The Color of Ice: A Novel

(Paperback)

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Cathryn McAllisters carefully curated life is upended when she travels to Iceland to interview a charismatic glass artist who ignites a hunger for everything shes told herself she doesnt need anymore: Passion. Vulnerability. Risk. Gradually, she abandons the life and the self shes always relied on, until she comes face-to-face with devastating choices she never could have foreseen.

'Exquisite' (Lisa Barr, New York Times best-selling author ofWoman on Fire) and 'utterly engrossing' (Katherine Gray, cohost of the Netflix seriesBlown Away),The Color of Icewill wrap you in its spell, all the way to its unforgettable ending.

Set among the glaciers and thermal lagoons of Iceland, and framed by the magical art of glassblowing,The Color of Iceis the breathtaking story of a woman's awakening to passion, beauty, and the redemptive power of unconditional love.

The stunning new novel by the author of award-winning novels Queen of the Owls and The Sound Between the Notes...

Cathryn McAllister, a freelance photographer, travels to Iceland for a photo shoot with an enigmatic artist who wants to capture the countrys iconic blue icebergs in glass. Her plan is to head out, when the job is done, on a carefully curated 'best of Iceland' solo vacation. Widowed young, Cathryn has raised two children while achieving professional success. If the price of that efficiency has been the dimming of her fire well, she hasnt let herself think about it. Until now.

Bit by bit, Cathryn abandons her itinerary to remain with Mack, the glassblower, who awakens a hunger for all the things shes told herself she doesnt need anymore. Passion. Vulnerability. Risk. Cathryn finds herself torn between the life and self shes come to know and the new world Mack offers. Commitments await her back in America. But if she walks away, shell lose this chance to feel deeply again. Just when her path seems clear, shes faced with a shocking discovery and a devastating choice that shows her what love really is.

Reviews

. . .exquisite new novel . . . filled with spectacular moments of awakening . . . a passionate tale of love, loss, redemption, and healing as seen through the power of glass and ice. Color, form, and light ignite this womans journey by an artist who manages to open Cathryns closed heart. Probst gifts the reader with a seamless, rich portrayal of Iceland and how its natural beauty reflects and transforms everyone who touches its magnificent landscape.
Lisa Barr,New York Timesbest-selling author ofThe UnbreakablesandWoman on Fire

BarbaraLinnProbsthas written a brilliant novel of art and passion set against a stunning Icelandic backdrop. Readers will be drawn to Cathryn and Mack, two distinctly unique characters navigating the richly textured beauty of ice and light. Through vivid descriptions and a keen insightfulness,Probstcreates a seamless journey of self-discovery culminating in acceptance, healing, and ultimately, unconditional love.

Rochelle Weinstein, bestselling author ofThis is Not How It EndsandWhen We Let Go

Seamlessly portrayed, tenderly sculpted,The Color of Iceis an alluring, stunning literary vision thatll stay in your mind long after you finish it!
Weina Dai Randel, award-winning author ofThe Last Rose of Shanghai

InThe Color of Ice,BarbaraLinnProbsthas gifted us another luminous story of art and passion. Her tale of discovery and forgiveness moves like a glassblowers rod, always turning, always moving, like the breathtaking ice and glassall the way to a stunning and unexpected ending that feels just right.
Diane Zinna, author ofThe All-Night Sun

InThe Color of Ice, Barbara Linn Probst gives us a vivid travelogue, an ode to art, and a compelling journey of self-discoveryall in one remarkable, utterly engrossing novel. The two main charactersone cerebral and restrained, the other, corporeal and instinctualfind in each other the key to unlock their artistic voice.
Katherine Gray, award-winning glass artist and resident evaluator on the Netflix seriesBlown Away

Writing with beauty and insight, Barbara Linn Probst explores the power of landscape to influence the unfolding of artistic creation and the mysterious journey from passion to unconditional love and redemption.
JoAnne Tompkins, author ofWhat Comes After

An engaging narrative with an ending you wont expect.A sensitive and sensual story of renewal.
Kirkus Reviews

Great for public libraries.

Booklist

Past praise for the author:

ForThe Sound Between The Notes

Kirkus Reviews' Best Books of 2021
2021 Sarton Book Awards: Contemporary Fiction, Gold Medal Winner
2021 Nautilus Awards: Fiction, Silver Medal
2021 Eric Hoffer Grand Prize Finalist
2020 Readers Favorite Award: Women's Fiction
2020 DaVinci Eye Award, Eric Hoffer Awards: Best Cover Design

The climax, on the night of her performance, is a tour de force steeped in suspense, and Susannahs subsequent revelations are satisfying and authentic. A sensitive, astute exploration of artistic passion, family, and perseverance.
Kirkus Reviews, STARRED

The Sound Between the Notesis so beautiful, so lyrical, so musical that it was hard to put down. . . . This is a wonderful story from a skillful writer, one that appeals strongly to the heart. It features awesome characters, a twisty plot, and gorgeous writing.
Readers Favorite5-star review

In her second novel, Barbara Linn Probst delivers yet another powerful story, balancing lyrical language with a skillfully paced plot to build a sensory-rich world that will delight those who lovedQueen of the Owlsand win countless new readers. Offering a deep exploration of the search for identity and connection,The Sound Between Notesreminds us to embrace everything we areand everything thats made us who we are.
Julie Cantrell,New York TimesandUSA TODAYbest-selling author ofPerennials

Family ties can bind or blind useven with relatives we've never met. InThe Sound Between the Notes, trails of music connect generations separated by adoptionwhile the same notes threaten a family believed sewn with steel threads.In this spellbinding novel, Barbara Linn Probst examines how the truth of love transcends genetics, even as strands of biology grip us. Once you begin this story, suffused with the majesty of music and the reveries of creation, the 'gotta know' will carry you all the way to the final note.
Randy Susan Meyers, international best-selling author ofWaistedandThe Comfort of Lies

As soaring as the music it so lovingly describes, poignantly human, and relatable to anyone whos ever wondered if its too late for their dream,The Sound Between the Notesis an exploration of our vulnerability to lifes timing and chance occurrences that influence our decisions, for better or worse. Probst creates her trademark intelligent suspense as Susannah, an adoptee trying for a mid-life resurrection of an abandoned music career, confronts lifelong questions of who she is. A story that speaks to our universal need to have someone who believes in us unequivocally, and how that person had better be ourselves.
Ellen Notbohm, award-winning author ofThe River by Starlight

Praise forQueen of the Owls

2020 Eric Hoffer First Horizon Award Finalist
2020 IPPY Awards Bronze Winner in Popular Fiction
2020 Eric Hoffer Award 1st Runner up in General Fiction

A nuanced, insightful, culturally relevant investigation of one womans personal and artistic awakening,Queen of the Owlslimns the distance between artist and muse, creator and critic, concealment and exposure.
Christina Baker Kline, #1New York Timesbest-selling author of A Piece of the World andOrphan Train

This is a stunner about the true cost of creativity, and about what it means to be really seen. Gorgeously written and so, so smart (and how can you resist any novel that has Georgia OKeeffe in it), Probsts novel is a work of art in itself.
Caroline Leavitt, best-selling author ofPictures of You, Is This TomorrowandCruel Beautiful World

Probst plumbs the depths of Elizabeths desperation with a delicacy that underlines the brutal truths her protagonist must face .... A thought-provoking, introspective examination of self and sexuality.
Booklist

Readers will root for Elizabethand wince in amusement at her pratfallsas she strikes out in improbable new directions . . . An entertaining, psychologically rich story of a sometimes giddy, sometimes painful awakening.
Kirkus Reviews

Author Bio

Barbara Linn Probstis an award-winning author of contemporary womens fiction living on an historic dirt road in New Yorks Hudson Valley. Her acclaimed novelsQueen of the Owls(2020) andThe Sound Between the Notes(2021) were gold and silver medalists for prestigious national awards, including the Sarton and Nautilus Book Awards.The Sound Between the Noteswas also selected byKirkus Reviewsas one of the Best Indie Books of 2021. Barbara has also published over fifty essays on the craft of writing for sites such as Jane Friedman and Writer Unboxed, along with two nonfiction books. Her third novelThe Color of Icewill be released in October 2022. Learn more onwww.BarbaraLinnProbst.com.