Writing novels: what you DON’T see!

There is so much involved in writing a novel. The actual writing is the easy part. The first draft comes out in a long dribble, or in floods, but then so much editing is required! I’ve actually learned to NOT edit myself in the first draft, because you never know when you might get lucky and write something really good! 

Mark and I are in final edits of Dream Traveler, and beta readers have it. That’s when you hear whether its working. And you have various and sundry fingers crossed all the time. So far, so good, people are coming back loving the ride.

Here’s a taste of the story:

Jenna McCowan has spent a lifetime managing the precognitive visions that arrive unbidden. One will not be ignored: a handwritten list of seven names. Her friend Daniel Bridges, who has just died, is on the list.

Then a man appears in her vision.

Alex Burgess is an investigative journalist by day, skilled lucid dreamer by night. He dreams he is standing in his local park, watching a woman hide something behind a loose brick in a wall. The next morning, in the park, he takes a chance, checks the wall, and finds the list of names, exactly where she tucked it.

The following night, the dream recurs. This time, he meets Jenna, and they discover the impossible truth: she is living in 2015. He is living in 2026. Alex has somehow traveled eleven years into the past.

Back in 2026, Alex discovers something even more disturbing. Historical records show that five of the seven men on Jenna’s list died within two weeks of one another.

In 2015.