Synopses & Reviews
When it comes to love and family, the things you cant see are what matter most of all.Bestselling novelist Luanne Rice has inspired the devotion of readers everywhere with her “rare combination of realism and romance.”(The New York Times Book Review) Now she presents her most magical novel to date, an entrancing story of love at first sight, the true meaning of family, and angels right here on earth.
May Taylor works as a wedding planner, passing on the timeless traditions of her grandmother and mother. The Taylor women have always believed in the presence of magic in everyday life--especially the simple magic of true love and family. Yet Mays own faith in true love was shattered when she was abandoned by the father of her child. Still, she finds joy in raising her daughter Kylie, a very special five-year-old who sees and hears things that others cannot. . .
Martin Cartier is a professional hockey player and sports legend. His father, a champion, taught him to play to win--at all costs. Now Martins success veils a core of heartache, rage, and isolation. Yet Kylie glimpses the transcendent role Martin will play in Mays life and her own--unless his past tears their blossoming love apart. Then only Kylie will see the way home--and only May will be able to lead them there, if she can believe in magic once more.
About the Author
Luanne Rice is the author of True Blue, Summer Light, Firefly Beach, Dream Country, Follow the Stars Home -- a recent Hallmark Hall of Fame feature -- Cloud Nine, Secrets of Paris, Stone Heart, Angels All Over Town, Home Fires, Crazy in Love, which has been made into a TNT Network feature movie, and Blue Moon, which has been made into a CBS television movie. She lives in New York City and Old Lyme, Connecticut.
Author Q&A
Q: Please tell us about the central relationship in Summer Light.A: Summer Light is primarily a love story between two people who thought they would never love again. Both are very distracted by their lives and losses. And this is a book about two people who do not have a smooth path. But so few of us have smooth paths to travel in our own ways. May and Martin fall in love very fast—and that was critical to the story for me, that they know it's right but then they have to untangle it. The reason I wanted it to be that way for these characters is to show that they couldn't walk away, as tempting as this is for them; they are in it for the long run. I also wanted to express to the reader how very much I believe in sticking together through hard times and having faith that on the other side there is something better.
Q: What is so special about Summer Light —the concept, not the book itself. What does that phrase mean to you?
A: It is so evocative: Summer Light . I can close my eyes in the middle of December and I can picture it—that golden light at the end of the day, with the sun shining down, the pollen in the air, and the reflection of the water. In my books it is usually salt water, a marsh, a cove, a tidal pool. In the novel Summer Light it is the Long Island Sound and marshes, but it is also an imaginary lake in Canada that helps reflect that special light.
The town I live in, where I grew up, is Old Lyme, Connecticut, which is the birthplace of American Impressionism. I grew up with so many stories and legends and real tales about the American Impressionists and the reason they were drawn to Old Lyme was the quality of the light—it reminded them of a certain area in France that they loved and they painted. My mother was an artist so I have always appreciated the painterly aspects of light. I've tried to capture that on paper. I think it is also one way to bring the story alive to the reader: whether it is summer or winter, whatever the season, the story can become very clear to the reader if I let readers see the characters in a season, against certain light. Setting is so important: it is a living, breathing thing.
From the Hardcover edition.