Mayra's Secret Bookcase

Themes in Colors Like Memories

First off, thanks a million for hosting me today! I love connecting with other writers and readers :) And I do have a contest running for my blog tour—all commenter’s are entered into a drawing for two copies of my book, and one person will win a $25 giftcard to Amazon or Barnes & Nobel. There are more details on my home blog, if you want to check it out!

So, today I thought I’d talk a little about the themes in Colors Like Memories—my debut novel published by MuseItUp. Some part of me is going “Oh, great, back to high school English class.” Back then, I was a lot more into reading for an escape than reading for themes and symbolism and all the other stuff that cropped up on midterms and finals. When I’m writing, I’m still more invested in characters and plots and world-building than anything else :) But there are a few things in my book that are subjects that I have spent a lot of time thinking about that worked their way into the story and plot.

The most prominent of these is probably forgiveness. My main character, Julia, feels a huge amount of guilt over the death of her boyfriend. Marcy, the girl Julia’s supposed to be helping, feels terrible about the death of her mother. Both of these girls are trying to find a way to play the cards they have been dealt, and Marcy at least is ready to throw in her hand. Wow, doesn’t that sound uplifting? I swear it’s not as dark and depressing as it might seem! Anyhow, I think most people have faced events in their life that have brought them a great deal of sadness and loss, and finding a way to face this can be some of the hardest trials we ever face. They can be also incredibly character building (see what I did there? Character building? Gotta love the bad puns!). Learning how to forgive others, and especially how to forgive oneself, are definitely themes that are addressed in CLM. Of course, there’s some romance, a bookstore, and lots of flying tossed into the mix to make things interesting!

Inquiring minds want to know: do you find it easier to forgive others, or yourself?

Release date: May 11^th 2012 from MuseItUp Publishing.

A bit about Meradeth Houston:

Meradeth’s never been a big fan of talking about herself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about her:

She’s a Northern California girl. This generally means she talks too fast and use "like" a lot.

She has her doctorate in molecular anthropology. Translation: she sequences dead people's DNA and is a professional lab rat.

She’s been writing since she was 11 years old. It's her hobby, her passion, and she’s so happy to get to share her work!

Her other passion is teaching. There's nothing more fun than getting a classroom of college kids fired up about anthropology!

If she could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because she’s terrified of heights. 

www.MeradethHouston.com

meradethhouston.blogspot.com

https://twitter.com/#!/MeradethHouston

www.goodreads.com/book/show/13030422-colors-like-memories

http://www.facebook.com/ColorsLikeMemories

See the complete VBT schedule HERE.

A bit about the Colors Like Memories: 

Julia has a secret: she killed the guy she loved. It was an accident—sort of. Julia is a Sary, the soul of a child who died before taking her first breath. Without this 'breath of life' she and others like her must help those on the verge of suicide. It's a job Julia used to enjoy, until the accident that claimed her boyfriend’s life—an accident she knows was her fault. If living with the guilt weren't enough, she's now assigned to help a girl dealing with the loss of her mother, something Julia's not exactly the best role model for. If she can't figure out a way to help her, Julia's going to lose her position in the Sary, something she swore to her boyfriend would never happen. Release date: May 11th 2012 from MuseItUp Publishing.