Above is a drawing of a character from Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” trilogy. In Chapter Three of my new novel, Donna finds her brother, Vincent, creating this drawing. The theme of art runs throughout this book. The story opens with Donna admiring the paintings on Vincent’s wall and ends with her imagining the drawings of her life. Vincent is a true artist but as she says in Chapter Twelve of this book, “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, she pushes Vincent to do more because she subscribes to the commonly held belief that life is incomplete without a spouse, children, a dignified career, and a nice home. When she sees the pictures in her brother’s sketchbook, she realizes the internal joy he had without these things. This sketchbook is also the impetus for her own change, the thing that allows her to start living authentically and free instead of conforming to society’s dictates.

Both Olive Branches Don’t Grow on Trees and The Bird that Sang in Color are novels about artists. Vincent, from the latter novel, is the inspiration for Silvia, the protagonist from the former title.

My latest blog series on the artwork that inspired the family saga, The Bird that Sang in Color. The art featured in these posts comes from a sketchbook that belonged to my brother, Vincent, which I discovered shortly after his death. It had pictures he’d drawn of himself throughout various phases of his life. This pictorial autobiography caused me to wonder what pictures I’d have of myself by the end of my life, which motivated me to live more fully. In writing this novel, I was able to share this powerful realization with the world. This novel is the third book in the Greco Family Trilogy. Each one of these family trilogy books is told from a different family member’s point of view. This one is told from the perspective of the Greco family matriarch, Donna.   

As in my other blog series, each posts will come with an excerpt from my novel. Hope you 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.