Behind the Scenes (part 2)
Following up on part one, here’s a look at books 5-8 of the Dream Series and how they came to be…
WAKING DREAM basically began with the same plot idea that I had originally intended to use for DREAM FAMILY: Sara meets up with someone else (outside her family) who can step into dreams just as she can, but who’s using the power for evil, instead of good. I had the idea, and I had two scenes that I knew would happen during the book: Sara’s father would have a heart attack; and Sara would confront the “evil dreamer” in a dream and get into a shootout with her. I didn’t know what Sara’s nemesis would be trying to accomplish until I was at least a third of the way into the book. I did know from the beginning that it would be connected somehow to Brian and his job, and that led, eventually, to the actual plot from the final book.
DREAM REUNION started with the title. WAKING DREAM took place in the winter of 2000-2001, and the fall of 2001 would be when Sara’s ten-year college reunion would occur. That seemed like a natural setting to continue the series. And the ending of WAKING DREAM suggested the challenge Sara would face in this book. At the end of book five, Sara kills her nemesis in a dream (which results in her dying in real life, too). Between that, and the damage wreaked by the evil dreamer over the course of the book, Sara decides that she can never use her gift to try and affect someone else’s mind. She can’t change their dreams or influence them from inside their mind, because the consequences – even with the best intentions – can be deadly.
So: her dilemma in this book would be that she would visit the dreams of an old college friend who’s gotten himself in trouble. And she would be faced with the temptation of using her gift to help him, or at least to dissuade him from a disastrous course of action.
Along the way, a subplot emerged – Sara’s old friend from medical school, Janet Black,and her own romantic dilemma, which Sara is brought into. And some backstory is explored – we get flashbacks to Sara’s college days, and we see her first meeting with Beth, among other things.
Book seven, DREAM HOME, emerged from a couple of ideas. First was the thought of moving Sara and family to a small town that could carry the series forward and provide a new cast of characters we’d get to know. Second was the thought from high school English class that there are only three basic plots: man vs. man, man vs. nature and man vs. himself. Sara vs. man, and Sara vs. herself were both well covered over the first sis books, so that left Sara vs. nature, and the main story of the book – a deadly winter storm that threatens the entire town, and which Sara is warned about in dreams – was born.
Finally, the forthcoming DREAM VACATION, as with DREAM REUNION, began with the title. Obviously Sara and her family would go somewhere – abroad, as it turns out – on vacation, and trouble would ensue. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just give you the back-cover description here…
Thanks to her unique ability to step into other people’s dreams, Dr. Sara Alderson has solved murders, unraveled conspiracies and saved lives. But when a crisis hits close to home, even her supernatural gift might not be enough to avert disaster.
On a family vacation to Paris, Sara’s fifteen-year-old daughter Grace disappears without a trace. The only way to find her is through Sara’s dreams. But her gift has taken an unwanted vacation, and without it, Sara has no idea how to rescue Grace. In a foreign city, with no clues, and her dreaming talent failing her for the first time, Sara must figure out another way to find Grace before it’s too late.
Dream Vacation is the eighth book of the Dream Series
And there you have it!
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