Romeo and Juliet. Heloise and Abélard. Ah, the beauty to be found in lovelorn melancholy! My friend Lang Leav of Akina has returned with a new hand-crafted picture book… and this time, it includes original MUSIC. (Her creativity knows no limits!)

“The fourth book in her series of sell out releases, Poems for Piotr is Lang Leav’s first venture into her exciting collaboration with music composer Cyrus Meurant. The elegantly hand-crafted book is accompanied by a music album, featuring the voice of Angela Little, (Ophelia of the Spirits) who was handpicked by Baz Luhrmann to perform in his epic movie, Australia. Drawn from her own experiences, Poems for Piotr reveals a stylistically written dialogue between two mismatched lovers – in a heartfelt exchange of poetry and prose. As the story unfolds, their disjointed conversation stretches further across a growing divide of time and distance.” (More info and ordering info here.)

CONTEST! To celebrate the release of her limited edition volume (100 copies only), Lang has generously donated a Goose Girl Gown to give away to one of you! (She is, of course, also a talented Gothic Victorian Lolita-inspired designer and artist.)

“From a delicious assortment of ribbons, ruffles and vintage inspired lace, Akina creates little wearable pieces of art for fairytale villains all over the world.” Above is the lovely and mischievous Goose Girl Gown, available in size 8-14. (To see more of her gorgeous designs, visit the Akina store.)

† HOW TO ENTER (contest open INTERNATIONALLY. Up to FOUR entries per person.)

† ONE POINT: Visit the Poems for Piotr page for inspiration. Then comment here, either sharing an experience you’ve had with a broken heart, or your favorite book/film/song about sad and beautiful star-crossed lovers.

† THREE POINTS: Write a blog post/Livejournal/forum entry that spreads the word about the Akina book/contest and the release of Cute Yummy Time. Please include “Cute Yummy Time by La Carmina” and “Akina by Lang Leav” in the post title and link to Akina (http://www.akina.com.au/Default.html) and my book (https://www.lacarmina.com/cookingcute.php). You are free to use any of my book’s photos here in your post.

Then comment here with a link to where you posted the blog entry. If your comment doesn’t show up, don’t worry – I’ll check my Spam regularly and approve your entries.

Thank you so much for your enthusiasm about Cute Yummy Time! Off to my first NYC book signing and demo soon… I hope to see you there, or in Philly (Oct 17) or DC (Oct 24)! Full info here.

Song of the Day #215: Pink Lady – UFO (Love Cathay Pacific… where else can you watch Anthony Bourdain and listen to Pink Lady on a flight??)