Today I am so pleased to welcome Brigham Vaughn to Joyfully Jay. Brigham has come to talk to us about her Colors series. Please join me in giving her a big welcome!

 

The “Colors” series is a lesbian romance set in Boston. When I began writing it, I knew I wanted to eventually take Annie and Siobhán to Ireland.

Siobhán is originally from Ireland, although she’s been living in the United State for a number of years. The first book, “A Brighter Palette” covers their time in Boston. The second book, “The Greenest Isle” takes them to Dublin, and then to Bray, Ireland.

When I began writing “The Greenest Isle” I asked two Irish friends of mine—who are both big music nerds—to send me songs by Irish musicians to help set the mood while I wrote. They sent me a massive number of songs and I thoroughly enjoyed discovering new music and putting it into a playlist.

It contains a mix of both Irish “trad” (or traditional) music by artists like The Clancy Brothers and Luke Kelly and more modern bands like The Pogues. We all know U2 is Irish, but I learned that Van Morrison is as well. And one of my favorite new (to me) artists is Damien Dempsey, an Irish artist from Dublin.

If you’d like to check out the playlist, you can do so here: The Greenest Isle Playlist

I hope you love music, the characters and the books in the “Colors” series as much as I do!

Here are the blurbs and universal buy links to both books.

 

“A Brighter Palette”

Annie Slocum is a bisexual woman struggling to make a living as a freelance writer. Stuck in a rut, she feels bored with her career, her relationships—her life. A chance meeting with Siobhán at a gallery adds a bright spark to her dull life.

Siobhán Murray is a lesbian Irish painter living in Boston. She loves her career, loves her life, but she’s missing the one piece that will make her life complete—a partner. She falls hard for Annie and is delighted to realize Annie inspires her work. But a string of failed relationships has left her wary of bisexual women and wondering if she can trust that Annie won’t leave her.

When Siobhán’s past comes back to haunt them, they’ll have to decide if the new relationship is something that will burn bright and end quickly or if it’s meant to last.

https://books2read.com/b/ABrighterPalette

 

“The Greenest Isle”

When Siobhán Murray gets a call from a neighbor saying her estranged father, Patrick, has been admitted to a hospital after a serious heart attack, she’s desperate to get to Ireland. Her girlfriend, Annie Slocum, books the first possible flight to Dublin for both of them.

Despite their difficult relationship, Siobhán wants to help her father, so she and Annie move in with him during his recovery. Although Annie loves Siobhán and Ireland, and wants to be supportive, she feels out of place and disconnected from Siobhán.

Patrick hasn’t been the same since his wife’s death fifteen years ago, and it takes time and patience for Siobhán and him to work through their issues.

Things slowly begin to improve as Annie figures out a way to expand her Boston-based blog to include some Irish content, and Siobhán’s spark of creativity re-ignites after lying dormant for more than a year.

But there’s one more hurdle they must overcome, and that decision will shape their entire future.

https://books2read.com/b/TheGreenestIsle

 

If you haven’t started the series yet, now is the perfect time! “A Brighter Palette” is on sale for $0.99 and both books are available in eBook and paperback formats and are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited.


Excerpt

“Annie and I were thinking we’d try to do this once a week. Just get out. It’s been so long since I’ve been home, and Annie hasn’t seen much of Ireland since we’ve been here, so I thought—”

“You don’t have to justify it to me, girl,” Patrick said. “You’re a grown woman. You go out when you want to. Truth be told, you always did. Whether yer ma and I gave you permission or not.”

“Well, I’d like to think I’ve grown up since then,” Siobhán said with a laugh.

“You have. I see that now.” Patrick shook his head. “You look so much like her too. Especially when you smile like that. It’s eerie, really.”

Siobhán’s happy expression immediately disappeared, replaced with one filled with worry. “I’m sorry. I know that bothers you.”

“Bothers me?” Patrick looked surprised. “Not at all. Sure, it’s hard sometimes. Makes me miss her. But it’s nice to see her face when I look at yours.”

Siobhán blindly reached out for Annie’s hand. When she took it, Siobhán squeezed hard.

“I thought you hated it,” Siobhán whispered. “Hated me for looking like her.”

Patrick’s expression turned stricken. “Hated you? Siobhán, I could never hate you. I’ll admit, at first, I missed yer ma so much it hurt to look at you. And maybe that’s what you saw. But I could never <em>hate</em> you.”


Bio

Brigham Vaughn is on the adventure of a lifetime as a full-time author. She devours books at an alarming rate and hasn’t let her short arms and long torso stop her from doing yoga.  She makes a killer key lime pie, hates green peppers, and loves wine tasting tours. A collector of vintage Nancy Drew books and green glassware, she enjoys poking around in antique shops and refinishing thrift store furniture. An avid photographer, she dreams of traveling the world and she can’t wait to discover everything else life has to offer her.

Her books range from short stories to novellas to novels. They explore gay, bisexual, lesbian, and polyamorous romance in contemporary settings.

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