Shattered Dreams

Portraits in Blue, Book 2

By: Penny Fields-Schneider

Narrated by: Dorje Swallow

Jack's quest for happiness is thwarted by heartbreak in Book 2 of the Portraits in Blue Series

As Jack leaps onto the train to Malaga, he has no thought for the responsibilities that await him on the other side of the world. All he knows is that he isn’t ready to leave Sofia, the girl who captured his heart in Paris, nor her talented twin brother, Andres. The twins’ idyllic farm offers sweeping views of the Mediterranean, days spent painting for the Galleria Toulouse, and the enduring charm of Spanish village life.

Even so, the trio’s happiness is soon plagued by misunderstandings and complications. Tragedy, heartbreak and declining economic circumstances force Jack and Sofia to leave the life they love and travel across the world to Australia to seek financial security and family connections.

There, the heady lure of Melbourne’s art world beckons them and they fall under the spell of the charismatic but dominating Justus Jorgensen. Jack and Sofia enthusiastically embrace the visionary’s dreams. Tirelessly, they commit to the creation of Montsalvat, an art enclave whose buildings are modelled on seventeenth century Europe, where residents live free from the bonds of social conventions.

While the bohemian lifestyle of Montsalvat proves stimulating, Jack is increasingly disturbed when a darker side of Jorgensen’s personality emerges. Even utopian dreams have costs. What Jack does not anticipate is that everything he loves will be threatened, with tragic consequences that test his very sanity.

©2025 Penny Fields-Schneider (P)2025 Penny Fields-Schneider