Seeing Red

Red Poinsettias.

As a redhead, the color red has always been a part of my life. I learned early on that my red hair set me apart. I was one of the very few kids, in my neighborhood and school, to have red hair. The cute, popular girls were blonds and I was, well, just a redhead.

When I was a child I remember wanting a red dress, but I was told over and over that "Redheads can't wear red." What? Is that true? So I never did get that red dress. Even as an adult I've yet to own or wear a red dress.

Power suits are supposed to be red, but I never had one of those either. My suits were always black, brown, gray or tan, never power-red.

Once upon a time I had a pair of red slacks which I wore with a red and white striped blouse. I loved that outfit, but no one ever said, "Gee, you look great in red."

I once owned a candy-apple red Opal GT. It was an older sports car with faded red paint when I got it, but spiffed up with that candy-apple red paint job it looked great. I only had it for a couple years, because the engine had problems and it kept breaking down. That was during my college years and I couldn't afford to keep paying for repairs.

In my late thirties I had a fire-engine red, 4-wheel-drive, Isuzu Trooper. Well, it wasn't just mine, I had to share it with my husband. One vehicle for two adults. We couldn't afford a second vehicle at the time. Suffice to say I loved that red Trooper and drove it for well over 100,000 miles. When we finally sold it the paint was a faded red.

Talking about faded red, well, my red hair is now quite faded too. I may be older and wiser, but I'm also faded. Oh well, it's better than the alternative. These days I have a gray vehicle. To match the gray in my hair?

Now as I was saying, the color red has always been a part of my life. Besides being a writer, I'm also an artist. So I love colors. Alizarin Crimson, an awesome shade of red, is one of my favorites.  I once did a series of paintings in black, gray, white and lots of red. I really enjoyed painting them, but never sold a one. They're now buried somewhere out in my garage. Gee, some people just don't appreciate the color red.

I happen to love flowers, particularly those in shades of red, roses especially, but during the holidays I enjoy poinsettias too. That's why I decided on the poinsettias photo above for this post.

My husband has his eye on a bright red Chevy Corvette. Personally, I'd rather have a red Chevy Silverado 4x4 with a crew-cab. But we're not likely to ever get either one since money doesn't happen to grow on trees. If we ever do get rich, well, you know where I'm going with this train of thought.

In honor of the color red, I've listed some Red Fiction below:

Real Women Wear Red by Kathy Holmes**
The Red Queen by Phillipa Gregory
Red Mojo Mama by Kathy Lynn Hall**
Red is an Attitude by Kathy Lynn Hall**
Black Oil, Red Blood by Diane Castle**
Red Magic by Juliette Waldron
The Red Heart by James Alexander Thom
A White So Red by K. D. Jones
The Quick Red Fox (Travis McGee) by John D. MacDonald*
Red Mist (A Scarpetta Novel) by Patricia Cornwell
The Girl from Red Lion Square (Regency) by Lizzie Church
Christmas at the Red Chiefs by Linda Lael Miller*
Red Hot Deadly Peppers by Paige Shelton
The Red Rooster by Michael Wallace**
Red Leaves by Paulina Simons
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
Beneath a Blood Red Moon by Heather Graham
Red's Hot Cowboy (Spikes & Spurs) by Carolyn Brown
A Dead Red Cadillac (Lalla Bains #1) by R. P. Dahlke**
A Dead Red Heart (Lalla Bains #2) by R. P. Dahlke**
A Dead Red Oleander (Lalla Bains #3) by R. P. Dahlke*
His to Protect (Red Stone Security) by Katie Reus
Forged in Fire (Red Hot SEALs) by Trish McCallan
Forged in Ash (Red Hot SEALs) by Trish McCallan
The Red Garden by Alice Hoffman
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Shattered Valor (Red Team) by Elaine Levine
Red by Kate Nolan
A Bright Red Ribbon by Fern Michaels
Redfield Farm by Judith Redline Coopey
Red by Erica Spindler
Red and the Wolf (Enchanted Fairytales) by Cindy C. Bennett
Red Velvet Cupcake Murder (Hannah Swensen) by Joanne Fluke
Red Right Return (Buck Reilly) by John H. Cunningham** 
Dirty Red (Love Me With Lies #2) by Tarryn Fisher
Red Rose Moon (Cain Chronicles #4) by S. M. Reine
Red Velvet Revenge (Cupcake Bakery) by Jena McKinlay
Redcoats by David Crookes
Red Sky Night by Martin Quadroy
Red Cell (Rogue Warrior) by Richard Marcinko
Roses Are Red by James Patterson*
NYPD Red by James Patterson & Marshall Karp
The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy*
Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy*
Red Rabbit by Tom Clancy
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane*
Red Sky at Night (Thorn Series #6) by James W. Hall
Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammet
Red Jungle by Kent Harrington**
The Red Rover by James Fenimore Cooper**
Red Lands Outlaw (Ballad of Henry Starr) by Phil Truman**
Red, Green or Murder (Posadas County #10) by Steven F. Havill
Dead in Red (Jeff Resnick Mystery) by L. L. Bartlett
Red Flags by C. C. Brown
Red Alert (Dr. Strange-Love) by Peter Bryant**
The Red Horseman (Jake Grafton) by Stephen Coonts
Red Phoenix by Larry Bond
The Red Door (Ian Rutledge) by Charles Todd
Red Light by T. Jefferson Parker
Red Winter by Grant James Turner
Redcoat by Bernard Cornwell
The Trustworthy Redhead by Iris Johansen

*Books I've read and enjoyed/loved.
**Books TBR on my Kindles.

How could I possibly miss the Red Hat books? So here are a few of them.

The Red Hat Society: Fun and Friendship After Fifty by Sue Ellen Cooper
The Red Hat Society's Laugh Lines by Sue Ellen Cooper
The Red Hat Society's Queens of Woodlawn Avenue by Regina Hale Sutherland
The Red Hat Society's Domestic Goddess by Regina Hale Sutherland
The Red Hat Society's Acting Their Age by Regina Hale Sutherland
The Red Hat Club by Haywood Smith
Red Hats & Renegades by Barbara Falkenrath

Well, after putting together the above lists of books, I'm seeing a lot of red. I hope you all find some red books you'd like to read. Thanks so much for stopping by. Hmm! What color should I write about next?