To sleep, perchance to dream...

By Kirsten Scott

My son asked me this morning what was the scariest dream I'd ever had. I didn't have to think very long. When I was a young girl, maybe six or seven, I dreamed that my dad's head fell off. When I woke up, I was trying to reattach it to his neck. I will remember that image, and that feeling of terror, until the day I die.

Now, best dream ever? Flying. I've had a couple of incredible flying dreams and they always leave me astonished at how wonderful they are. The power and grace, the freedom of soaring through the air. They are magical.


After turning in the second book of my young adult series to my editor last month, and finishing up revisions on another book for my agent a couple of weeks ago, I've been in a bit of a writing hiatus. My first for a good many years, actually. Usually, I've got another book itching to be written. It's hard to keep them inside, so I just let them go, one after another. But I got so tired and burnt out with the last book that I really needed a break. So it's been nice to let it all go for a few weeks.

But...(there's always a big butt, right?)...I'm getting the itch. My son's question sent me back to an idea for a series I first started noodling on a few years ago. It has to do with dreamtime, and a rift between the dream world and the "real world." So now I'm thinking about dreams.

They're so powerful, it's hard to believe they're not real. My dream about my dad has lingered for decades, and it's almost as vivid today as it was then. My flying dreams stay with me for weeks, bringing a smile to my face every time I think about them. I can't wait to start working out my characters and plot for this new book. It won't be hard to imagine a world in which dreamtime enters the everyday world. It doesn't feel like much of a stretch.


So -- what about you? Had any vivid dreams lately? Any dreams wallop you with their power -- good or bad? What do you remember: color, smell, taste, touch? Or maybe just a feeling. A feeling that can last for years...Do you think the dream world can be as real as this one?