Archive for the ‘Dream Theories’ Category

« Older Entries

Dream Theories: Dreaming Your Memories…

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

I’m talking dream theories straight through the fall, while we count down to the Halloween release of Secret Legacy(Nov., from Dorchester Leisure). This has been one of my most popular categories to date, so come back and join in the fun.

dream memories

There’s so much to explore this time. Dark Legacy’s sequel is about running to your dreams and what they’re revealing, instead of away. Even I was surprised at how much fantasy wove itself into my new paranormal thriller. A key bit of research that inspired Secret Legacy was discovering that many scientists believe our dreams are based, at least in symbol, on our pasts. That the structure of our dreamscapes is the structure of the memories we’ve already lived, either projected into fantasy that helps us resolve lingering issues or into the future that some suspect dreams can predict.

Scientific articles abound, full of useful information about this and other dream characteristics. Thank dog for my “other-life” identity is a tech writer. I’ve ghosted for everything from lawyers to epidemiologists. There’s a goldmine of research material on the Internet. Articles like this one: (more…)

Posted in Dream Theories, Paranormal Thrillers, Secret Legacy | 10 Comments »

Dream Your Way Home…

Monday, May 17th, 2010

When you’re living within a moment that you know will change everything about who you are, when you’re revising every step that you take because nothing’s as it seems, you’d better hold onto each dream like it’s your only way home…

winter_dreaming

Loosely, that’s the truth our Secret Legacy heroine, Sarah Temple, must deal with. You first met her (just recovered from a 10-year coma and losing her sanity because she and her psychic gifts have been the target of secret government dream research) in Dark Legacy, and she’s still battling back from the darkness consuming her mind. Only this time, she’s fighting to reach a terrified child no one else believes is real–and her only weapons are her misfiring dreams and the family she’s lost the ability to trust. Oh, and the man whose honor to his duty comes before all else, even his love for her… Which makes for an amazing fictional-paranormal-fantasy-thriller journey, even if I do say so myself (the draft’s in to my editor, who will no doubt be letting me know her revisions any second now ;o)

Loosely, it’s also continues to be the story of my life this year,though my dreams don’t have the power to kill or program others’ minds, the way Sarah’s and the secret child/legacy in my new Dorchester novel do. (more…)

Tags:
Posted in Dream Theories, Revising a Year, Secret Legacy | 1 Comment »

Dream Banks: Secret Legacy’s on the cutting edge…

Tuesday, January 26th, 2010

I’m loving how much more detail I’m adding in Secret Legacy about dream theory and research.Some of it is my sole creation, some uses gems from my research into dream study.  And some, it seems, is a spooky combination of both… For example, I’ve used a “dream bank” in my WIP from pretty much day one. A database where Richard Metting stores everything he knows about the Temple Twins’ dream patterns, particularly Sarah’s. Then today, I stumbled across this paper about studying dream content.

lady-dreams

It’s dry reading, unless you’re a closet tech writer like me, and then you’ll love all the science and find yourself lost for hours that should be going toward working your way back into a WIP you haven’t written on in a while… Where was I? Oh, yeah, it’s dry reading, so I’m bulleting some high points below for those who love dreams as much as I do. But the thing I’m finding startling is how close some of this is to what I’ve already crafted into Dark Legacy and now Secret Legacy, based on my own dream experiences and the world my characters have helped me build. (more…)

Posted in Dream Theories, Secret Legacy | 11 Comments »

A Fire at the Door, and it’s coming for me…

Friday, January 8th, 2010

I dreamed of fire last night, and it was coming for me.Or, rather, the fireman were banging down my door, waking me to see that fire was in my home and I had to move. NOW. And it wasn’t the first time this dream has happened. I’ve been ignoring the recurring symbolism for a while now, but, as always. resistance is futile..

flamesStrange, that I’m writing a book about water while all this is going on. Both fire and water are essential, timeless elements that can symbolize change and revelation and renewal. Both can symbolize life. Fire, too, can mean torment (as in, can’t decide on the next turn in your life), while with water one can feel as if she’s drowning in a decision not yet made. So, they can go hand in hand. For me, as I write about ocean visions, it’s interesting that my own dreams have centered on fire’s illumination and possible destruction. Or, maybe not so far off the mark, as it turns out.

I’d said a few blogs back that this would be a year of revisions for me. Not all together of my choosing. I have a lot on my plate, but the plate’s suddenly been taken away from me, forcing me to slow a bit and just live while I wait for my “get back to normal” chance. Not that I’m not still loving writing Secret Legacy. Not that it’s not 2/3rds through (though this is 2/3rds of the draft that no one else sees, not even my editor, because it’s the ugly draft that needs TONS of TLC before it’s ready for others to drool over). But, the work’s slowed since mid-December, and it will be slower still for a while, and I’m not handling the downshift with a lot of grace. Just ask my husband. And my fire dreams. (more…)

Tags:
Posted in Dream Theories, Revising a Year | 5 Comments »

Seeing Your Dreams…

Monday, January 4th, 2010

Whether you’re a writer or a “normal” member of the human race, you dream. And whether or not you pay attention to those dreams, I believe, defines the life you choose to lead. Yep, in case you’re just now finding my blog window into dream theory and didn’t know I’m writing books about how our dream world affects our waking reality, let me catch you up–respect your dreams. They’re your subconscious and your deepest desires and fears and hopes, and they’re talking to you every sleeping night, and sometimes during the waking days, too. LISTEN to them…

dreams 01

 

Actually, this post is about seeing your dreams. Seeing them all around you. Never losing touch with them.

A perfect new topic for a new blog year.

My year’s going to start out rocky. I knew that about mid-way through December, and began the next several weeks in a bit of a haze that felt at first like dread. So much so, I couldn’t write or do much of anything. But it was the holidays. Not a good time to check out. Not a good time at all, for me or my family. Not how I wanted my 2010 to begin. (more…)

Tags:
Posted in Dream Theories, Revising a Year | 11 Comments »

What We Hide In Dreams…

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

Sarah in Secret Legacy is hiding all kinds of things in her spooky dreams (from family, from her friends and enemies, and from herself most of all). Just like we all lose important parts of every day to our subconscious, and those parts start dancing around in the worlds we paint after we go to sleep. The thing with Sarah Temple is that her dreams tend to become reality, and she’s losing control of them (or maybe she was never in control in the first place, since a secret government unit of mad scientists has buried sleeper programming in her mind to manipulate her psychic abilities into a direct strike weapon). So, you know, not know what’s going on inside her sleeping (and maybe even waking) mind tends to make things dicey.

Yeah, scenerios like that are what’s monopolized my mind for the few weeks I’ve been away. Plus, there was the holiday travel and catch up and the the prep for the next holiday. Craziness–and I have the pictures to prove it, so look for those throughout the week. But I’ve also been hard at story work, and dream work. So Secret Legacy’s coming along nicely.  And I’m in the groove and daily writing toward my first “rough” draft THE END. Which means things are going to pick up out here.

It’s amazing the things that happen in our dreams when we are minds are turned on and firing at full speed ahead. Like Sarah, my dreams are swirling. And like my Temple Twins, my dreams give me visions of what’s going on under the surface that my “awareness” becomes during the day. Yours, too, right about now, I suspect. Because this time of year we’re all running on empty and pushing to do more and trying to stretch shorter and shorter days to get the most time out of them we can. Which  means there’s less energy to process everything that’s happening, and so our sleeping minds pick up the slack. (more…)

Tags:
Posted in Dream Theories, Secret Legacy | 1 Comment »

Dream Theory–Follow Me To The Sea

Tuesday, November 17th, 2009

Dreams are absorbing me into their mystery again. The side effect of writing my next Legacy novel. So, expect regular dream musings for a while ;o)

My current obsession… Ocean dreams. And, why yes, I DID just spend ten days by the sea…

ocean dreams

Three years ago, I first worked out the high concept for my first two Legacy novels at a South Carolina sea shore, when I had no idea if I could execute something so challenging. Was this really the type of story I could thrive telling? Two years ago, at a retreat on another SC beach, I began detailing the synopsis my agent said she’d have to see before she could tell if I had something she could sell. Last November, we’d sold the series and I was drafting the first book with ocean waves rolling outside my window again. And now, I was rough drafting and reworking it’s sequel at the same magical place. My ocean dreams are coming true…

From the very first page of Secret Legacy, Sarah Temple’s dreaming about the ocean–you’ve seen a very rough draft that I’ve revised at least a dozen times since. And there you have it–Sarah’s obsession with the sea… What they say about pieces of an author finding their way into story is true. What’s surprising is how long it’s taken my love of the shore to find it’s way into the series I dreamed into being there.  But from that simple beginning, Sarah’s responsible for her own journey ;o) So, what would that be? (more…)

Posted in Dream Theories, Secret Legacy | 4 Comments »

Secret Legacy Excerpt and Playlist

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009

Okay, I’m scrambling to write Secret Legacy’s draft and to prep for the retreat I’m teaching this weekend with my agent, and to ship out all the prizes I’ve announced so far. Sooooo….

Bear with me, and I’ll announce the winner of the Godiva Lollies soon. You guys were wonderful with your helpful insights into your Dark Legacy experiences. I cherish each and every comment, and they’re all helping me as I craft the sequel!

To keep my blog friends happy, I’m sharing a very brief, very early excerpt from Secret Legacy’s opening. This is the recurring dream sequence that will drive the entire book, and it will change/be tweaked over time as I write the rest of the book (at the moment I’m tweaking daily, as I write/rewrite each subsquent scene). But I think you’ll get the idea ;o)

And before we jump into the excerpt, as promised here are a few tidbits from the iTunes Playlist I’m building as I draft the story. These are a few of Sarah’s songs (in no particular order), since the excerpt is hers. (more…)

Tags:
Posted in Dream Theories, Secret Legacy | 5 Comments »

Dream on! Exploring the Sleeping Mind’s Messages

Monday, August 10th, 2009

That’s the title of my Romantic Times “Behind The Scenes” article, published in the RTBookclub magazine on newsstands NOW! Can you tell I’m excited ;o) Can’t help it–it’s so much fun to see my love of dream theory making it, loud and proud, into the real world:

dream-on-article

Technically, it’s in the September issue, but RT puts it out in early August. Just received my copy last week. Squeeee! Be sure to check out my discussion of all things Dream Theory at your local Barnes & Noble and Borders…

In the mean time, I’ll keep responding to comments out here, in case you want to hear more of my musings on such fascinating topics. It’s great to see everyone sharing their own dream memories. If you haven’t started leaving comments, don’t be left behind–commenting puts you in the running for great prizes (like the one pictured at the end of this post). Here’s the August Scavenger Hunt details:

August Scavenger Hunt/Dark Legacy Contest Details 

Something I talk about in the article is Dream Sharing–how people who are really close can sometimes find themselves dreaming about the same thing at the same time. (more…)

Posted in Dream Theories, Where Contests Go When They're Over | 27 Comments »

Dream Themes–What’s Your Sleep “Legacy”?

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Remember–August’s Scavenger Hunt Dark Legacy prizes are up for grabs. For more details, see:

The August Dark Legacy Contest post

But, even more importantly, let’s talk Dreams ;o)

No, I don’t remember all my dreams. But I do react to them. Every day. Without fail. It was only a  matter of time before I wrote something that allowed me to study dreams more closely, and them play with them in wicked ways, LOL! My Legacy series launches with psychic twins whose abilities are being manipulated to use dreams/nightmares/psychotic daydreams as remote-triggered, direct-strike weapons. Bwahahahaha…

No, that’s not at all what my dreams are like. No spooky darkness or evil sinister images that start to bleed into my everyday life. But my moods change as my dream cycles do, that much I know. Or is it my dreams shifting to reflect the energy and challenges in my waking world? I’ve learned to focus on relaxing as I slip into sleep, if my life has been particularly stressful. It’s second-nature for me to remember when I’m waking mid-dream and to let the almost-there images flow back through me, so I can listen and understand what my mind’s working through while I sleep. (more…)

Posted in Dream Theories, Where Contests Go When They're Over | 27 Comments »

« Older Entries