Color can have a weighty force on our daily choices, our behavior, and how the reader sees our characters in our stories.
How do you incorporate color into your tales?
**Disclaimer: Throughout history colors have been allotted to human emotions… however, there isn’t hard evidence to substantiate that color psychologically affects sentiment.If colors did cause people to feel emotions associated with said color they might be:
Red: stimulates body, mind and energy, and increases circulation. a symbol of life and love.
In
Dark Shadows (Tease Tarot), Tori decides Henri is the man of her dreams, the guy who’ll make her happy forever. She decks out in a sexy red dress and approaches Henri. Henri, of course has difficulty breathing (circulation), he can’t take his eyes off of her (stimulate body) and his mind is fuzzy. Is his reaction the direct result of the red dress or because she’s walked back into his life? Both maybe?
Yellow: stimulates nerves; creates optimism, joy and laughter, wealth and hope.
In
Melody’s Song(Cobblestone Press), a story about the loss of hope and renewed hope, After the death of her son, Melody believes she doesn’t have a reason to exist. She has lost all hope. In search of happiness, she finds hope in an unexpected place which leads to love. When Melody is suspected of stealing drugs from a hospital unit Devon believes in her and continues to trust in her, despite all the incriminating evidence.
Opening night of Phantom of the Opera:
“Melody, flowers.” Pep’s long-legged stride brought her close, and she handed a large bouquet of yellow roses to her. A new single red rose with a black ribbon sat bare on her dressing table. The red rose had an air of creepiness. She wanted it to die.
“Oh, yellow, my favorite. How many do you think are in this massive bouquet?” Melody asked.
“Twenty-five.”
Melody lifted a recently plucked eyebrow.
“I counted.” Pep shrugged her shoulders. “I wanted to know.” She flipped over the envelope holding the tiny card. “Who are they from?”
“Let’s see.” Melody grabbed the paper and extracted the card. “Break a leg, luv. Devon.”
The gift:
“One moment, Matt,” Devon shouted.
Melody opened the beautiful velvet rectangle, and inside was a gold bracelet with two, tiny, gold charms. One had a child, a boy with arms outstretched and face upward, as if he enjoyed the sun and life as a healthy child. The other had a man and woman entwined in a hug, clearly in love.
Devon knows his color psychology; he gives her yellow roses and a gold bracelet. He uses yellow, the color of hope, to charm Melody.
Blue: seas, skies, men, trustworthy, committed, peace, unity, harmony, loyalty, Earth, ice, coldness, keep bad spirits away, treat pain.
**The majority of people select blue as their favorite color.
Trade Agreement (The Wild Rose Press)is a romantic suspense.
As you can see by the cover, some of the story takes place on the high seas. Georgina is traded by her ex-husband for a load of contraband. She prays her peaceful, blue-eyed lover will help her escape from the disastrous situation. She trust him and believes the sea won’t stop him from rescuing her.
Gee’s ex-husband has blue eyes as well…but they are ice, cold.
Tristan’s face remained calm. “Of course. Aren’t we all? We take items and sell them for a profit. The buyers are not important, nor the nationality, nor the cause, nor how illegal the goods. We steal them for the thrill of making a deal. For money.” His blond cropped hair, light crystal-blue eyes, and winsome smile widened giving him the appearance of the boy next door.
Black: power, sophistication, elegance wealth, mystery, evil, death, fear, anger, sadness, and remorse.
Trade Agreement: Shivers cascaded over Georgina’s body, the November cold penetrating her thin dress. She braced herself against the bumpy jolts as the speed boat hit rough water. The night was moonless. The water looked like black ink around them. The closer they got to the freighter, the faster her heart beat, a quick cadence to match the water hitting the side of the vessel.
The ocean represents fear, mystery, and is powerful.
When Gee meets the Russian Sea Captain who she believes will assist her. While the men talked, in Russian or Ukrainian, Georgina deliberated how to convince Aleksandr, to return her to the States. He was as dark and mysterious in appearance as the freighter. His black and shaggy beard seemed blacker as a result of the elegant gray shirt and pants covering his thin body.
Would this nightmare ever end? It had to be a dream, because he was wearing Armani for God’s sake, at midnight, on a freighter, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. He didn’t look like a man who did favors out of the goodness of his heart.
Sophistication, even if fake, is represented in his dark apparel, while his black hair and shaggy beard create a sense of evil and mystery. Georgina fears him.
Another example, this one from
Dark Shadows:
Revelers flowed out from the bar and grill. Henri appreciated the name of the establishment. A hundred year old oak tree created shadows on the face of the building. The precise locations of the exterior lighting allowed for the images to appear dark and gothic. But that wasn’t the reason for the pub’s name. No, there were shadows inside as well as out.
This scene sets the tone for a exceptional mystery, don’t you think?
Gray: unsettling, expectant, loss or depression, stability, wisdom, decay.
Dark Shadows is all about darkness, black and gray.
Tori hadn’t heard her enter. She pivoted. Dark Shadows, written in gray and white lettering, glinted on Brandi’s black apron.
An example of stability and wisdom are represented by the aprons. You’ll need to buy the book to discover why this gray represents stability.
Decay: “I have this.” Mikey pulled out a silver rune symbol hanging on a chain from under his dingy gray shirt.
Mikey’s soul had decayed despite his belief in the run stone’s magic.
Green: refreshing, peaceful, ecology, soothing, helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety, spring, renewal, money and good luck.
Trade Agreement: I think lavender and green decor will work to brighten this room. Very Feng Shui. What do you think?” Georgina smiled. For the first time in a long while, she had a sense of purpose. She would survive.
And it did brighten her life.
Melody’s Song: A nurse approached them. She had the air of a military sergeant, square faced with shoulders stiff and thrown back. Her uniform, despite having Scooby Doo wearing a green hat and his tongue hanging over the side, was starched with sharp perfect creases making her appear stiff and unapproachable.
Despite the refreshing humorous uniform the perception of the nurse’s demeanor overwhelmed the cartoon.
Orange: stimulates activity, appetite, flamboyance, encourages socialization, heat, tied to most fun, associated with a new dawn.
Believe(Cobblestone Press): She inhaled deeply letting the fresh citrus scent of the orange potpourri relax her as she watched the Chief of Police, and Jensen, appear on the screen Color and scent merged to stimulate and refresh. Yeah!
The Watcher(Cobblestone Press): Instead of the music of motors, the winter birds perched on the red and orange foliage of the trees serenaded her.
It was a new dawn for Emily as her life wasn’t the same after “this day”.
Melody’s Song: Her large brown leather handbag shook back and forth, bumping into her side and against the locked box, rattling the stock.
His glance ran down her, heating her in its wake. She smoothed out her silk orange blouse and straightened the belt on her brown slacks. The man made her nervous. Under a lab coat he wore black pants and the emerald shirt again, the green that made his eyes appear as sparkling gems. (Brown/Orange/Green)
Melody was dependable as represented by the brown. She wore orange to stimulate her activity, which she needed because she worked full time as a waitress, singing in an opera, and volunteering at a hospital. Green: who wouldn’t look in to sparkling green eyes and feel renewed and lucky?
Purple: uplifting, calm mind and nerves, offers a sense of spirituality, creativity, royalty, wisdom, respect, flamboyance, and ceremony.
The Watcher: The beautiful woman had incredible well-defined cheek bones, which gave her a natural radiance most women tried to imitate by applying blush. The fortune teller had intense dark eyes, which tilted up at the corners, and a long, narrow aristocratic nose. Her blonde hair rested on her shoulders. A simple purple robe gathered at the neck over her gold silk gown. Another length of cloth draped down her back, up the front and tied at the shoulder like a toga, the same shade of burgundy as the sign on the lawn.
Mikhail hailed from royalty, but she also wanted to give a sense of spirituality, ceremony and of course flamboyance as a story teller.
Dark Shadows: “Your aura’s yellow. You’re always generous, so you tend to have the pale color surrounding you, but today it stands out more. And you have flames of purple. Spiritual colors.” Tori tapped her upper lip with her finger.
A purple aura surrounded him defining his spiritual self.
Brown: stability, feeling of wholesomeness, connection to earth, orderliness, calm, bold, rich, stimulate appetite, friendliness and dependability. Associated with the astrological sign Scorpio.
Melody’s Song: Her chocolate brown eyes had twinkled with humor when she’d sung the Peter Pan song. At moments, briefly, he spied a hint of sadness instead of a happy glimmer.
Her brown eyes twinkled, exhibiting her strength of character, wholesomeness and friendliness.
And interesting, of all the comments about her apartment being in the lower end of the city, the bugs, and her job, why wouldn’t he question the food ambassador? Instead, he’d focused on the fact she’d been born a Scorpio.
“Yes, intense, emotionally perceptive,” she flung her hand about the room with only three other customers, “like now, the waiter is going to give us our drinks and hover because it’s close to closing time.” She waved her arm over the table. “I tend to gesture a lot. Occasionally I sting, but I’m very creative.” She drew circles over the top of his hand. Goose bumps covered her in the tingly little reminders of why she wanted him. Scorpions yearn for emotional intimacy.
Melody’s a Scorpio and this night, she showed her bold side.
White: projects purity, light, snow, surrender, cleanliness, neutrality, enables fresh beginnings. Doctors wear white lab coats.
Melody’s Song: Devon is a doctor and he is pure. “Then how can I help, Jensen?” Devon reached into his white lab coat pocket and withdrew his cell phone.
“We’re certain some of the medicines are being stolen from this unit.”
Doctors wear white lab coats to convey cleanliness, purity, and fresh
beginnings.
Believe: Mikhail’s finds out Jensen must make a choice to believe or not. Blood slowly drained from her face. It became as white as the snow dropping from the sky outside. She rose from the chair and walked over to the ten foot windows.
Mikhail believed purity and light would prevail. Snow transformed the gloomy gray into a bright and fresh scene, renewing her trust. Until…
Keep in mind various cultures see color differently. For example, in India, blue is positive and used in Krishna. Green with Islam, and red for weddings. Brown is the color worn for mourning. In Asian society, yellow is an imperial color. Chinese culture uses red for celebrations, luck and prosperity.
Colors tend to have more of positive association versus negative. Except black, many cultures have a negative connotation for black.
The Tarot Card (The Wild Rose Press) is stacked with multicolors...so many you'll have to read it to find out the color scheme.
Check out: Chromotherapy, the ancient art of using colors to heal.
Here's something not many people know about me, I love old school B horror movies. You know the kind, they start with a group of weary travelers, lost in a remote area. Out of desperation, the travelers stop at a creepy mansion. A slightly misshapen guy answers the door, only to tell the visitors that the master does not like outsiders. They explain that they are stranded, they have nowhere to go--he must let them in. Surely the master would not send them out into the night? Reluctantly the caretaker allows the group to cross the threshold and gain access to the eerily empty mansion. The members of the group are relieved--but only for a moment--because very soon, one by one, bad things start to happen to each of them.
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