Shades of White

White Azaleas are blooming all over my neighborhood.

Lately I have been reading a lot of historical fiction, particularly during the time of the Wars of the Roses. From 1455 to 1485 the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster were fighting to put their king on the throne of England.

Eventually, after much bloodshed, the two factions united under the Tudor King Henry VII and his White Queen, Elizabeth of York. The symbol of their rule, the Tudor Rose, was Red and White.

If you want a quick overview of that tumultuous era, check out Wars of the Roses - on Wikipedia


Reading about the Wars of the Roses gave me a new sense of color, with Red and White representing two sides of wars that seemed to go on forever. This inspired me to write today's post on Shades of White.

Flowers in assorted shades of white.

Colors have varying shades, even the color white. Here on the Florida Panhandle the flowers are in bloom. Each day brings a new display of color, but lately it's the white blooms that stand out: White Azaleas, Dogwood and other white flowers I couldn't even begin to name. So many lovely blooms in every shade of white.

In my search for historical fiction set during the Wars of the Roses, I discovered the awesome author, Philippa Gregory. Now many of you have probably been reading her wonderful books for years, but she's new to me. Believe me, I now fully intend to read every one of her books.



It just so happens that the first Philippa Gregory book I read was The White Queen. I followed that up with The Kingmaker's Daughter.  Both were awesome reads. Now I'm looking forward to reading The White Princess when it's released this July. These books are all part of Philippa Gregory's series, The Cousins' War, which is set during the Wars of the Roses.

Delicate pinkish-white flowers.

If you check out my Goodreads page you'll see the other wonderful historical fiction novels I've been reading lately. This includes historical fiction by Sharon Kay Penman, Bernard Cornwell, Morgan Llywelyn and Elizabeth Chadwick, to name just a few.

I love compiling lists of books to read, so here is my latest one of books in Shades of White (fiction and non-fiction that has something to do with the color white).



Reads in Shades of White (historical fiction, contemporary romances, paranormals and more). All of these are available in eBook format. In no particular order:

Lady in White by Denise Domning*
A White So Red by K. D. Jones
White Lion's Lady by Lara Adrian
The White Dragons by Charley Ray
White Heat by Jill Shalvis*
The White Lord of Wellesbourne by Kathryn Le Veque
White Horses by Alice Hoffman**
Snow White (Enchanted Fairytales) by Cindy C. Bennett
The White Swan (Enchanted Fairytales) by Cindy C. Bennett
White Apache's Woman (Santa Fe Trilogy) by Shirl Henke
White Eagle's Touch (Blackfoot Warriors) by Karen Kay
She Only Wore White by Dorthe Binkert
White Hot by Carla Neggars
White Owl by Veronica Blake
Black and White (Life and Love in the City) by Olivia Hugo
The White Garden (A Novel of Virginia Woolf) by Stephanie Barron
White as Snow by Maleah Layne
Spirits White as Lightning (Urban Elves) by Mercedes Lackey
The White Gryphon (Mage Wars) by Mercedes Lackey
White Oleander by Janet Fitch
Silver-White (The Great North Woods Pack #1) by Shawn Underhill
White as Snow (Truly Yours) by Janice Thompson
White Pearls (Truly Yours) by Shannon Taylor Vannatter
White Heart by Sherry Jones
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
White Lies (Arcane Society) by Jayne Ann Krentz
A Corner of White (The Colors of Madeleine #1) by Jaclyn Moriarty
White Lace and Promises (Carte Blanche) by Natasha Blackthorne
The White Flower (Love Endures) by Grace Livingston Hill
White Satin by Iris Johansen
White Hot (Men in Uniform) by Nina Bruhns
The White Dragon (Dragonriders of Pern) by Anne McCaffrey
The Whites of their Eyes (Bunker Hill) by Paul Lockhart
White Witch by Trish Milburn
The White by Deborah Larsen**
In the Land of the White Cloud by Sarah Lark
White as Snow (Mysterious Ways #1) by Donna Westover Gallup*
The White Horse King (Alfred the Great) by Benjamin Merkle
White Thunder (Ella Clah) by Aimee & David Thurlo
The White Cuckoo by Annie Ireson
White Hot by Sandra Brown
White Seed by Paul Clayton*
One Thousand White Women by Jim Fergus
The White Album (Essays) by Joan Didion
White Heat by Brenda Novak
Little White Lies by Erin Lawless
Somewhere Between Black and White by Shelly Hickman
The White Rose Murders (Tudor Mystery #1) by Paul Doherty
A White Rose by Bekah Ferguson
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins*



White Azaleas in my yard.

*TBR on my Kindle
**Read and Recommend

I had no idea there were so many reads in Shades of White.  If I missed some of your favorites, please feel free to list them in the comments below.

When you have the time, I hope you'll check out my other color posts: Seeing Red, Passionate About Purple, Think Pink, Lovely Lavender and Yodeling for Yellow. I'll be writing more color posts from time to time.

Once again, thanks so much for stopping by.

Lovely Lavender

Lavender Azaleas in my yard.

I live in Florida, so this time of year my yard is a floral rainbow of color. The most recent to bloom are lovely lavender azaleas with fuchsia colored centers. Each bloom has the exquisite look of an orchid. Of all the azaleas in my yard, I think these are my favorite.

I enjoy painting. A favorite subject of mine is florals. I love the challenge of mixing my oils to get just the right shades of color. Lavender appears in my florals, seascapes, sunsets and landscapes. Yes, I love painting in shades of lavender.

More of my Azaleas, in a lovely shade of lavender-pink.

These lavender azaleas bring to mind my growing-up years in Southern California. Now how is that? Well, I've noticed that every phase of my life is represented in one color or another. My childhood just happened to be highlighted in lavender. My bedroom, from the time I was a small child through my teen years, was all in lavender with a touch of turquoise here and there.

Lavender? You see, my mom decorated my room with a lavender shag carpet, a lavender bedspread on my twin bed, and a lavender swag lamp over my bed. I don't recall if my mom ever asked me if I wanted a lavender room. It's just the color she chose for me and so it became a part of my life for all my early years. All I can say, it's a good thing I happen to like the color lavender.

For those who follow my blog, I write color posts from time to time: "Seeing Red" (1/24/13 post), "Passionate About Purple" (2/16/13 post) and "Think Pink" (2/20/13 post). So if you happen to have a passion for colors, please stop by from time to time to see what colors I write about next.

I also happen to be passionate about books. So this is the perfect time to provide a list of Lavender Fiction. My favorite lavender book is The Long Lavender Look  (Travis McGee Series, #12) by John D. MacDonald. See my 11/1/12 post, "Florida is a State of Mind," for a list of all the Travis McGee books in order of publication. I've read through the whole Travis McGee series and am looking forward to reading them all again. I still think every one of these books would make a great movie. Anyway, it seems to me that lavender reads would be just as exquisite as my lovely lavender azaleas.

Lavender Fiction (in no particular order):

The Mystery at Azalea Plantation (Lavender Series) by Lavender Lace
On Lavender Lane (A Shelter Bay Novel) by JoAnn Ross*
Lavender Vows (Medieval Herb Garden Series) by Colleen Gleason**
Lavender Morning (Edilean) by Jude Deveraux
Loving Lily Lavender by DeAnna Kinney
A Sprig of Lavender by Susan Ralph
Lavender Lies (China Bayles Mystery) by Susan Wittig Albert
The Lavender Principal (Reid Devron Mystery) by Julie Baythorpe
Lavender Fields by Marie O'Byrne
Lavender Skies by Tony Ivers
Lady Lavender (Harlequin Historical) by Lynna Banning
Lavender Aurora - Destiny of Life by J. F. Ellington
The Lavender Maze (Walcott Manor) by Florrie Boleyn
Lavender Love by A. J. Estes
Lavender by Annemarieke Tazelaar
The Lavender Field by Jeanette Baker
Lavender Lady by Carola Dunn
Lavender Secrets by Sandra Barret
Lavender Road by Helen Carey

*I have this book in paperback, but haven't read it yet.
**I have this one on my Kindle Fire, but haven't read it yet.

Please feel free to add any of your favorite lavender books in the comments below.

Before I forget, I happen to love the fragrance of lavender. I remember lavender sachets from when I was a kid, in addition to baskets of dried lavender at the county fair. When I lived in Las Vegas, I grew lavender in my garden and loved the fragrance in the warm desert air. Come to think of it, lovely lavender has always been a part of my life.

Note - If you love azaleas, please see my 1/30/13 post, "In Florida it's all about the Flowers," for more of my azalea photos.

In Florida it's all about the Flowers

A first bloom on my tulip tree.

When Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, discovered Florida in 1513 he gave it the name, La Florida, for a very good reason. Florida is all about the flowers, every shape, size and color you can imagine.

I first came to Florida thirty-one years ago this month and knew instantly that I had to stay. I got off the plane in Daytona Beach and fell in love with the balmy temp, sunny blue skies and fragrant flowers everywhere.

Azaleas in my yard.

Though I've moved away from Florida from time to time over the past years, I've always moved back. Although I have to admit the beaches are a big draw, I can't stay away from Florida's beautiful flowers. Even in the midst of winter, flowers bloom everywhere in Florida.

It's the end of January and my yard is abloom with azaleas of every shade, in addition to little white wildflowers that look like daisies. My tulip tree is just starting to bloom and my Easter Lilies will be gracing my yard in no time at all. Then I have an assortment of periwinkles, marigolds and other flowers I can't even name. And all this in the middle of winter.

More azaleas in my yard.

Florida is a huge state with a subtropical climate in the north and a tropical climate in the south. I live on the Panhandle which means azaleas, magnolias, jasmine, gardenias, camellias, wisteria, mimosa, more flowers and blooms than I can even begin to name.

Daisy-like wildflowers in my yard.

I have a passion for flowers, not cut floral bouquets, but flowers growing in my yard, in pots, around the neighborhood, in parks, well, everywhere.  I particularly like driving through the older neighborhoods which tend to be a panopoly of blooms in a riot of colors all year round.

Now this is where I confess that if a book has flowers on the cover, or if some flower is in the title, well, I stop and take a closer look at that book. Consequently, I read and enjoy a lot of books with flower titles. For this reason, I've put together a list of flower fiction just for you.


Fiction with Flowers (in no particular order):

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss*
Beach Roses by Jean Stone
Caramel and Magnolias by Tess Thompson
Blood Orchids (Lei Crime Series #1) by Toby Neal**
Torch Ginger (Lei Crime Series #2) by Toby Neal**
Black Jasmine (Lei Crime Series #3) by Toby Neal**
The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley**
Daisies in the Wind by Jill Gregory
The Blood Upon the Rose by Tim Vicary*
Flowers in the Blood by Gay Couter
Return of the Rose by Theresa Ragan**
The Women of Magnolia by Kate McCabe
Magnolia Park by Kate McCabe
Rawhide and Roses by Maddie James**
Flowers on Main (Chesapeake Shores) by Sherryl Woods
Where Azaleas Bloom (Sweet Magnolias) by Sherryl Woods
Beneath the Honeysuckle Vine by Marcia Lynn McClure**
Magnolia Moon (Callahan Brothers Trilogy) by JoAnn Ross*
Winter of the Passion Flower (The de Vargas Family #1, Steampunk) by Annie Seaton
He Kissed Me Between the Geraniums and the Daisies by Janice Silkworth
Magnolias, Moonlight and Murder (Elle Avery Mystery) by Sara Rosett
Prairie Rose (A Town Called Hope #1) by Catherine Palmer**
The Orchid Keeper's Son by Barbara Arnold
Please Don't Eat the Daisies by Jean Kerr*
Millie's Rose by Donna Sturgeon
Wild Orchids by Karen Robards*
Paper Roses (Texas Dreams #1) by Amanda Cabot*
Elly in Bloom by Colleen Oakes
The Pink Rose by Alicia Roberts
Flowers for Victoria by Sunni Jeffers
Sleeping with Anemone (A Flower Shop Mystery) by Kate Collins
The Flower Trilogy: Violet, Lily, Rose by Lauren Royal
Summer of Roses (Summer's Child) by LuAnne Rice*
Magnolia Creek by Jill Marie Landis
Coming Up Roses by Catherine Anderson
A Field of Poppies by Sharon Sala
Roses in Moonlight by Lynn Kurland*
A Garden in the Rain by Lynn Kurland*
Staying at Daisy's by Jill Mansell**
Flowers from the Storm by Laura Kinsale
Yellow Rose Bride by Lori Copeland
Orchids in Moonlight by Patricia Hagan**
Flowers from the Heart by Louise Armstrong
Summer Rose by Elizabeth Sinclair**
Blood on the Orchid (A Wolfgang Fenstemier Mystery) by R. Harris Harrison**
Murder at the Azalea Festival (Wilmington Series) by Ellen Elizabeth Hunter
The Iron Rose (Pirate Wolf Series) by Marsha Canham
Daisy's Back in Town by Rachel Gibson
The Scent of Jasmine (Edilean) by Jude Deveraux
Death in the Orchid Garden (Gardening Mysteries) by Ann Ripley
Magnolia Dreams (Richmond ) by Virginia Gaffney
The Thorn (Rose Trilogy #1) by Beverly Lewis
Black Rose (In the Garden Trilogy) by Nora Roberts
Princess Daisy by Judith Krantz
For the Roses by Julie Garwood
Orchid Blues (Holly Barker) by Stuart Woods
Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott
Under the Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott
Daisy Miller by Henry James*

* Books I've read and Loved
**Books TBR on my Kindles

Other Flower Books (not to be missed):

Language of Flowers by Kate Greenaway
The Power of Flower Colors by Rebecca Yaacov

As you can see from all the books listed above, I'm definitely drawn to books with flower titles. Hey, what can I say? I love flowers!