Dream Hunter 'Did You Know' Facts

Dream Hunter is my debut paranormal romance novella, spinning a tale which weaves the dream world and reality together...

Here's the blurb:

Cynthia’s dreams are so real, they are actually coming true – complete with the prerequisite dream guy. But things are not as they seem.

Who said dreams are sweet?

Chicago businesswoman Cynthia Courtland is completely focused on her career when a sensual, reoccurring dream disrupts her orderly life. Then a threat against her workplace forces her to take time off. She is lost with nowhere to go--only her empty apartment.

Work is Gabe’s life too; he takes it very seriously and will do whatever it takes to succeed. He's been watching over Cynthia for a long time and he has her best interests at heart, but can he protect her from the danger she is blind to? When Cynthia insists on investigating the threat so she can get back to work, it makes Gabe's job all the more difficult.

When things settle, will there be more for them than a life filled with work? Will she give her dreams a chance to come true?

Intrigued? I originally featured these 'Did You Know' facts about my book on my Dream Hunter Facebook page. Alert - there are a few spoilers ahead...

1. Why did I write a book largely focused on dreams? Well, I find dreams a fascinating subject. I have been studying dreams since I was in high school. I think dreams have always interested me because I am prone to having intense and highly detailed dreams. My imagination goes into overdrive when I sleep. Although dreams have been studied and analyzed for many years, I believe there's still an element of mystery surrounding them. I read a lot about dreams in order to keep my story factually correct. If dreams interest you, here's a cool website to check out... http://www.boredpanda.com/15-interesting-facts-about-dream…/

2. What inspired me to write Dream Hunter? This is a subject for an entire post... The idea for any book starts with a dream. In my case, a literal dream. I woke up one morning and wrote the first sequence, of the book which would later become Dream Hunter, from a dream I had. Since writing my book, I have thought long and hard about the origin of my ideas. Those thoughts were compiled into a post which I wrote for The Nuthouse Scribblers blog and, later, updated for my own blog. Contemplating the sources of my inspiration has also led to a greater understanding of events which were ongoing in my life. Dream Hunter started as a dream and evolved into a way of processing my thoughts and feelings. Here's my post The Inspiration Behind Dream Hunter.

3. The model on my book cover looks like my husband. This is a really interesting fact considering the designer went by my description of my book and its characters and had never seen a picture of my husband. I recently interviewed Lori Lasswell, Dream Hunter's cover designer, and gained more insight into her creative process. I learned she had read my book which made her realize, although I had talked a lot about Cynthia in my description I had provided her, the story was really Gabe's.

4. It took one year to write Dream Hunter, another year to find the right publisher, and one more year before Dream Hunter was released. Writing a book, even a novella, is an intensive and time consuming process. I greatly admire my favorite authors even more having been through it myself. Writing a book is only the first of many steps. The first draft is often not the final version so that means re-writing and editing and re-writing again until the final copy is polished. Once you have your 'best as can be' copy, it's decision time. Do you self-publish or submit to publishing houses? I went the publisher route and I am very pleased with this decision. My publisher Just Ink Press guided me through the formal editing process and provided invaluable assistance with my book release and marketing.

5. I set Dream Hunter in Chicago, but I've never been there. Chicago is on my list of cities to visit. Some of my favorite TV shows are based in Chicago (ER, The Good Wife) which sparked my interest in the city. Dream Hunter is not the first story I've written based in Chicago so I'd already completed a fair amount of research on the city. I think it's really important for a reader to be able to visualize the setting and for the writer to accurately portray the locale. If you're writing a story set in New York City, for instance, your characters might visit Central Park, but not the Eiffel Tower. Every detail contributes to the believability of your story. This includes travelling distance and mode of transportation.

6. Ever listen to Limp Bizkit's song Nookie? I think about this song everytime I read Dream Hunter and it actually inspired part of my story... I love the phrase 'like a chump' and what image it inspires. A chump brings to mind a stupid person. Maybe they're momentarily stumped or puzzled or lost. Either way, they don't know what they're doing. At this point in the story, Cynthia was standing at a crossroads, not knowing what to do or where to go. She wasn't a stupid character, but she didn't have a plan of action either.

7. In the story Gabe named himself after a little boy he couldn't save. It's no coincidence I used the name Gabriel though. Isn't it a fitting name for an angel? Historically, other angels have been named Gabriel although, in no way, does my story have a religious context. 

8. I put emphasis on Cynthia's sore feet during her long trek in high heels. I did this purposefully to suggest she was not dreaming. After all, you don't feel pain in a dream, do you? Actually, it is possible to feel pain in a lucid dream. I learned this little known fact while conducting research for my story. I kept Cynthia's sore feet in the story to keep the reader guessing.

9. Cynthia's resolve to land the promotion at work and her tenacity to solve the mystery were both inspired by my own struggles at work. At the time, I was working toward a promotion for my dream job, but there were obstacles in my way.

10. Guardian Angel Gabe never spoke using contractions to hint he didn't belong to this world. I thought avoiding contractions would make Gabe's speech a little awkward and formal, as if English wasn't his first language. It also helped to differentiate the guardian angel persona from the police officer persona.

I loved writing Dream Hunter. I fell in love with each of my characters and I truly felt inspired to tell their story.  I hope you'll love them too!

Thank you for helping my celebrate Dream Hunter's 6 month book birthday!

Interview with Designer @LoriLasswell

Today I have the privilege of interviewing Lori Lasswell, the talented book cover designer for Dream Hunter, my debut novella. Thank you, Lori, for the amazing cover and the opportunity to interview you on my blog.

1. Tell us a little about yourself. What are your hobbies?

I’m a Seattle girl by way of Tulsa. I’ve lived here for a little over five years, with my fantastic husband and a demonic cat. My primary hobbies are music, writing, and art. I work on my novels and play open mic nights around Seattle. I’ll be heading back to school in the fall, which I’m pretty excited about. It only took me 15 years, but I finally figured out what I want to be when I grow up. (Mostly grown up, at least.)

2. How did you get into cover design?

Half happy accident, half nepotism. My cousin Jinxie (NL Gervasio) started her own publishing company. I offered to help out with the graphic design to help lighten her workload. Many moons ago, I went to art school. The book covers I’ve done are pretty much the only time I’ve been paid for what my degree is in.

3. What is your creative process for designing covers?

Jinxie and I put together a sheet for the authors to fill out with their likes and dislikes, as well as a synopsis and the book’s specs. More often than not, where I would take the cover is not necessarily what the author would like to see. I also like to take a look at what is out on the market within the same genre. I want to do something within the normal expectations, since books are definitely judged by their cover, while at the same time creating something that will stand out. More than anything, I want to create something that captures little elements of the story that reward the reader after they’ve finished the book. Though I’m not crazy about her art style, I love how intricate Mary GrandPré’s Harry Potter illustrations are. Once I’ve got a rough idea of what I’m looking for, I look through stock photos (I’ve only had the chance to do an original illustration for one cover so far.) Sometimes the ideas evolve after the images have been found. Once I start working, the covers just take on a life of their own and take shape.

4. How do you find inspiration, in general, and for Dream Hunter’s cover, in particular?

I’m not sure if I have a method that I follow for each cover. With some stories the ideas happen immediately, and some go through a few different versions. The synopsis the authors provide can be handy, but not necessarily for their content. The way authors talk about their stories, and particularly the main characters, tells me more than the cover sheet will. Dream Hunter was actually a little bit different, as I was given a pre-edit version of the manuscript before doing the cover. In your cover sheet, you talked a lot about Cynthia, but when I read the book, I really felt like it was Gabe’s story. For the cover, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to incorporate the Chicago skyline. The descriptions of the city were so rich that it almost felt like the city was a character as well.

5. If you believed in this sort of thing and could channel an artist from the beyond, who would it be and why?

Hmmm… I don’t know if I could pick a fine artist that I’d want to chat with… but if a writer is considered an artist (I think so), I would want a sit down with Jane Austen. She wrote with a vivacity that’s proved to be timeless, and her personal life is such a mystery that I’d love to know how it shaped her work.

6. What are your plans for the future? Where do you see yourself in five years?

I’m at that magical turning point, where the next five years could be drastically different… or could be exactly the same. I’d like a tiny human or two between now and then, and I’d love to stop my neurotic editing and rewriting cycle and finally submit something to a publisher. In the grand scheme of things, I hope to someday be the crazy old lady that neighborhood kids assume is a witch. Life will be grand.

Lori Lasswell grew up in a Norman Rockwellian childhood, raised on the doctrine of a timeless parental love story. Because of her idyllic upbringing, she found muses in the romantic, the creepy, and the romantically creepy. (Creepily romantic?) After resigning herself to a lifetime of too many cats and too much coffee, she accidentally fell face first into her own whimsical love story. Lori and her long haired, pretty-boy musician husband are living out their pants optional happily ever after in the rainy Pacific Northwest, where they create and laugh to their hearts’ content.

You can follow Lori on twitter at @LoriLasswell 

Check out some of Lori’s cover art for Just Ink Press at www.JustInkPress.com

If you are interested in having cover art done for your own self-published works, email Lori at lori.lasswell@gmail.com to discuss the project.