Surprising Fan Mail Inspires Author to Write Sequel to Bestselling E-Book

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Feb. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- When USA Today bestselling romance author Julianne MacLean self-published her first mainstream contemporary fiction novel The Color of Heaven in 2011--she never imagined that some unusual fan mail would be the inspiration for an entire series.

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The Color of Heaven, which was a digital bestseller and spent more than a month on Amazon's Top 100 bestseller list, is centered around Sophie Duncan, the novel's main character, who crashes her car and has an out-of-body, near-death experience.  She then goes on to solve questions about her life before the accident, and writes a book about it. Readers wrote to MacLean to ask about different story elements, believing that the novel was real.  They often shared similar experiences of their own.  MacLean quickly realized that the novel had done something special--it had swept readers away--and that's when an idea for a number of connected stories was born.

"I always read every fan letter I receive," MacLean says, "and I do my best to reply to all of them, but I never received letters quite like these before.  I was surprised when a number of readers thought the novel was real. I felt a little strange writing back to them to tell them it didn't really happen, but that's what sparked the idea for the series."

MacLean has now begun a sequel--The Color of Destiny--which will tell the story of the paramedic who saved Sophie in the ambulance, and how her life is transformed after reading The Color of Heaven.  The series will continue as if the first book were a true account, and each story will be the tale of a fictional reader who contacts Sophie Duncan to share a similar spiritual experience--not unlike the fan mail MacLean has received.

MacLean will self-publish The Color of Destiny in the summer of 2013. The Color of Heaven is available now in both print and e-book formats at Kobo, Amazon, Apple Itunes, B&N, and most other major online retailers.

About Julianne MacLean:
Julianne MacLean (http://www.juliannemaclean.com) is a USA Today bestselling author of 20 historical romances, including two trilogies with St. Martin's Press--the Highlanders and the Royals--and her popular Pembroke Palace series with Avon/Harper Collins.  She is a three-time RITA finalist, and has won numerous awards, including the Booksellers' Best Award, the Book Buyers Best Award, and a Reviewers' Choice Award from Romantic Times for Best Regency Historical of 2005. She lives in Nova Scotia, Canada with her husband and daughter, and she is a dedicated member of Romance Writers of Atlantic Canada.

Media Contact: Julianne MacLean Julianne MacLean, 902-835-8936, [email protected]

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SOURCE Julianne MacLean