The Colors of Blue by Lance McCulloch-Review, Interview and Giveaway
The Colors of Blue
by Lance McCulloch
Release Date: November 11, 2013
Genre: romance, contemporary
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THE COLORS OF BLUE by Lance McCulloch
ABOUT THE BOOK: Release Date November 11, 2013
The Colors of Blue is an intelligent and compelling mainstream romance whose characters peel away complex layers of deceit, grief, loss and discovery during a riveting journey that at last binds hearts together and renews the promise of true love.
From the novel’s first page, Sara Field emerges as a woman of unique gifts whose soul resonates to a kaleidoscope of colors—a sixth sense that infuses her world with an understanding beyond the apparent. Yet somehow the colors fade in the glare of urban life and heartbreaking betrayal, and her struggle to retrieve those vibrant hues borders on the unbearable. Can she ever regain the innocence and wonder of that magical young womanhood? Perhaps—when she finds the spectacular beauty of the San Juan Mountains and the Tres Piedras River.
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Half a country away, Rick Wheeler mourns the death of his extraordinary wife and feels himself crumbling under the burden of despair even as he builds a financial dynasty. Will nothing lift the gloom, relieve the cruel devastation of his loss and renew his heart? Ah, yes, there is one thing—fly-fishing on the Tres Piedras River. Time here is satisfying and soul-renewing. But he is still alone.
The rest, woven into a tapestry of adventure, intrigue, revelation, and even serendipity, invites each reader to participate in a life-affirming search for the colors and connections of love and the depth of meaning they give to the human spirit.
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REVIEW: THE COLORS OF BLUE by Lance McCulloch is a contemporary storyline of romance and love. The focus of the story is on ranch hand Rick Wheeler and primary school teacher Sara Field-the woman who will open Rick’s heart and mind to second chances and finding love.
The premise of the storyline is the building relationship between Rick and Sara but, also the rebuilding of trust. Rick and Sara have both suffered heartbreaking and painful losses but none more so than Rick. At a weeklong getaway prior to Sara’s sister’s wedding, Rick and Sara will meet for the first time opening their eyes and their hearts to the possibility of a future but not before betrayal and misunderstandings will pull them apart.
THE COLORS OF BLUE is a storyline with a slight paranormal edge. The writing is as calming as it is beautiful with descriptive narration and scenery. Lance McCulloch weaves a wonderful tale that is romantic in its presentation; graceful in its approach; passionate in its maturity and imagination.
The storyline is told through present day, memory flashbacks and dreams. The reader is introduced to a cast of secondary characters that will make you fall in love with their perceptive understanding about two people meant for one another. Sara and Rick are drawn to one another such that the reader will be drawn into the storyline that is emotionally seductive. There is no foul language and no sexual situations but the sexual tension between Sara and Rick is palpable.
Lance McCulloch has written a captivating and breathtaking storyline where two people will find love. The Colors of Blue is a story of pure romance; of developing friendships; and learning to let go. If you are looking for a story with romance, seduction and a happily ever after THE COLORS OF BLUE is an incredible journey that you don’t want to miss.
Copy supplied by the author.
Reviewed by Sandy
TRC: Hi Lance and welcome to The Reading Café.
We would like to start with some background information. Would you please tell us something about yourself?
Follow Lance: Goodreads / Website / Facebook /
Lance: I’m a 49 years old and only recently become a full-time author. Me, my wife Jennifer and three daughters all call Boulder, Colorado home. I have a degree from the University of Colorado in Chemical Engineering and spent the last ten years of my life starting and running a gear and technology company. I love the outdoors and fly-fishing has been my go-to Zen for many years.
TRC: What or who influenced your foray into writing?
Lance: Around 2003 I started a technology company in Boulder, Colorado. Several years later the company had arrived at a unique GPS technology with military applications. In 2007, a large public company approached my six-person company exploring a relationship to distribute our products. I was excited and believed that we had hit the jackpot. Unbeknownst to me, this company had an agenda that was outside of the terms of the distribution contract we signed. The terms of that agreement made them the exclusive distributor of our product and when they missed a major US Army contract, they simply stepped away.
Their actions set forth a sequence of events including the loss of my company and a lawsuit against the large company. I loved my employees and losing them and my company were some very darkest times in my life. I needed something positive. One day I closed the door of my office and simply began to write. My book, The Colors of Blue, was the best and most positive thing to come out of those hard times, although, when a Dallas, Texas jury convicted the company of fraud in 2013, it was not bad either.
TRC: THE COLORS OF BLUE is your first published novel (November 2013). Would you please tell us something about the premise?
Lance: The Colors of Blue is a contemporary story of love, loss, and recovery. It is a story of the human spirit told through the eyes and experiences of the two main Characters, Sarah Field and Rick Wheeler.
Sarah was born with a special gift, a sixth sense that allows her to see colors that have great meaning. During a week in the Colorado Rockies with her sister and a group of friends, Sarah meets Rick Wheeler, at first glance a river guide with a tragic past. Here, as she sorts through the deceit by her fiancé, her colors begin to appear again. Then arrives the odd colors of blue, ones she has never encountered before. But Sarah struggles with these new colors, continually overshadowed by the presence of her cheating fiancé, like herself a guest at the Colorado ranch.
TRC: What do you tell the critics/potential new readers as it pertains to the male perspective when writing romance novels?
Lance: Romance is nothing more than a delightful process to arrive at the most basic necessity of any human. That necessity is love. I set out to write a story of loss and discovery of this most basic need. If my readers feel or see it as a romance, so be it; my writing comes from the perspective of a man who felt the loss of a mother early in life, who felt the sudden and tragic loss of a father in a plane crash, and the vulnerability of a man with unmatched love for a beautiful wife and three daughters.
TRC: Did you learn anything about yourself when writing the book?
Lance: I’ve spent half of my life being an engineer and business owner as a practical means of supporting my family. What I’ve discovered is that writing provides an internal joy beyond what I ever found in the ‘practical’ days of my life. I think I will keep writing because life is too short. ☺ I’d also like to go looking for sunken treasure in the Caribbean, but I’m pretty sure that pictures of my sun-drenched body in speedo would sink that adventure.
TRC: Is THE COLORS OF BLUE a stand alone novel or do you have plans for a series?
Lance: Sarah and Rick’s story begins at the end of The Colors of Blue. It must continue and I know their next journey. However, I am compelled by another problem in the Colorado Rockies that is begging to be sorted-out first!
TRC: Are any of the characters based in reality or a culmination of many different variables?
Lance: When I was in my 20’s I lost my mother to cancer. My parents always had a great relationship and I watched as my father contended with this loss. Although I did not set out with the intention of writing my father’s story, I’ve realized that I have spent many hours fly-fishing and sorting through how he dealt with losing his wife. That event was certainly a core influence on my story.
TRC: What challenges or difficulties (research, logistics, background, etc) did you encounter writing this particular story and series?
Lance: I believe there are a hundred ways to tell the same story. However, there is a real art to keeping an audience involved and turning pages. My background is Chemical Engineering, about as close to Creative Writing as oil is to water. I worked the hardest on structuring the story with strategic and creative ways to keep the audience involved.
TRC: If you could virtually cast the leading characters in this storyline, which models or actors best represents your ideal image?
Lance: Sarah would be Keira Knightley with dark, curly hair. I will not comment on Rick for fear of damaging a late night image built by the female reader. I mean, would you pick up the book if I told you Rick looked like Will Ferrell? Don’t worry, he does not!
TRC: When writing a storyline, do the characters direct the writing or do you direct the characters?
Lance: As an author, I find myself creating primary events and experiences for my characters while knowing how they will react and respond to each. The readers get to know my characters through these primary events but also the small scenes I create that may seem unimportant but work to round out the character. In an interesting way, I create the primary events and the characters responses and then the characters tell me how they will respond in the smaller scenes. This is a good question. It’s allowed me to arrive at the conclusion that my characters are smarter than I am. ☺
TRC: The mark of a good writer is to pull the reader into the storyline so that they experience the emotions along with the characters. What do you believe a writer must do to make this happen? Where do you believe writer’s fail in this endeavor?
Lance: I believe it goes a long way to build a story that any reader can see, feel, smell, and touch. When each of us walk through an airport we each take-in the scene and all that fills it. If characters in a book see, feel, hear, and smell things that the reader would experience in the same way, they become real; they become believable. I would guess the most common mistake is to create characters that are too perfect, that sense things the average reader would miss.
TRC: Writer’s Block is a very real phenomenon. How do you handle the pressures and anxiety of writer’s block?
Lance: Studying engineering in college, I found that if I worked hard on a problem yet could not solve it, it was best to simply leave it alone for some period of time. That did not mean that I was not working on it, only that it was my subconscious rather than the conscious part of my brain that was doing the work. Commonly, this is called ‘sleeping on it.’ However, often it takes more than a single night. Thus, I try to identify the problem I face in the story, whether it is a sequence of events, the reality of a scene, dialog, or something else and then consider all of the options to solve the problem. I will then work on another section of the book and wait until the problem solves itself. If you see my iPhone, it’s full of message to myself when I’m out shopping, having coffee, or a glass of wine and suddenly the solution arrives. Now that I think about it, it often occurs when I’m drinking wine; maybe we are on to something here? ☺
TRC: Many authors bounce ideas and information with other authors or friends and family. With whom do you bounce ideas?
Lance: I do not find myself bouncing specific ideas but I will give my wife ‘raw’ chapters. She is the one for me. I’ll watch out of the corner of my eye as she reads to see if I’ve created the right reaction in her. By now, I know most of her facial expressions.
TRC: On what are you currently working?
Lance: My next story is set in the small town of Silverton, Colorado. The title is ‘The Funny Little Corners of Love.’ Dan receives a letter from his estranged, alcoholic brother. In it, his brother tells him that he has found their missing father and that he should return to Colorado as quickly as possible. From here, we are off and running to reunite brothers in a mystery with recognizable, human themes.
TRC: Would you like to add anything else?
Lance: I would just like to thank The Reading Café for this interview and everyone who has taken time read. Thanks ☺
LIGHTNING ROUND
Favorite Food
Sushi
Favorite Dessert
Cheese cake, add some strawberry to the top.
Favorite TV Show
Modern Family
Last Movie You Saw
Anchorman 2
Dark or Milk Chocolate
Milk Chocolate by a mile! Add almonds and I’ll follow you over a cliff!
Secret Celebrity Crush
Sandra Bullock
Last Vacation Destination
Hawaii, The Big Island.
Pet Peeve
TV or Radio News with an agenda.
TRC: Thank you Lance for taking the time to answer our questions. Congratulations on the release of THE COLORS OF BLUE. We wish you all the
best.
Lance is giving away a copy of THE COLORS OF BLUE to 20 (twenty) lucky commenters at The Reading Cafe.
1. Please register using the log-in at the top of the page (side bar) or by using one of the social log-ins.
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3. LIKE us on FACEBOOK and then click GET NOTIFICATION under ‘liked’ for an additional entry.
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5. The giveaway is open Internationally.
6. The giveaway runs from April 3 to April 8, 2014
Shattered Web is part of the Alpha After Dark Anthology (8 books in one)
Crista has graciously offered to give an e-copy of Alphas After Dark to ONE (1) lucky commenter at The Reading Cafe.
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