Mango Blood

(Literary fiction) Set in 1959, Mango Blood is a coming of age story about Minouche, a passionate Parisian girl who follows Stefan, her Polish lover, to India. But will what started as a dream come true withstand the pressures of Stefan's desire for control, and Minouche's realization that classical Indian dancing is not the right choice for her? After they get married and settle in Madras, Minouche delights and thrives in the romance of South India's rich cultural environment. On a grant to study Indian dancing, she joins a famous dance academy, but despite her best efforts, she must accept that Bharata Natyam is beyond her physical abilities. Disappointed by her failure, Stefan, who fancied her as a dancer, is increasingly judgmental and controlling, and his single-minded focus on Hindu philosophy further drives a wedge between them. Missing the support of her mother and friends, Minouche struggles to maintain the independence she grew up with. Finally overcoming her fears of damaging her marriage, she defies Stefan by leaving the dance program to pursue a degree in Indian music, her new-found passion. Meanwhile, following her heart, she befriends Laila, a young woman confined to her parents' house by age-old prejudices and the shame inflicted on her after being raped by British soldiers fourteen years earlier. Minouche hopes to lure her out of her confinement to start a new life in post-Independence India, which she perceives as increasingly more modern and open-minded to women. Unfortunately for Minouche, Laila's father, an old-school Brahmin, is her music teacher, and involving herself in his family affairs to help emancipate his daughter might cost Minouche the music degree she eagerly seeks.

(Literary fiction) In a sequel to "The 35 ¢ Dowry", set in 1959 Paris, France, "Mango Blood" continues the coming of age story about Minouche, a passionate but impoverished Parisian girl who follows Stefan, her stateless Polish lover, to India. But will what started as a dream come true withstand the pressures of Stefan's desire for control, and Minouche's realization that classical Indian dancing is not the right choice for her? After they get married and settle in Madras, Minouche delights and thrives in the romance of South India's rich cultural environment. On a grant to study Indian dancing, she joins a famous dance academy, but despite her best efforts, she must accept that Bharata Natyam is beyond her physical abilities. Disappointed by her failure, Stefan, who fancied her as a dancer, is increasingly judgmental and controlling, and his single-minded focus on Hindu philosophy further drives a wedge between them. Missing the support of her mother and friends, Minouche struggles to maintain the independence she grew up with. Finally overcoming her fears of damaging her marriage, she defies Stefan by leaving the dance program to pursue a degree in Indian music, her new-found passion. Meanwhile, following her heart, she befriends Laila, a young woman confined to her parents' house by age-old prejudices and the shame inflicted on her after being raped by British soldiers fourteen years earlier. Minouche hopes to lure her out of her confinement to start a new life in post-Independence India, which she perceives as increasingly more modern and open-minded to women. Unfortunately for Minouche, Laila's father, an old-school Brahmin, is her music teacher, and involving herself in his family affairs to help emancipate his daughter might cost Minouche the music degree she eagerly seeks.

BIO Maryvonne is French and grew up in Paris. While studying classical Indian dancing and music in India for five years, she was a guest of the King of Nepal and met the freshly exiled Dalai Lama and his entourage in Northern India. On her return to the West, she taught in the US at Wesleyan University and UCLA. While teaching Indian music to her American students, Maryvonne discovered a taste for rock-and-roll, taught herself to play the electric bass, and exchanged her saris for platform boots. Her daughter, born in New York, empowers children through the arts, one project at a time. Her American husband is a talented songwriter and recording artist. He brought two sons and a hybrid wolf puppy–Barewolf–into their lives. They live in Hollywood, where Maryvonne shares her time between writing, playing the bass and enjoying her growing American family. After twelve unforgettable years, Barewolf passed on. She now has two cats Maryvonne has published The 35¢ Dowry, the first novel in the Mango Blood series. She has also published short stories and has translated a French thriller (Les Yeux Sans Visage by Jean Redon) and several screenplays to be optioned for movies. She's currently starting work on The Dancing Foot, the final tome in the Mango Blood series.