What do you think?
Rate this book
The Vision Painter #2
Casting Shadows: The Further Misadventures of a Vision Painter
Casting Shadows - The Further Misadventures of a Vision Painter
Kiran is still the only vision painter in Ireland but she cannot express her gift as she struggles with the consequences of its misuse. When everything she loves is threatened, she must protect her family by uncovering the history and secrets of the vision painters in Kerala. But there are those who will do what it takes to keep the truth locked away in the shadows of the past.
Casting Shadows is a story of love, sacrifice, betrayal and guilt. Of love and hatred that spans time and place. Of history that casts shadows on the future.
Kiran is still the only vision painter in Ireland but she cannot express her gift as she struggles with the consequences of its misuse. When everything she loves is threatened, she must protect her family by uncovering the history and secrets of the vision painters in Kerala. But there are those who will do what it takes to keep the truth locked away in the shadows of the past.
Casting Shadows is a story of love, sacrifice, betrayal and guilt. Of love and hatred that spans time and place. Of history that casts shadows on the future.
- GenresParanormalLGBT
287 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 27, 2013
2 people are currently reading
58 people want to read
About the author
R.J. Samuel
8 books40 followersSite: www.rjsamuel.com
Email: R.J_Samuel@yahoo.com
Twitter: @R_J_Samuel
Instagram: @RJSamuel_Author
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RJSamuelAuthor
R J Samuel was born in Nigeria, to Indian parents. She spent many years qualifying to be a medical doctor first in Nigeria, then Ireland, but ran away from home to do a Masters in IT. She settled on IT as a career rather than Medicine as she thought computers might be more logical than people, but that hasn’t always proven to be the case. She remained Ireland for many years, apart from a few years in the southwest of France where she ran a restaurant-bar despite having absolutely no interest in restaurants, except for eating in them. She considers herself almost Irish, almost Indian, and almost American. She now lives in Atlanta in America where, in her latest creative outburst,
she wants to establish an artist retreat in a mostly unusable property.
Her story ‘Helmets’ was shortlisted for the 2011 Over the Edge ‘New Writer of the Year Competition’ and she was the only entrant to have both her fiction and her poetry long-listed for the Doire Press ‘1st Annual International Fiction and Poetry Chapbook Competition’ in January 2012. Her fiction entry, ‘The Vision Painter,’ went on to be shortlisted for this competition and was the basis for her second novel, ‘Falling Colours – The Misadventures of a Vision Painter.’ Her short stories ‘Parallel Lives’ (2012) and ‘The Alleyway’ (2013) were shortlisted and her poetry entry was longlisted (2016) for the Over the Edge ‘New Writer of the Year Competition’.
Her published novels – ‘Heart Stopper’, The Vision Painter series (‘Falling Colours’, ‘Casting Shadows’) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, and ‘A Place Somewhere’, which was a finalist for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice and the Tee Corinne Cover Design Awards, are set in Ireland, India, and America. Her fifth novel, ‘An Outsider Inside’, is set in Ireland and France and tells the story of an Irish-Indian lesbian activist who finds the troubling manuscript left behind by a missing Indian woman.
She has also published a short story collection ("The Alleyway and other Short Stories") featuring the stories above and others.
Email: R.J_Samuel@yahoo.com
Twitter: @R_J_Samuel
Instagram: @RJSamuel_Author
Facebook: www.facebook.com/RJSamuelAuthor
R J Samuel was born in Nigeria, to Indian parents. She spent many years qualifying to be a medical doctor first in Nigeria, then Ireland, but ran away from home to do a Masters in IT. She settled on IT as a career rather than Medicine as she thought computers might be more logical than people, but that hasn’t always proven to be the case. She remained Ireland for many years, apart from a few years in the southwest of France where she ran a restaurant-bar despite having absolutely no interest in restaurants, except for eating in them. She considers herself almost Irish, almost Indian, and almost American. She now lives in Atlanta in America where, in her latest creative outburst,
she wants to establish an artist retreat in a mostly unusable property.
Her story ‘Helmets’ was shortlisted for the 2011 Over the Edge ‘New Writer of the Year Competition’ and she was the only entrant to have both her fiction and her poetry long-listed for the Doire Press ‘1st Annual International Fiction and Poetry Chapbook Competition’ in January 2012. Her fiction entry, ‘The Vision Painter,’ went on to be shortlisted for this competition and was the basis for her second novel, ‘Falling Colours – The Misadventures of a Vision Painter.’ Her short stories ‘Parallel Lives’ (2012) and ‘The Alleyway’ (2013) were shortlisted and her poetry entry was longlisted (2016) for the Over the Edge ‘New Writer of the Year Competition’.
Her published novels – ‘Heart Stopper’, The Vision Painter series (‘Falling Colours’, ‘Casting Shadows’) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2013 Rainbow Awards, and ‘A Place Somewhere’, which was a finalist for the Ann Bannon Popular Choice and the Tee Corinne Cover Design Awards, are set in Ireland, India, and America. Her fifth novel, ‘An Outsider Inside’, is set in Ireland and France and tells the story of an Irish-Indian lesbian activist who finds the troubling manuscript left behind by a missing Indian woman.
She has also published a short story collection ("The Alleyway and other Short Stories") featuring the stories above and others.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2015
This one is the best!!! A sequel and prequel to "Falling Colours", many interesting new characters and the story behind Kiran's and her family's "history".Had very difficult to put the book down, and I think I'll re-read it next week!!
I really hope there'll be a third one, soon!!!
I really hope there'll be a third one, soon!!!
September 4, 2015
This is both a sequel and a prequel to Falling Colours. In the first book, the background behind Kiran’s vision painting talent was only cursorily touched upon and seemed a little lacking. Its all here though, in all its Indian glory. If you like the first book, definitely dive into this for the backstory and the history of vision painting. It is not as straightforward or as boring as it seems.
Rather than just blabber on about the history, the author weaves a terrifying mystery that Kiran needs to solve and in the process unearth more about her past. The people closest to her heart are struck down and put in grave danger by a seemingly rogue vision painter. Kiran rushes back to the place where it all started--in Kerala, India. But she is up against a 200-year tradition of silence, obedience and prejudice against women.
The story alternates between two timelines: Kiran’s rush to solve the mystery and save her loved ones and her parents’ forbidden love--a fortuitous event that set the whole chain of events in motion over 30 years ago.
In the first book and the start of the second book, Kiran’s father Ji comes off as somewhat of an annoying know-it-all prick who only cares about politics and his own reputation. But he is redeemed in this second book as Kiran discovers what really went down Kiran’s parents’ love story is a compelling read. Ji, Kiran’s father, a prominent ‘chosen’ son and anointed successor to the vision painting throne, falls in love with Elizabeth, an illegitimate daughter of a disgraced Irish priest and an Indian woman. Against everyone's advice and order, Ji choses love over duty while other forces conspire to keep him from his place in the council.
Just like in the first book, the author’s prose is again very descriptive and incredibly immersive. I can almost sweat while Kiran rushes about in Kerala as I shivered with her in the first book which was mostly set in Ireland. The intrigue is again, well done and the revelation of the mystery vision painter was a bit of a surprise (didn’t see that coming). A lot of the strange rules about vision painting are cleared up here--such as the ‘men only’ rule (omg!!); how negative painting can happen and how the history we learned is often the uber-sanitized version of things and carefully manipulated to fit a certain 'truth'.
A caveat (again) for romance readers: If you’re expecting more Kiran/Ashley than the first book, prepare to be disappointed. They spend most of the book apart. Quality time rather than quantity time here. If you can take that, and hot Indian afternoons, go for this book!
P.S. I find that I enjoyed the first book more--mainly because of the lighter and somewhat irreverent tone. This is a much more serious read.
Rather than just blabber on about the history, the author weaves a terrifying mystery that Kiran needs to solve and in the process unearth more about her past. The people closest to her heart are struck down and put in grave danger by a seemingly rogue vision painter. Kiran rushes back to the place where it all started--in Kerala, India. But she is up against a 200-year tradition of silence, obedience and prejudice against women.
The story alternates between two timelines: Kiran’s rush to solve the mystery and save her loved ones and her parents’ forbidden love--a fortuitous event that set the whole chain of events in motion over 30 years ago.
In the first book and the start of the second book, Kiran’s father Ji comes off as somewhat of an annoying know-it-all prick who only cares about politics and his own reputation. But he is redeemed in this second book as Kiran discovers what really went down Kiran’s parents’ love story is a compelling read. Ji, Kiran’s father, a prominent ‘chosen’ son and anointed successor to the vision painting throne, falls in love with Elizabeth, an illegitimate daughter of a disgraced Irish priest and an Indian woman. Against everyone's advice and order, Ji choses love over duty while other forces conspire to keep him from his place in the council.
Just like in the first book, the author’s prose is again very descriptive and incredibly immersive. I can almost sweat while Kiran rushes about in Kerala as I shivered with her in the first book which was mostly set in Ireland. The intrigue is again, well done and the revelation of the mystery vision painter was a bit of a surprise (didn’t see that coming). A lot of the strange rules about vision painting are cleared up here--such as the ‘men only’ rule (omg!!); how negative painting can happen and how the history we learned is often the uber-sanitized version of things and carefully manipulated to fit a certain 'truth'.
A caveat (again) for romance readers: If you’re expecting more Kiran/Ashley than the first book, prepare to be disappointed. They spend most of the book apart. Quality time rather than quantity time here. If you can take that, and hot Indian afternoons, go for this book!
P.S. I find that I enjoyed the first book more--mainly because of the lighter and somewhat irreverent tone. This is a much more serious read.
February 3, 2013
Indian/Irish vision painter Kiran is the only vision painter in Ireland, she is also the only woman vision painter in the world. Unfortunately after her previous misadventures, Kiran is currently unable to vision paint. Her relationship with Ashley however, is going extremely well. In fact, they are taking their relationship to the next level and trying for a baby. Like all things in love and real life, nothing is destined to run smoothly.
When Kiran gets a call from her father that her mother is, or could be seriously ill, Kiran must immediately return to India. The result of this phone call could well change the lives of everyone forever.
This is RJ Samuel’s third book. With each book, I grow to love her writing more. Her stories are well written page turners. This series is spellbinding and magical and although the series has an element of fantasy, I found myself almost believing the impossible.
This story is completely enthralling and absorbing. Once I’d started this book, I couldn’t put it down. The story had me feverishly turning the pages until I’d finished it. No matter how hard I tried to slow up, I couldn’t. I simply had to know what happened and how the book ended. In doing this, I did this wonderful book an injustice. But no worries. I knew I would be reviewing it, so I simply re-read it more slowly the second time to savour the story without the pressures of not knowing how it ended. My second reading was just as pleasurable and intense as the first.
This story is actually written in the past and the present and is so intricately woven that it’s seamless. It was a great idea to give the reader the background on vision painters. Also it cleared up a lot of things I’d been wondering about Kiran’s past.
RJ takes the reader back into the past and tells of how Kiran’s parents met, married and their struggles and traumas along the way. We also learn of how Kiran became a vision painter against all odds.
The myriad of emotions this book evoked went far beyond any I’ve experienced for quite sometime when reading a book. In the span of minutes I went from a calm and serene feeling, to a laugh out loud humour and intense anger and back again to calm and serene.
The scenic descriptions are so vivid I could feel myself amongst the characters. I’ve never visited Kerala, India, so I took a look online after finishing this book. The photographs I found matched exactly the way I’d imagined Kerala to be. The Irish scenes are equally as well described.
There is actually two romances in this book. The romance between Kiran’s parents and the romance between Kiran and Ashley. But this book isn’t actually just a romance, it’s a story wrapped around a fantasy, which appears to be very real. A story full of love and hate with so many twists and turns I didn’t have a clue as to how it was going to end.
Each and every one of these well formed and multidimensional characters played an essential part in progressing the story forward to its climatic conclusion. Although this book ended, I feel these characters have a lot more to offer us. I would love to see at least one more book added to make a trilogy, more if possible. Although this book is a sequel, it can also be read as a standalone. But I would urge you to read Falling Colours first. You will be sorely missing out on a great read if you don’t. Plus it will give you the chance to get to know some of the characters better.
I eagerly await RJ Samuel’s next book. This one will join Heart Stopper and Falling Colours on my re-read pile.
When Kiran gets a call from her father that her mother is, or could be seriously ill, Kiran must immediately return to India. The result of this phone call could well change the lives of everyone forever.
This is RJ Samuel’s third book. With each book, I grow to love her writing more. Her stories are well written page turners. This series is spellbinding and magical and although the series has an element of fantasy, I found myself almost believing the impossible.
This story is completely enthralling and absorbing. Once I’d started this book, I couldn’t put it down. The story had me feverishly turning the pages until I’d finished it. No matter how hard I tried to slow up, I couldn’t. I simply had to know what happened and how the book ended. In doing this, I did this wonderful book an injustice. But no worries. I knew I would be reviewing it, so I simply re-read it more slowly the second time to savour the story without the pressures of not knowing how it ended. My second reading was just as pleasurable and intense as the first.
This story is actually written in the past and the present and is so intricately woven that it’s seamless. It was a great idea to give the reader the background on vision painters. Also it cleared up a lot of things I’d been wondering about Kiran’s past.
RJ takes the reader back into the past and tells of how Kiran’s parents met, married and their struggles and traumas along the way. We also learn of how Kiran became a vision painter against all odds.
The myriad of emotions this book evoked went far beyond any I’ve experienced for quite sometime when reading a book. In the span of minutes I went from a calm and serene feeling, to a laugh out loud humour and intense anger and back again to calm and serene.
The scenic descriptions are so vivid I could feel myself amongst the characters. I’ve never visited Kerala, India, so I took a look online after finishing this book. The photographs I found matched exactly the way I’d imagined Kerala to be. The Irish scenes are equally as well described.
There is actually two romances in this book. The romance between Kiran’s parents and the romance between Kiran and Ashley. But this book isn’t actually just a romance, it’s a story wrapped around a fantasy, which appears to be very real. A story full of love and hate with so many twists and turns I didn’t have a clue as to how it was going to end.
Each and every one of these well formed and multidimensional characters played an essential part in progressing the story forward to its climatic conclusion. Although this book ended, I feel these characters have a lot more to offer us. I would love to see at least one more book added to make a trilogy, more if possible. Although this book is a sequel, it can also be read as a standalone. But I would urge you to read Falling Colours first. You will be sorely missing out on a great read if you don’t. Plus it will give you the chance to get to know some of the characters better.
I eagerly await RJ Samuel’s next book. This one will join Heart Stopper and Falling Colours on my re-read pile.
March 19, 2015
The Vision Painter Series – R.J. Samuel
The Vision Painter series so far consists of 2 novels; Falling Colours and Casting Shadows. Unusual stories - they combine romance with paranormal and mystery whodunits. Ms Samuel is a gifted storyteller and these novels pull you in and keep you riveted.
Casting Shadows follows Kiran into the new phase of her life. She is happy and beginning to feel settled when her mother is taken ill. Rushing home to Kerala she discovers that somebody has painted a negative vision and caused her mothers sudden illness. As the mystery unfolds the evil follows her back to Ireland and impacts her new life. Eventually she is forced to confront the hidden past of the Vision Painter’s council and the hatred of those jealous of her and her fathers gifts.
Ms Samuel’s books flow and swirl with the creative gift of a bard, her words roll off the page in a way that make me think of oral storytellers sitting around the fire and weaving tales on dark winter nights.
The characters are multi-dimensional and stand out from the page, the main players well supported by a wide ranging cast in Ireland and India - good and bad are real people with back histories and deep emotional journeys.
In addition RJ Samuel brings the countryside to life - the cold, fresh, rain-swept green of Ireland and the hot, dry, dust of India play a strong part in the novels, grounding us in the where but adding to the history and sense of cultural pressure.
All in all excellent tales of real people, on individual journeys, with complex subplots that add to the overall completeness of the story. Well written, well executed and highly engrossing, let’s hope there is a third book on the way.
The Vision Painter series so far consists of 2 novels; Falling Colours and Casting Shadows. Unusual stories - they combine romance with paranormal and mystery whodunits. Ms Samuel is a gifted storyteller and these novels pull you in and keep you riveted.
Casting Shadows follows Kiran into the new phase of her life. She is happy and beginning to feel settled when her mother is taken ill. Rushing home to Kerala she discovers that somebody has painted a negative vision and caused her mothers sudden illness. As the mystery unfolds the evil follows her back to Ireland and impacts her new life. Eventually she is forced to confront the hidden past of the Vision Painter’s council and the hatred of those jealous of her and her fathers gifts.
Ms Samuel’s books flow and swirl with the creative gift of a bard, her words roll off the page in a way that make me think of oral storytellers sitting around the fire and weaving tales on dark winter nights.
The characters are multi-dimensional and stand out from the page, the main players well supported by a wide ranging cast in Ireland and India - good and bad are real people with back histories and deep emotional journeys.
In addition RJ Samuel brings the countryside to life - the cold, fresh, rain-swept green of Ireland and the hot, dry, dust of India play a strong part in the novels, grounding us in the where but adding to the history and sense of cultural pressure.
All in all excellent tales of real people, on individual journeys, with complex subplots that add to the overall completeness of the story. Well written, well executed and highly engrossing, let’s hope there is a third book on the way.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews