A Match Made in Art and Poetry - a Blog Tour and Book Excerpt for 'Some Starry Night'

BOOK EXCERPT

[when Emily first sees Vincent at the Louvre]

When she next looked up from her work, a group of three men caught her eye. She could only hear bits of their conversation, but their gestures indicated an intense discussion. One man in particular aroused her curiosity. He wasn’t tall, but he was stocky and solid. Red-haired with a smattering of freckles. He radiated passion and intensity, like a bullfighter ready to dance. His French wasn’t exactly French—he had an accent Emily couldn’t recognize. He brought his face so close to the paintings that the guard warned him back not once, but three times! On the third time, he threw up his arms. “I know what I want to do. I know what I must do.” He tipped his hat.

“Thank you, Bernard, Henri. I shall go home now and paint.”

Emily watched as the man strode toward the exit, his steps fast and sure. A painter with purpose. The other two men—Bernard and Henri—leaned into one another once their friend was gone. Their heads bobbed together as they whispered to one another, their brows no longer tense and furrowed. They were relieved their friend was gone.

Emily sighed. She suspected that’s the way some people felt about her. Thomas had said in a letter how much she overwhelmed and exhausted him. Well, those weren’t his exact words, but Emily was pretty sure that’s what he meant.