Kate McBrien - Romance Author

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Rothko Sunrise

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If you’ve read the first two books, you know that sunrises and sunsets are an integral part of the Indigo trilogy. Lucy is an art history graduate student who, in WAITING FOR YOU, explains to a friend why Mark Rothko is her favorite painter: Seeing a Rothko painting in person is a transcendent experience. The canvases are huge, and his juxtaposition of colors almost makes the blocks of color shimmer before your eyes.

Mark Rothko is also (no coincidence) my favorite painter. In WAITING FOR YOU, Justin and Lucy travel to the Greek island of Santorini where they watch a sunrise on their first morning at a private villa.

 

Here is an exclusive scene from WAITING FOR YOU that describes the Rothko sunrise :

Justin found Lucy still standing at the window. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and murmured in her ear, “We’re all alone now. I want to care for you, Lucy. Tell me what you need.”

She turned in his arms, her eyes glistening. “Right now all I want to do is watch the sunrise with you.”

“That sounds perfect,” he whispered, kissing her. Justin opened the large glass sliding door. He took Lucy’s hand and walked across the spacious terrace to stand by the infinity pool. Justin moved a chaise lounge to the edge, sat down, and pulled her between his open legs. They watched in silence while the sky changed from dark blue on the horizon, to light pink just as the sun was about to rise. 

 Lucy gasped and pointed to the horizon. “There, right there. Do you see it?”

“It’s beautiful. It reminds me of the morning I first met you,” Justin said, kissing the top of her head.

“Yes,” she exclaimed. “But it also reminds me of a Rothko painting. All those bands of color, they appear to hover in front of you.”

Justin had no idea what a Rothko painting looked like, but Lucy’s excitement was contagious. “I’ve never seen anything more beautiful,” he whispered in her ear. “Except you, of course. He turned her around and kissed her.

 

If you’re curious which Mark Rothko painting inspired that scene and what a Santorini sunrise looks like, here are two links to explore:

Mark Rothko, No. 14, 1960, 1960
https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/97.524/

Sunrise on Santorini
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoRJ8if6x3A

 

Final note: Sister Wendy Beckett was a nun and a self-educated art historian. During the 1990s, she had several series that aired on the BBC as well as PBS. She had the gift of demystifying art and engaging the viewer in learning more about art and artists. Sister Wendy died recently and will be missed by her legion of fans.

Here is a link to her discussion of a Mark Rothko painting:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3sPATJc7rM

 

I’m happy to share that ALWAYS WITH YOU, the trilogy’s conclusion will be released 1/28/2019. It is available for pre-order on Amazon now:
https://amzn.to/2QoRyJ0

 

Wishing you all the best in 2019,

 

Kate

Crafting the Indigo Trilogy

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Hi everyone!

I’m a pantster by nature, but I do use an outline. For the Indigo trilogy, I had to know precisely where it would end before I could put a word down on the computer. But no matter how much I tried to stick to an outline, the story kept tugging me in a few unexpected directions.

The first thing I had to do was to choose an origin story. In college, I wrote a paper on the Fourth Crusade and knew without a doubt this dramatic historical event would be the cornerstone of the trilogy.

The inspiration for the character of Justin Hamilton was based on the actor Jamie Dornan. I’m a huge fangirl, so basing a sexy rock star on Jamie was a no-brainer.

Lucy Bianchi’s character inspiration was based on Hayley Atwell. I’m not as familiar with her work as an actress but when I stumbled upon her photo on Twitter one day and knew she was my Lucy.

Be sure to check out my Pinterest page for photos Jamie, Hayley, and other inspirations of the Indigo Trilogy.

Besides the hero and heroine, I needed an object; something that would anchor the trilogy and also functions as a third character. After researching art objects from the Byzantine era, I stumbled upon a medieval cross while doing a search on the internet.

As soon as I saw the cross, the entire trilogy unfolded for me. The cross is small in size, engraved, and blue. The color blue became one of the primary themes of the trilogy. It’s the thread that connects the main characters throughout all the books.

The trilogy includes two of my favorite things: art and music.

Lucy’s world is filled with art, and the trilogy mentions many styles of art that I hope readers will enjoy learning about. Colleen, Lucy’s best friend, is frustrated by how many of her students love Thomas Kinkade. He’s famous for the many romantic renditions of cottages, landscapes, and cityscapes. As a former art history teacher, I share Colleen’s frustration with trying to encourage her students to look beyond Kinkade and discover other artists.

Justin expresses his feelings and yearning through music. I’ve been a fan of The Moody Blues for years. Many of their songs suggest searching or longing for a distant time and place that would be a perfect foundation for the trilogy. It was fun to delve into some of my favorite Moody Blues songs to find ways to incorporate them into Justin’s musical world.

Music and art have had a big influence on my life, and I’ve enjoyed incorporating them into the trilogy. I hope you enjoy it as well!

Happy autumn.

Best,

~~Kate~~

Welcome!

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Hi everyone,

The date was 11/1/2015. It was the first day of National Novel Writing Month. I had been working on a medieval historical fiction novel for a few years, but I was restless. I didn’t feel like climbing back into fourteenth-century France, not to mention the Black Death.

I wanted to write a story with a happy ending.

The inspiration for The Indigo Series evolved from a conversation I had with a friend many years ago. She believed in soul mates and tried to convince me that once two soul mates saw each other, they would be immediately drawn together and live happily ever after.

I was too cynical to believe this kind of fantasy. It’s impossible, right? But I started to mull the idea around and asked myself, “What if it was true?” What if two people were destined to meet? Would circumstances from their past make this possible?

“Discovering You,” is about Justin and Lucy, two unlikely soulmates finding each other. It lays the foundation for the trilogy: how they meet, their irresistible attraction to each other, as well as their connection to a mysterious medieval cross are like pieces of a puzzle that wants to be solved. And like all memorable love stories, Justin and Lucy must overcome obstacles to be together.

In the coming months, I will be posting blogs about some of the behind-the-scenes stories, character inspirations, the music and art included in the book, and other insights.

Writing the Indigo Series was a profoundly personal experience for me. I had to work through some dark themes that were not intended to shock readers but to provide an unforgettable experience to demonstrate the resilience of the human spirit and the power of love. I promise there is a very satisfying happy ending to the trilogy.

I hope you’re swept away by Justin and Lucy’s story and enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

— Kate