitive soul behind it all.


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

Only $3.99 for now. 

The challenge:
---
“Why would an amazingly beautiful girl like you be playing with kites?” some people were asking.  “This is like going to the university, even worse, in, say, engineering.  Girls like you don’t need and don’t do things like these, not if their heads are properly screwed on and their eyes are wide open.  For centuries, life comes to them carried on a golden plate and, in much finer terms, awash in more resonant music and glorious wines, without all this groping around and wasting of time.  And, by the way, now that we’re here — your ballet also is too much work.  Galley work.  But at least it keeps you trim and shapely.”
---


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel, *only $3.99 for a week (60% reduction)!*

Amazon US [larger excerpts now available on page]
Amazon UK

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



What makes an artist tick, go on and, to use the dirty word, create?

We enter the world of ballet through Yvonne Fillon, a one-time soloist
ballerina who is on a journey of self-discovery in rough waters. We
enter it during one of her days out in the outdoors, when she launches
a kite and takes in everything from the wind and the clouds as
a source for inspiration. For, at the onset of middle age, she
attempts to cross over into the even more competitive world of
choreography, her lifeline to staying in ballet.

When, years later, success in this endeavor comes her way, it
would seem strange to her that others envy her, either for her loves
or for her dance pieces, for she knows the toll. Still, Cain strikes.

~~~

A Buildungsroman (the growing up) and a Künstlerroman (the life of an artist) in one, this is an
impressionistically told, character-driven novel. 117,000 words.


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel, *only $3.99 for a week (60% reduction)!*

Amazon US [larger excerpts now available on page]
Amazon UK

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​
*Reviews from the readers for my other novel, "Simon and Hiroko"*​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel, *only $3.99 for a week (60% reduction)!*

Amazon US [larger excerpts now available on page]
Amazon UK

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​
*Reviews from the readers for my other novel, "Simon and Hiroko"*​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel.

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US [larger excerpts now available on page]
Amazon UK

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​
*Reviews from the readers for my other novel, "Simon and Hiroko"*​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US [larger excerpts now available on page]
Amazon UK
Kobo

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​
*Reviews from the readers for my other novel, "Simon and Hiroko"*​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US [larger excerpts now available on page]
Amazon UK
Kobo

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​
*Reviews from the readers for my other novel, "Simon and Hiroko"*​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art, the body and soul of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo

What makes an artist tick, go on and, to use the dirty word, create?

We enter the world of ballet through Yvonne Fillon, a one-time soloist ballerina who is on a journey of self-discovery in rough waters. We enter it during one of her days out in the outdoors, when she launches a kite and takes in everything from the wind and the clouds as a source for inspiration. For, at the onset of middle age, she attempts to cross over into the even more competitive world of choreography, her lifeline to staying in ballet.​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

Susie Crow , a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet (both in London), and a choreographer, has honored me with a 
review .

She mentioned in a personal message that the book was a "*very interesting read*."​
*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

A choreographer coming into her own ideas.

Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* a literary novel trying to get at the root of creativity in arts.



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":

--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
A stylistic point: your sentences are very elegantly crafted for the
most part
...
I love the character of Yvonne's ballet teacher - a fantastic
creation! 
...
The sudden plunge into the stream-of-consciousness of the young Yvonne
is certainly effective in reminding the reader to pay attention & I
really do think that your command of her voice is very confident &
convincing.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.*

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

Bump. *Christmas gift *anyone?

*Only $0.99 for the week in Kindle.*​


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

a discrete bump up


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
Only 99c in Kindle the first week of 2014!*

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
Only 99c in Kindle special*

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo[/ur​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
*

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites" 
The art of dancing and the inspiration for it
 
*​*

Amazon US -- Kindle 
also in paperback now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo

​
--
Kites, kites, kites.

The pull on the string, its nervousness and sheer zip, the direction of the yanking, its rhythm, would tell her the story of advancement her messengers were supposed to report back to her from the domain of wind and light, the domain of what people, indiscriminately to her, called weather. And, many times, she took this message and carried it over to her day-to-day messy tangle of facts, with the hope and sometime the bare conviction that some sense detected in far-away, high nature could be read, would translate, as premonitions of the travails, intrigue and yellowness, energy and lassitude, high purpose and don't-give-a-damnness of the living around her.

She didn't go far enough with this so as to report this serious hobby of hers, such messages and their possible readings, to others around her, as she confidently knew, even as a child, that they wouldn't understand her, but instead they'd even expose her to their and others' put-downs. And a sect, as some would perhaps have called it, she didn't want to establish, though enough of such doings were contemporarily reported as having success, and what is meant here by it is first and foremost financial success, in the world at large. Only her father really knew about it all, as he had been at the source of it. *


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

bump


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites" 
The art of dancing and the inspiration for it
 
*​*

Amazon US -- Kindle 
also in paperback now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo

​
--
Kites, kites, kites.

Five minutes later, she splashed head first into the waves. The feeling of buoyancy and suspension, how one cannot have that on dry land! The water all around her, the velouté feel, it swishing noiselessly between and around her legs, over her breasts and chest enjoying its sweet warmth of summer, underneath around her extended back when in backstroke. The precious salty water sharing her nose and her mouth during dips and swings of the head and inhalations, sputtered away in the giving back of the air to the whole space of where she was. And, whenever she was on her back, the sky so terrifically blue just above, as a very large plate serving up everything, her existence at that, as though more than half the world was there at those times and the other half was underneath her in unfathomable depths. The high of moving for herself, of tending to her own muscular pleasures, of having no one peeking at her save for the girl and of having most of herself masked from any keen spectators by the mass of water. *


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## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
*

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
--
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
--​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
*

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
---
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
---​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
*

What makes an artist tick, go on and, to use the dirty word, create?

We enter the world of ballet through Yvonne Fillon, a one-time soloist ballerina who is on a journey of self-discovery in rough waters. We enter it during one of her days out in the outdoors, when she launches a kite and takes in everything from the wind and the clouds as a source for inspiration. For, at the onset of middle age, she attempts to cross over into the even more competitive world of choreography, her lifeline to staying in ballet.

When, years later, success in this endeavor comes her way, it would seem strange to her that others envy her, either for her loves or for her dance pieces, for she knows the toll. Still, Cain strikes.

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
---
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
---​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------



## Marius Hancu (Aug 28, 2012)

*"Our Lives as Kites,"* my literary novel. *The art of dancing.
*

What makes an artist tick, go on and, to use the dirty word, create?

We enter the world of ballet through Yvonne Fillon, a one-time soloist ballerina who is on a journey of self-discovery in rough waters. We enter it during one of her days out in the outdoors, when she launches a kite and takes in everything from the wind and the clouds as a source for inspiration. For, at the onset of middle age, she attempts to cross over into the even more competitive world of choreography, her lifeline to staying in ballet.

When, years later, success in this endeavor comes her way, it would seem strange to her that others envy her, either for her loves or for her dance pieces, for she knows the toll. Still, Cain strikes.

"A very interesting read. Novels about ballet are few, and I read with great curiosity, not least as Yvonne begins to make the transfer from dancing to choreographing. Here Hancu writes from inside her head to show the evolution of ideas for the highly ambitious works she is imagining, and the somewhat ascetic creative procedures she demands of the dancers she works with. I admire Hancu's attempt to write the creative process." - Susie Crow, a former soloist with the Royal Ballet and Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet, and a choreographer.​
Amazon US -- Kindle 
also* in paperback* now:
Amazon US -- paperback

Amazon UK
Kobo



From a Big 5 editor (London based), on "Our Lives as Kites":
---
The writing is assured & distinctive, and you clearly know your
protagonist inside out.
...
I think this is a well-written, very intelligent novel which really
evokes the world of ballet in a very powerful way.
---​Cassandra Silva: 
"*Overall a beautiful work in its own right.*"​


----------

