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Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.
Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.
Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.
Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.
28 Comments:
I think many of our dreams come from the things we fear. We all have similar fears and concerns. I used to have a dream about being at church with my shoes off and then putting my socks on and realizing that I had left my shoes at home. I think that amounted to a fear I had that I was unprepared for something.
As for dreams that characters have, I think dreams can be used to help show the worry that a character has about something. Prophetic dreams usually don’t work very well, unless it is clear that it is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Dreams can also be used to show how a character might react to unusual situations, but this doesn’t always work well since we lack inhibitions in dreams. Character’s dreams are good for comic relief or exploring a world that cannot exist within the normal confines of the novel.
I love dreams. I have really strange or unusual ones based on the obscure information my mind collects during the day. Most of the things in my dreams I can trace back to things from the previous day: books I'd been reading, movies I watched, even your blog.
Once I had a dream where I was the protagonist Susan from Sharon Hinck's incredible book, The Restorer. In another I was Frodo from Lord of the Rings. (I usually end up as other people in my dreams.) Last night I had a dream where I witnessed to someone and brought them to Christ, then I went home where bats chased me around the living room.
My recurring dream has to do with being in H.S. and not remembering where my locker is or not having my class schedule or missing the bus after school.
I'm sure this must mean something, but I have no clue what.
My recurring dream is that I have something pink (consistency of pop rocks) in my mouth and can't get them out. More keep appearing. It probably has something to do with my verbal prowess. LOL
I had a dream last night that I needed to buy URGENTLY new oven mitts to match my kitchen. : ) Then my son woke me up at 1 to tell me he couldn't sleep. That's why I remember it. Jonah never wants to be alone in the I can't sleep business. LOL
My favorite recurrent dream is of my grandmother. In my dream, I've got my head cradled against her gargantuan bosom. When I wake up, I actually feel like I've been with her! Love it!
Interesting theory, Timothy. I wonder if I fear being caught without my shoes? ;-)
Gracie, that dream of sharing Christ and then being chased by bats seems to have some symbolism, doesn't it? Very interesting!
Kristin, only YOU could dream of PINK. LOL!! Love it!
I'm wondering why we have those dreams of high school, Denise. Where's Joseph when we need him?
I love the bond you shared with your grandma, Colleen. That's the kind of grandmother I want to be to my grandkids!
I used to have that dream, too, Denise, only mine was in college. Couldn't find my class, didn't know which class I should be in....
Lately, I've been having the same or similar dream of not being able to find my home--usually an apartment or a dorm room. Wherever it is, it's room/apt. 131. Weird!
Then there's the one where I'm at home (not our current house), except the house has a whole other house hidden inside it--we live in the yucky part; the other "half" is gorgeous and completely furnished, except I'm the only one who knows its there. And I keep finding treasures in it--art, antique sports equipment in the attic, lovely things. Except once there was another woman living in a bathroom that was hidden inside the hidden part of the house.
I scare myself sometimes!! :-)
Rachel, that sounds like a good book! LOL
Colleen--
And maybe I'll write it, if I ever figure out what happens! But that other woman had better skedaddle! LOL
Rachel, that was a TV movie of the week my Nana showed me that scared the daylights out of me. This boy had accidentally killed a neighborhood girl by pushing her onto a rock, and they hid him in a bathroom they closed up, then the mom dies and the kid is spying on the new family. Still sends shivers down my spine!
Oh man, Kristin, don't give Colleen any ideas! That movie totally creeps me out and I haven't even seen it!
Rachel, that's amazing! You should write a book on that! Wouldn't you love to know what those dreams meant!
Okay, that sounds freaky! I didn't get to watch TV til I got married in the mid-80s though. Was it since then? I did like scary stuff, though. Maybe I read the book. It sounds like something Lois Duncan might have written. Anyone else remember her?
My husband said I was laughing in my sleep this morning. Why can't I ever remember the good ones, just the weird and/or scary ones?
You know that dream we all have as kids were we show up to school with out a shirt or pants.
Well here is the homemakers version:
A couple years ago, after moving to a new town, I had a dream that I was taking my son to his new school, through the carpool line, and I had forgotten to put on a blouse.
I guess I was a little insecure about a new situation? LOL!
Also, you sent me (A signed!) copy of For Better or for Worse, and I meant to write and thank you BEFORE I read the book. But, the book won out. I thought about writing to you every time I picked it up! So, Thank you, It was a fun read!
kellie
Oh my gosh, I think it was the early seventies. We watched Saturday Night Live after with Chevy Chase if that gives you an indicator. LOL
I totally agree with Gracie. My dreams are almost always based on some little thing from the day before... a fleeting thought, a glimpse of something or someone that I passed over quickly. In fact, if something bad happens and I don't want to dream about it, I make sure and think about it before I go to sleep and I NEVER dream about it. It's like I only dream about the most sub-conscious things. My sister and I both dream very vividly and almost every night. My husband on the other hand says to me about once every three years, "Hey, I think I dreamed last night...I can't remember what it was about."
Actually, I can trace back most of the pieces of that dream with the bats. During the earlier part of the day, I had been mulling over whether or not to re-read Ted Dekker's The Circle Trilogy. There are bats EVERYWHERE in that book - totally gave me the creeps, but I love the writing. Though I don't know about the witnessing part. I just know that in the dream, I witnessed in Starbucks, and that morning I'd been craving a frappachino!
Anna, I'm glad that someone else has the same "dream-formula". Some of my friends and family think I'm weird for collecting good random thoughts before going to bed. Women of Faith books and Girls Write Out work best!
I had bat dreams after reading The Circle trilogy, too. Hated those things. Of course, you might also have read the critters in the house blog here.
My most common recurring dream is that I'm in college and find out I have to take a final in a class I didn't realize I had registered for and had never attended. Talk about unprepared. You'd think I'd be over test anxiety 14 years later.
I used to have what I guess were night terrors, those half awake, half asleep dreams. Usually, I'd just be convinced someone was in the room and had to pray for courage to turn on the light. Twice I thought someone was in the BED and had to find courage to turn on the light. Very creepy.
I use that, in a way, for a character's dream that also incorporates memories of a traumatic event.
My sister has the prophetic dreams. Most likely it's just stuff she's uneasy over, but a couple of times things have come true and it creeps us all out. One time she asked her husband not to take a plane trip he was planning with some clients. He went anyway, of course, and they had an emergency landing on the way home because fumes of some sort were filling the cabin. One guy passed out.
The dream that I seem to have over and over again is one in which I'm driving my car. When I'm going forward I'm fine but as soon as I put the car in reverse it goes out of control and I can't stop it. Weird, eh?
Just read the comments. Kristin....I have the gunk-in-the-mouth dream too. Didn't want to mention it though because it's gross. In my dream I keep digging it out of my mouth and more appears. Ick.
I also dream about being in high school (that alone is an awful dream!) and not being able to remember my locker combination or which locker is mine. Thankfully that one will never come true!
Denise, I have the same exact dream about H.S. and not remembering my class schedule or room numbers. Weird. I wonder if it means we fear being unprepared or forgetful :o)
I also, occasionally, have one where I'm falling a long distance (off a building, perhaps) and I used to always wake up before I hit the ground and then one night I dreamed I hit the ground. Talk about fearful. I woke up with a jolt and my heart racing ...
extremely thankful it had just been a dream.
Suzanne, I looked it up after you said that, and here's what I found online!
"This dream shows that you FEEL that you have a tough time getting things out...speaking your piece or having your say. This may be a feeling, or a reality. In other words, you have things to say, but just don't know how to say it. You have been given these dreams so you will purpose to ask God for clarity and wisdom to know what to say and how to say it. If you ask, He will remove the 'sticky-ness' from your ability to speak and from your words."
Kristin-
cool. Guess I should just keep writing until I get them all out! :)
Here in the Middle East, dreams are taken seriously as being prophetic or important. For example, some people I've met have had dreams in which Jesus has appeared and spoken to them. In one of my friends' dreams, Jesus told her not to marry a man she liked, but to wait. She did, and later she met and married her (now) husband who is a great guy. Good thing she listened.
Pam, I've heard that. When I did that book on Iraq, the man's journals had instances of miraculous prayers.
I guess God can use any form He likes!
Ooo, I love dreams.
About four of us go downtown to a coffee shoppe every Tuesday night and set up a table with a Dreams sign and .... interpret dreams.
Big fun.
I've really come to understand the value of dreams and that most of them have some significance.
If anyone wants a dream interpreted, send it to me and I'll take it to the team. I know about 3 trained teams who love to delve into dreams!
Great post, Di!
Rachel
I'm a day late, but I've had 2 recurring dreams. One was I'd had a baby but had nothing ready for him - no diapers, no formula, no crib nothing-nada-zip.
The other dream is my favorite. That's the dream I'm flying. Don't you ever dream that? It's totally cool.
And Di, uhm ... I don't think you have the gargantuan...uh - well you know - to be like Colleen's grandmother.
But you can still be the best grandma - you have the flashy-blinky teeth. ;o)
I love reading all these posts on dreams! So cool! Hey, Kristin, where did you find out about dreams online?
Ane, one word: pillows. :-)
I used to dream about my teeth falling out. I heard that was a common dreamn, relating to the fear of losing something.
This past week I dreamed that my mini dauchshund fell apart right in front of my eyes, the whole time wagging her tail.
Pop, her front legs fell off, then her back legs, then she split right down the middle and lastly her tail fell right on the couch in the middle of wagging it. She was quite unconcerned about the whole thing. Does this have to do with my angst about taking her out at 2 in the morning? Hmmmmmmm
Katie from Albuquerque
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