Pusakis at Paros and Other Stories

About the Book

From the magic of Greece, the wild Irish coastline and the excitement of Manhattan, characters meet and pass with unexpected consequences against the landscape of a world where cats roam, snakes slide and kestrels soar.

Against the glittering blue backdrop of the Aegean, Nina's farmhouse in Greece brings more than she dreamed of, while on the island of Paros holidaymakers taste the joys of friendship, meet the pusakis, and savour the promise of a return visit.

Further west, in an elegant house in Dublin, a new romance provides the menu for a special lunch as two friends exchange intimacies. Meanwhile, coastal improvements in Ireland's Co. Mayo cause excitement - and create unseen consequences - for the locals when they form a committee to plan their future prosperity.

And even further, on the other side of the Atlantic, Angela relives her adventures in the Big Apple in the wake of Nine-Eleven, while Marsha discovers that an Easter break with her friends in New England has summoned nothing less than the snakes of Cotton Hollow.

Miriam Gallagher's stories invite the reader into a wonderland infused with an almost primeval magic, where, playing out against backdrops both rural and urban, the complexities of modern relationships take on a shape which is, in turns, sharply comedic and gloriously tender.

**** (Clarion Books Review) “Gallagher’s brief stories provide surprises that keep readers on their toes . Never revealing too much, she leaves readers to come to their own conclusions about the reality of the relationship between the elderly Sybil and her new young man, and what happened after the hopeful residents of the village of Carmoney decided to build the pier that all hoped would bear their name . . . Revealing her playwright roots, the author has a definite ear for dialog.”____ Whitney Hallberg “Pusakis at Paros contains an intriguing assortment of stories and mysterious characters that will remain with the reader “_____ Read Ireland

About the Author

Miriam Gallagher is an awardwinning Irish playwright, novelist and screenwriter. Her work is included in The Field Day Anthology of Irish Writing (vol.5; New York, New York UP, 2002) and profiled in Irish Woman Writers: An A-Z Guide (Greenwood Press, Ct., USA, 2006). Her books include Fancy Footwork (1997, 2nd Ed. Soc., Irish Playwrights), Song for Salamander (2004, Trafford) Kalahari Blues and Other Plays (2006, Mirage),The Gold of Tradaree and Other plays (2008, Mirage) and Green Rain~ Irish Composers on Stage (2011, Mirage). She received Arts Council & European Script Fund Film Awards for Girl in Silk Kimonos (feature length screenplay, celebrating the Gore Booth Sisters), MHA TV script award for Kevin, EU Theatre Award and a Writer's Exchange to Finland. Her play The Parting Glass was a international prizewinner (2006, USA). Essays commissioned for arts journals include Irish Prison & Community Theater - a Playwright's Experience, for World Literature Today (Jan-Feb 2007). Her work has been staged and screened in Ireland, Europe, Australia, South Africa, USA and Canada and translated into Irish, French, Finnish, Dutch and Russian. Miriam has presented work at the 4th and 5th International Women Playwrights' conference and at Semaine Mondiale des Auteurs Vivants de Theatre. She has served on the committees of the Society of Irish Playwrights, the Irish Writers' Union and as vice president of Irish PEN. Miriam has also served as a judge for the O.Z. Whitehead Play Competition and on the awards panel for the Arts & Disability Forum. She has been a guest lecturer at universities in Ireland, Athens, New York, Boston and Pretoria. Her website is www.miriamgallagher.ie"