Love, art and uncertainty in the French countryside – #France #LaterInLife #FriendsToLovers

In her late forties, Callie Patterson, an amateur artist, craves success in the art world. Opportunity presents itself in the form of the irresistible French artist Nicholas Trier who offers a three-week Artists’ Retreat in a French château. If she manages to charm him, who knows where the association might lead?

However, from the moment she arrives in France, things don’t go according to plan. The château is magnificent, the countryside is splendid, but it never stops raining, and Nicholas is surrounded by an ambitious group of women who have the same plan she does.

She is grateful for the growing friendship with the château’s gardener, Michel Alexander, but if Callie finds him seductive she can’t consider him a potential lover: Michel is probably as poor as she is.

Set in rural France, this light-hearted romance touches on the contemporary art world and French history.

Blurb

Callie Patterson, an unsuccessful artist, hopes that a relationship with the irresistible and magnetic Nicholas Trier will pave the way to success. She follows him to France where, in a magnificent château, he holds his artists' retreats. But famous men surround themselves with hangers-on and demand complete loyalty.

Callie soon finds herself far more attracted to Michel Alexandre, the estate gardener, who loves and protects trees and every living creature. But if she wants to make a name for herself, she’ll have to choose Nicholas and his world.

Except nothing is quite the way it seems, and perhaps success isn’t the most important thing, after all.

Excerpt

Callie dropped her backpack and, uninvited, sat down on the soggy ground not far from where he was digging. She didn’t even own a houseplant, but a banal conversation about twigs and saplings, was what she craved at the moment. “Okay, tell me why isn’t there a hedge here now.”

“Because, years ago, the farmer ripped out all the hedges to have larger fields for his agricultural machinery. Now we’re bringing back a balanced environment.”

“You’re not planning to replace every single hedge on your own, are you?”

“Of course not,” he scoffed. Picking up a small spade, he loosened another patch of earth. “There are thousands of trees and shrubs to replant, and that would be an impossible task for only one person.”
With gentle fingers, he spread the delicate roots of a tiny shrub, tucked it into place in the little hole, then tamped down the moist soil with his palm. Reached for another, and then another.

She watched silently as he planted, and strangely enough, it was almost a sensual sight. His hands were broad, strong, and deeply tanned from working outdoors; his long fingers were beautifully shaped. And under that denim shirt of his, there was the alluring suggestion of tight sinew and warm, fragrant skin. Bear like? No, not exactly. Something more, something…

“A penny for your thoughts.” Michel was watching her with those disconcerting eyes of his, very dark, with heavy lids and thick lashes.
She felt the blush as it traveled upward, flooding her neck, her face. He hadn’t caught what she had been thinking, had he? Perhaps he had. Surely, he’d seen how her gaze had slipped over his hands, his arms, his chest, and shoulders. How incredibly humiliating! What vaguely plausible answer could she give? “Oh…just remembering something.”

“Ah.” Eyebrows raised in overt amusement, he smirked—rather cockily—then went back to working on the next hole, the next shrub.

 

The Unpredictable Colors of Love is published by the Wild Rose Press

Purchase Links https://books2read.com/TheUnpredictableColorsOfLove

Trailer: https://youtu.be/27nE-cCHNqM

Review Quotes

As always the author creates characters who are not always perfect, have enjoyed full lives up to the point where she brings them together, and who are on a journey of discovery. The story is set within in the luxurious and lovingly renovated chateau and in the glorious countryside where its ancient fields and hedgerows are also being brought back to life. The perfect setting for two people who might have given up hope on finding a soul mate to explore the possibility there might just be a chance for them after all. ~ Sally Cronin, Smorgasbord Blog Magazine

The charming setting of rural France is an excellent backdrop to the book, which explores the dichotomy between urban and countryside environments. It also examines the contrast between two vastly different types of men: the arrogant and popular Nicolas, and humble, caring Michel. Indeed, the unfolding romance between headstrong Callie and the down-to-earth gardener is delightful to behold, as is Callie’s transformation from urbanite to country-dweller. Michel supports and validates her, which is in stark contrast to Nicolas’s superior attitude and vanity.

A sweet, tender romance, with well-developed characters I could root for, this is an immersive story, with its unique and picturesque setting. ~ Whispering Stories

About the Author

Writer, social critical artist, and impenitent teller of tall tales, J. Arlene Culiner, was born in New York and raised in Toronto. She has crossed much of Europe on foot, has lived in a mud house on the Great Hungarian Plain, in a Bavarian castle, a Turkish cave dwelling, a haunted house on the English moors, and beside a Dutch canal. She now resides in a 400-year-old former inn in a French village of no interest where, much to local dismay, she protects spiders, snakes, and weeds. 

Observing people everywhere, she eavesdrops on all private conversations and delights in hearing any nasty, funny, ridiculous, sad, romantic, or boastful story. And when she can't uncover any salacious gossip, she makes it up.

Author Website http://www.j-arleneculiner.com
Blog: http://j-arleneculiner.over-blog.com
Author links: https://linktr.ee/j.arleneculiner