Dog willing, the second book in my, currently, dream-theory based Legacy paranormal series from Dorchester (Secret Legacy) will hit shelves in May (Yay! Had a conference call with the PR team yesterday, and what they’re planning for the digital and trade release is really exciting!).
So, more dreams are coming your way than ever before. More fantasy (in fact, they’ll be shelving it in sci-fi/fantasy, since this time around we all agree that I haven’t, from the very start, been writing romance, even though Sarah and Richard’s relationship will blow you away in this Dark Legacy sequel). More of the rich, paranormal world I knitted together in the first book and got to wallow in while I wrote the second.
Which means, while I’m researching parapsychological gifts for a new “legacy” family to have to conquer in a three-book continuation of the series beyond this new release, I’m getting back to regular Dream Theories posts.Back -logged questions will be answered. More spooky, chilling, cool dream stuff to-be-spotlighted.
And to start–some pics that answer better than words can describe the question so many of you asked about how I came up with the dream dimensions I’ve drawn around the Temple Twins contemporary world.
I’ve cleaned off my office shelves to make room for th thrity or so new research books I’ve bought as I contemplate new proposals. And before I boxed them up, I snapped some images of the early non-fiction reading that made Dark Legacy and Secret Legacy possible.
Some basic “dreaming for dummies” books started me off.
Note that I also indulged in “The Art of War” and a history of secret societies, too, because wrapped around my psychic twins would be a band of watchers fighting to protect Sarah and Maddie, and to protect the world from the twins disintegrating control.
As you’ll see in May, secret society research helped most in the first book. Concepts from “The Art of War” became more critical in Secret Legacy. In it, I expand the battle between the Watchers and the government research center they’re determined to shut down as they hunt secret child. As I wrote, I knew I was drawing the bones of a paranormal confrontation I’d need to expand for years to come. Having a glimmer of battle strategy in my corner was a god-send.
More dream theory research in this bunch.And my little brown bunny, which has been in every office I’ve worked in since graduating from college and going to work for Big Six consulting, BTW. Executives don’t keep stuffed animals on their desk, my first manager promptly said. I won’t repeat what I said under my breath in response. But the bunny stayed.
The first book in this shot is on lucid dreaming, which I’ll talk more about in the weeks to come. This book became my favorite resource in early planning. LD is the cornerstone of current dream science, of my twins’ stories, and even of the movie we’re all currently in love with around here (even my teen)–Inception. and, yes, there’s also a Sylvia Browne book and a KISS resource. I’m no dummy. I’ll take all the help I can get as I’m culling ideas and working to paint the images and playgrounds of an alternative paranormal reality.
In fact, for the new proposals I’m working up (the first of which will be a cool modern take on a ghost story ;o), I’ve dissected another Browne book on psychic children. Research is research, my friends. No matter how campy a book might seem, it could be golden for you. Always dig a little deeper than the cover.
Keep in mind, these are just the “book” books I read to start my journey into writing paranormal dream fantasy. Three to four years ago. Once I had my concepts set, I turned to Internet searches to fill in the blanks and tell me more about key details I wanted to exploit. My “dreams” folder in my favorites goes on for miles. In the digital age, there’s almost nothing you can’t find out more about online.
I always start with books I can touch and writers who’ve painted their ideas into book-length research books. They’re telling a story around a concept, these writers. They’re artists, too. and reading them, I get a better feel for not only their voices, but my own. I begin seeing pictures in my mind of a new world I want to design. Their energy and love for what they’re writing about comes through so much stronger than in most blogs and Internet posts.
So, for me, “books” are where I begin my journey at the proposal phase. Then I go online for the rest. And, if there’s interest, I’ll talk more about the entire process as I research my ghost story and beyond.
Hope that gives those who are interested a better idea of how intricate it can be, sketching something as simple as dreams into a work of fiction. Thanks to all the readers and writers who kept asking to know more from “behind the scenes.”
Look for more regular dream discussions ahead, as we count down to Secret Legacy!
Tags: Anna DeStefano, Dorchester Publishing, Dream Theories, dreams, fantasy, fantasy author, Legacy Series, parapsychology, psychic, Secret Legacy, writing articles
I think you and I have the same books. Except I didn’t see a photo of the book I wrote on dreams several years ago. But then, my book was on children’s dreams. I’m like you though, my research begins with a lot of reading. Good luck with the book, I can’t wait to read it.