Above is a drawing of a character from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. In Chapter Three of my newest novel, The Bird That Sang in Color, Donna discovers her brother Vincent creating this sketch. The theme of art runs throughout the book: it opens with Donna admiring the paintings on Vincent’s walls and concludes with her imagining the drawings of her own life.
Vincent is a true artist, yet as Donna reflects in Chapter Twelve: “His paintings never hung in any galleries…He knew the real joy and richness that came from learning and creating, and that was enough for him.”
Throughout her life, Donna pushes Vincent to do more, believing that a complete life requires a spouse, children, a dignified career, and a comfortable home. But when she sees the sketches in his personal sketchbook—a pictorial autobiography of his life—she realizes the internal joy he found without these conventional markers. This revelation becomes the catalyst for her own transformation, allowing her to begin living authentically and freely, rather than conforming to society’s expectations.
Both Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees and The Bird That Sang in Color explore the lives of artists. Vincent, from the latter novel, was also the inspiration for Silvia, the protagonist of the former.
This blog series features the artwork that inspired The Bird That Sang in Color. The sketches come from a book that belonged to my brother, Vincent, which I discovered shortly after his death. It contains drawings of him across various phases of his life. This pictorial autobiography made me reflect on the images I might leave behind of my own life, inspiring me to live more fully. Through writing this novel, I was able to share that powerful realization with the world.
The Bird That Sang in Color is the third book in the Greco Family Trilogy, a series in which each book is told from a different family member’s perspective. This one is narrated by the family matriarch, Donna.
As with my other blog series, each post features an excerpt from the novel. Enjoy the following excerpt from Chapter Three of my newest literary fiction novel.
“Hey, Vincent,” I said. “You ever think of teaching in college one day?”
“Nah, I wouldn’t be any good at that.” I was sure that Dad had gotten to him with all his put-downs. I wished he never moved back home. If he talked to me before doing it, I would have steered him in a different direction.
“Hey, check this out,” he said, showing me a drawing he made of a character from The Lord of the Rings. It was a young man with a crown and a blue-and-orange robe, waving a sword in the air, his mouth wide open as if a dragon or something else horrific was heading his way. His name was Fingolfin, and he was so animated like all the people Vincent drew. Even though the picture was drawn with markers on sketch paper, it looked like something that could have hung in a museum.
“I love it,” I said. “You’re so talented and smart. That’s why I think you’d make a great professor. And you love learning. You just said how fun you think it is. So, you’d be a natural teacher.”
No response. He just put his hand over his mouth as he laughed his galloping laugh.
Grace Mattioli is the author of the Greco Family Trilogy books, including Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees, Discovery of an Eagle, and The Bird that Sang in Color. These books are available from all major online book sellers, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Apple Books.
