The Color of Joy
Page 17
Every once in a while I think of my late sister with gratitude, and when I’m alone, I thank her out loud. I don’t know if she can hear me, but I like to believe she can.
As far as Jenn Nichols is concerned, I’m pleased to report that the charges against her were eventually dropped. Miller—a decent man at heart—realized he had no case, at least not one that a prosecutor could win, especially since Lois and I were so sympathetic toward Jenn. We had no desire to see her convicted. Hadn’t the poor woman been through enough?
If you’re wondering if we sued the hospital—yes, we most certainly did and it was an easy win. They settled out of court and we have enough money now to put all three of our children through college and never worry about grocery bills again.
Nevertheless, I still work in construction because I find it satisfying…building things. When I come home at the end of the day, tired from a hard day’s labor and needing a shower, I look around and know that I have everything I could ever dream of—a beautiful wife who loves me, three children I hold dearer to my heart than anything in this world, and a strength inside me that grew from struggles and lessons learned through terrible mistakes and the worst of hardships and regrets. But I pulled myself out of that pit. I survived it.
What can I say? I love my life. I’ve never been happier. Thank God I never gave up.
Dear Reader,
Thank you for taking the time to read THE COLOR OF JOY. If you are new to my Color of Heaven Series and have begun with this book, I hope you’ll consider starting at the beginning with book one, THE COLOR OF HEAVEN. At the time this book is being published, book one is free for a limited time as an ebook at most major online retailers.
You might also enjoy book seven, THE COLOR OF THE SEASON, which tells the story of Riley’s brother-in-law Josh when he was shot in the line of duty. Riley plays a significant role in that story as well.
As for what’s coming next, it will be Sylvie’s story, THE COLOR OF TIME. It picks up shortly after she graduates from her dental hygienist program and returns to the east coast to confront certain life changing events from her past. Everyone keeps telling her she can’t change the past, but is that really true? Can we not achieve new outcomes if we believe anything and everything is possible?
I don’t have a release date for THE COLOR OF TIME yet as my publishing schedule is complicated this year. There are no pre-order buttons available at the moment, but it will be published either in April 2015 or July 2015. If you want to be notified about its release, please sign up for my email newsletter on my website. I’ll be sending a notification to my subscribers as soon as I have the date nailed down. I wouldn’t want you to miss it!
Another option, if you read on a Kindle, is to visit my author page on Amazon and “follow” me there.
Lastly, if you’re a fan of Scottish Highlanders or the Outlander series, keep an eye out for my Highlander Trilogy which will be reissued by St. Martin’s Press as an ebook boxed set in March 2015. Following this, I’ll have a long-awaited new release for you in that series. RETURN OF THE HIGHLANDER is coming out on June 10, 2015. It is available now for pre-order. You can find more information about RETURN OF THE HIGHLANDER on my website book page.
Once again, thank you for reading this novel and if you enjoyed it, please consider leaving a review at your favorite online retailer to help others discover this series.
Best wishes and as always, happy reading!
—Julianne
Questions for Discussion
1. Jenn describes herself as positive and optimistic, and she works hard to help her sister Sylvie adopt this attitude and improve her life. Discuss the relationship between the two sisters. How does it change from the beginning of the novel to the end? Also consider point of view and discuss how this plays into our perception of Sylvie and Jenn at different points in the novel.
2. Consider the theme of forgiveness in the novel in terms of each characters’ experiences.
3. In chapter twenty-seven, after losing her baby, Jenn says this to Sylvie:
“…I don’t want him to think he has to carry me emotionally. He went through that before with his first wife…”
…I knew [depression] could happen to anyone. I just didn’t believe it would ever happen to me. I’d always been incredibly rational and self-disciplined. I remained calm in a crisis when everyone else around me was in a panic—because I was in control of my mind and therefore my emotions. I almost never let them get the better of me.
Discuss Jenn’s thoughts here and what these statements say about her character at this point in the novel. Do you feel she is truly strong or—even without the brain tumor—do you believe she is in denial about how strong she is? If so, how and why?
4. From the moment we are introduced to Jenn in Chapter Eleven, who did you believe was responsible for the abduction of Riley and Lois’s baby—Jenn or Sylvie? Or someone else entirely? Did your suspicions change as the story unfolded? If so, how and why?
5. Do you think, if Holly hadn’t called Riley in the bar, that he would have taken the drink?
6. Compare the husbands of Lois and Jenn. How are they similar? In what ways are they different? What are the similarities that make them sympathetic characters in this novel?
7. In Chapters Forty-two and Forty-three, leading up to the moment Jenn has her seizure in the restroom, do you believe she thought the baby was her own?
8. Discuss how Jenn’s and Sylvie’s mother interacted with both daughters in terms of providing emotional support. What could she have done differently?
9. Do you believe in ghosts? Why or why not? Have you ever had an experience with a ghostly presence?
The Color of Heaven Novels are also available as audiobooks.
Other Books in the Color of Heaven Series
THE COLOR OF HEAVEN
A deeply emotional tale about Sophie Duncan, a successful columnist whose world falls apart after her daughter’s unexpected illness and her husband’s shocking affair. When it seems nothing else could possibly go wrong, her car skids off an icy road and plunges into a frozen lake. There, in the cold dark depths of the water, a profound and extraordinary experience unlocks the surprising secrets from Sophie’s past, and teaches her what it means to truly live…and love.
Full of surprising twists and turns and a near-death experience that will leave you breathless, this story is not to be missed.
“A gripping, emotional tale you’ll want to read in one sitting.”
—New York Times bestselling author, Julia London
“Brilliantly poignant mainstream tale.”
—4 ½ starred review, Romantic Times
Includes Bonus Content: A Bookclub Discussion Guide
Purchase THE COLOR OF HEAVEN
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THE COLOR OF DESTINY
Eighteen years ago a teenage pregnancy changed Kate Worthington’s life forever. Faced with many difficult decisions, she chose to follow her heart and embrace an uncertain future with the father of her baby—her devoted first love.
At the same time, in another part of the world, sixteen-year-old Ryan Hamilton makes his own share of mistakes, but learns important lessons along the way. Twenty years later, Kate’s and Ryan’s paths cross in a way they could never expect, which makes them question the possibility of destiny. Even when all seems hopeless, could it be that everything happens for a reason, and we end up exactly where we are meant to be?
Includes Bonus Content: A Bookclub Discussion Guide
Purchase THE COLOR OF DESTINY
Add to Goodreads Shelf
THE COLOR OF HOPE
Diana Moore has led a charmed life. She is the daughter of a wealthy senator and lives a glamorous city life, confident that her handsome live-in boyfriend Rick is about to propose. But everything is turned upside down when she learns of a mysterious woman who works nearby—a woman who is her identical mirror image.
Diana is compelled to discover the truth about this woman’s identity, but th
e truth leads her down a path of secrets, betrayals, and shocking discoveries about her past. These discoveries follow her like a shadow.
Then she meets Dr. Jacob Peterson—a brilliant cardiac surgeon with an uncanny ability to heal those who are broken. With his help, Diana embarks upon a journey to restore her belief in the human spirit, and recover a sense of hope—that happiness, and love, may still be within reach for those willing to believe in second chances.
Includes Bonus Content: A Bookclub Discussion Guide
Purchase THE COLOR OF HOPE
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THE COLOR OF A DREAM
Nadia Carmichael has had a lifelong run of bad luck. It begins on the day she is born, when she is separated from her identical twin sister and put up for adoption. Twenty-seven years later, not long after she is finally reunited with her twin and is expecting her first child, Nadia falls victim to a mysterious virus and requires a heart transplant.
Now recovering from the surgery with a new heart, Nadia is haunted by a recurring dream that sets her on a path to discover the identity of her donor. Her efforts are thwarted, however, when the father of her baby returns to sue for custody of their child. It’s not until Nadia learns of his estranged brother Jesse that she begins to explore the true nature of her dreams, and discover what her new heart truly needs and desires…
Purchase THE COLOR OF A DREAM
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THE COLOR OF A MEMORY
Audrey Fitzgerald believed she was married to the perfect man—a heroic firefighter who saved lives, even beyond his own death. But a year later she meets a mysterious woman who has some unexplained connection to her husband…
Soon Audrey discovers that her husband was keeping secrets and she is compelled to dig into his past. Little does she know…this journey of self-discovery will lead her down a path to a new and different future—a future she never could have imagined.
Purchase THE COLOR OF A MEMORY
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THE COLOR OF LOVE
Carla Matthews is a single mother struggling to make ends meet and give her daughter Kaleigh a decent upbringing. When Kaleigh’s absent father Seth—a famous alpine climber who never wanted to be tied down—begs for a second chance at fatherhood, Carla is hesitant because she doesn’t want to pin her hopes on a man who is always seeking another mountain to scale. A man who was never willing to stay put in one place and raise a family.
But when Seth’s plane goes missing after a crash landing in the harsh Canadian wilderness, Carla must wait for news… Is he dead or alive? Will the wreckage ever be found?
One year later, after having given up all hope, Carla receives a phone call that shocks her to her core. A man has been found, half-dead, floating on an iceberg in the North Atlantic, uttering her name. Is this Seth? And is it possible that he will come home to her and Kaleigh at last, and be the man she always dreamed he would be?
Includes Bonus Content: A Bookclub Discussion Guide
Purchase THE COLOR OF LOVE
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THE COLOR OF THE SEASON
From USA Today bestselling author Julianne MacLean comes the next installment in her popular Color of Heaven series—a gripping, emotional tale about real life magic that touches us all during the holiday season…
Boston cop, Josh Wallace, is having the worst day of his life. First, he’s dumped by the woman he was about to propose to, then everything goes downhill from there when he is shot in the line of duty. While recovering in the hospital, he can’t seem to forget the woman he wanted to marry, nor can he make sense of the vivid images that flashed before his eyes when he was wounded on the job. Soon, everything he once believed about his life begins to shift when he meets Leah James, an enigmatic resident doctor who somehow holds the key to both his past and his future…
Purchase THE COLOR OF THE SEASON
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Excerpt from
The Color of Time
by Julianne MacLean
Available in 2015
Sylvie Nichols
Someone once told me, in a genuine effort to be helpful, that I was crippled by regret. I couldn’t deny it. If I had a dime for every time I wished someone would invent a time machine—so I could go back and make a few different choices—I’d be a rich woman today.
But we all know that time machines don’t exist. Of this, my sister has reminded me constantly. Jenn has been telling me for years that I need to let go of the past and move on with my life. She even took me into her home to live rent free for a year so I could get out of a “less than ideal” work situation and train for a new career.
I appreciated her help, honestly I did, and because of her I am now a fully certified dental hygienist, working hard every day to look forward, not back.
Life is good. Change is good. It helps us to grow. Of that, at least, I am certain.
But no matter how far forward we travel in life, is it ever truly possible to let go of the past? Isn’t it part of our identity? Our soul? We can’t simply erase memories from our mind, so what are we to do? Fight every day to block them out? Turn away from them? Pretend they don’t exist? Wouldn’t that be phony and superficial?
All my life, these questions have weighed me down, but finally I have the answers. I have them because of a simple phone call—a phone call one summer that changed my life.
Praise for Julianne MacLean’s
Historical Romances
“MacLean’s compelling writing turns this simple, classic love story into a richly emotional romance, and by combining engaging characters with a unique, vividly detailed setting, she has created an exceptional tale for readers who hunger for something a bit different in their historical romances.”
—BOOKLIST
“You can always count on Julianne MacLean to deliver ravishing romance that will keep you turning pages until the wee hours of the morning.”
—Teresa Medeiros
“Julianne MacLean’s writing is smart, thrilling, and sizzles with sensuality.”
—Elizabeth Hoyt
“Scottish romance at its finest, with characters to cheer for, a lush love story, and rousing adventure. I was captivated from the very first page. When it comes to exciting Highland romance, Julianne MacLean delivers.”
—Laura Lee Guhrke
“She is just an all-around wonderful writer, and I look forward to reading everything she writes.”
—Romance Junkies
Other Books for your Kindle by Julianne MacLean
The American Heiress Series:
To Marry the Duke
An Affair Most Wicked
My Own Private Hero
Love According to Lily
Portrait of a Lover
Surrender to a Scoundrel
The Pembroke Palace Series:
In My Wildest Fantasies
The Mistress Diaries
When a Stranger Loves Me
Married By Midnight
A Kiss Before the Wedding – A Pembroke Palace Short Story
Seduced at Sunset
The Highlander Series:
Captured by the Highlander
Claimed by the Highlander
Seduced by the Highlander
The Rebel – A Highland Short Story
The Royal Trilogy:
Be My Prince
Princess in Love
The Prince’s Bride
Harlequin Historical Romances:
Prairie Bride
The Marshal and Mrs. O’Malley
Adam’s Promise
Time Travel Romance
Taken by the Cowboy
Contemporary Fiction:
The Color of Heaven
The Color of Destiny
The Color of Hope
The Color of a Dream
The Color of a Memory
The Color of Love
The Color of the Season
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About the Author
Julianne MacLean is a USA Today bestselling author of many historical romances, including The Highlander Series with St. Martin’s Press and her popular American Heiress Series with Avon/Harper Collins. She also writes contemporary mainstream fiction, and The Color of Heaven was a USA Today bestseller. She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers’ Best Award, the Book Buyer’s Best Award, and a Reviewers’ Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter, and is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada. Please visit Julianne’s website for more information and to subscribe to her mailing list to stay informed about upcoming releases.