CAVE OF DREAMS: UPDATE

Cave of Dreams 

UPDATE

The main character in my new fantasy book is Bea. She is eighteen years old at the beginning of the book, and she must go on a quest across the width and breadth of Scotland to fully understand where she came from, who she is, and where she is headed.

There are many other important characters in the book: Marta Pottinger, Willam Brodie and his son, Aran, Bea's family, the Bauman's, Anu Grenn, and others. There are also several plot lines moving forward, and the beginning of each chapter has a date that helps you keep track of where in time you are. All of them will converge finally toward the end of the book.

I've just finished writing Chapter 16 and have started Chapter 17, and I know this book will be my most intricate and longest book to date.

I will let you know when it is done, but it will be a while, and I may enter it in some fantasy contests before then as well as have it read by some reviewers and editors.

Hope you enjoyed the update!

CAVE OF DREAMS SNEAK PEEK: Beginning of Chapter 14

Cave of Dreams 

Sneak Peek: Beginning of Chapter 14

The white-ribboned highway stretched out across the emerald moors, valleys and mountains of the highlands, and Bea couldn’t help but enjoy the drive. She was thinking of her Uncle Ewan’s favorite road in the U. S. - Route 66. He’d always told her that he’d loved it because it was a driver’s sort of road, and a road trip across America would never be complete without doing a stretch of it.

A9, the road that Bea was traveling this early morning after leaving the Isle of Skye, was going to be part of Scotland’s answer to America’s Route 66. It was also a driver’s sort of road as it wound its way along the north coast of the highlands above Inverness, and this time of year was the perfect jot in time to be on it, especially on such a brilliant late autumn day. It was early enough for the sun’s rays to still break across the landscape, highlighting every tree, shrub, mountain, loch, or beach in the crisp and clear Kodachrome of late autumn; and it was also just late enough in the season for the road to be safely navigated at speeds just a bit above normal.

Her car was running great, and her tunes were vibrating the sideboard speakers with rhythm and base and melody. Using her gears, she took the corners and adjusted to the rise and fall of the road in a syncopated union that made she and her car one. With her left hand on the gearshift, her right grasping the steering wheel, and her eyes shifting from road to scenery and back again, she felt the exhilaration of being on her first road trip alone and free.

Her time on Skye had been more than she could have hoped for and had left her refreshed and ready to continue her journey. The change that she had sensed in herself the night before had solidified as she opened her eyes inside her tent at dawn in the middle of the Faerie Glen. A new element had been added to her body. New atoms were expanding who she was, and fresh neurons were firing in parts of her brain that she had never used before. And now…now she also understood and was fully aware that she was truly a woman - no longer just a daughter, a student, an athlete, a young Druid, a sister, or a granddaughter. She was a woman who had come of age and was much more ready to come to grips with this new self that she hadn’t even known existed until just fourteen days ago.

New Fantasy Novel CAVE OF DREAMS: Foundation Laid

Cave of Dreams 

Foundation Laid

From AD 500 to 2010 to the most current time in the book of 2022, the foundation of my new historical fantasy, CAVE OF DREAMS, has been laid out in the first ten chapters along with some interesting plot twists.

I just finished chapter ten and have brought in all the major players that will be involved in the book. I've also tied together most of the plot segments that started in the first book of the series (BEATRICE) and will continue in this one.

The work that I've done on each chapter to this point has been a slow and deliberate process, enlivening and developing the story as well as setting the tone and creating a strong feeling of place. I've included history that will influence the plot throughout and brought the Bauman family back in as well as the mysterious character that appeared at the end of Beatrice. She's back in this story in a big way.

I'm excited about the novel, and I think that it will be a long and detailed book with multiple plot lines and a variety of interesting characters. I'm truly enjoying the work as well as being in Scotland again - in my mind!

Back From My First Long Break From Writing

Cave of Dreams 

Changes in Style

Today, after six weeks of R&R from writing, I've gone back to work on my new fantasy novel, Cave of Dreams. In sequence, it comes after Beatrice, but it is being written so that you can read it without having read the first book. 

This really was my first long break from writing since May of 2013. Since that time, I've been writing about six to eight hours a day, five days a week. The break that I just took was sorely needed.

Today, though, I re-read Cave of Dreams to the middle of the ninth chapter. The change in the style of my writing is obvious. I take more time to picture more moments, painting as vivid a picture as I can of what's happening so that the reader can clearly "see" the story. Also, I'm slowing down so that the important and interesting details are portrayed. I believe both of these writing techniques are adding depth and texture to my work.

I had a great time reading the book again today, and tomorrow I'll get back to work and complete the ninth chapter.

Also, this book has more character descriptions, and I think I'm doing a better job of helping the reader understand the characters, not only by describing them better, but also by crafting the words they use in conversation in such a way as to indicate more about them.

I'm very excited about the Cave of Dreams and hope it will be my best work to date when completed.

CAVE OF DREAMS: Character Profiles

Cave of Dreams 

CHARACTER PROFILES

I'm writing a new fantasy novel titled Cave of Dreams. In sequence, it comes after Beatrice, but it is being written so that you can read it without having read the first book. They have many of the same characters with some new ones added in Cave of Dreams.

It seems the more I write, the more I attempt to give each of my characters their own very unique personality and characteristics. In order to accomplish that in a more organized fashion, I've recently taken to listing each of their attributes before I begin writing about them in the novel. I can remember them better that way, and I can also make sure that each of them is truly an individual. It's a technique that I'm finding quite helpful, as I seem to refer back to each character's profile often and even add to it as I write.

To give you an example, I'm going to show you one of the profiles that I created for a new character in Cave of Dreams. I've taken the list of attributes for him directly from my working notes for the book and listed them below. The list does not contain all of his characteristics because some of them would tell you too much about the novel. There are enough, though, for you to get a sense of what I'm doing.

One other technique that I found useful in developing this particular character was that I did an image search on the internet for a person that would fit his general description. And in so doing, he actually ended up being a compilation of my imagination as well as several of the pictures that I viewed during the search.

In relation to his name, it is completely fictitious, derived from a Scottish name search that I did.

Dr. Willam Hamilton Brodie or Wellyn (his Druid name)

• Professor of Celtic and Scottish Studies at Edinburgh University
• Avocation is as a Druid healer mostly during the summer months
• In that capacity, his name is Wellyn
• 59 years old
• 5' 10"
• White shoulder length hair parted in the middle of his head
• Ruddy, outdoors complexion
• Gray eyes
• Summer clothes
• T-shirt and blue jeans
• Leather loafers
• Dress as Druid healer
• Brown, hooded ankle-length robe
• Tattoos on arms and one shoulder
• Druid runes
• Fit but slight paunch - likes Scottish ale
• Strong arms like his ancestor, Erin
• Serious student of
• Celtic and Druid history
• Sacred Druid sites in Scotland
• Druid healing techniques and customs
• Knows of the Baumans and the new Center on their estate
• Direct descendant of famous Druid Prophet, Erin
• Drives a white and brown 2-door Cooper

CAVE OF DREAMS: Sneak Peek at the 1st Paragraph from each of the First 7 Chapters

Cave of Dreams 

Below, is a sneak peek into my new fantasy novel, Cave of Dreams. I've included the first paragraph or two from each of the first seven chapters.


Chapter 1

The Prophet & The Scribe

AD 500

Looking down the valley from the opening of the cave, through white flakes floating haphazardly towards the ground, Adair could see Erin’s apparition moving ever so slowly towards him, inching his way up the slope in the sluggish and unsteady movement of the aged. Adair had tried to assist his master, attempting to give him support and help along the final leg of his journey, but Erin had simply gazed up into Adair’s eyes, shook his head, and in a shaky yet determined voice, spoke softly saying, “This is my journey. I…must do it alone…”

Chapter 2

The Druid’s Journey

AD 500

The next two days and nights Erin spent planning and getting ready for his own treacherous pilgrimage, and in that preparation he also had time to remember and think back to what had brought him to this place and time.

Ever since he was young, he had had vivid dreams that sometimes came true. He thought back to what he recalled was his first. He had been only eight at the time and had had an unusually real and frightening dream about his older brother, Elimar. During one night’s sleep, he had clearly seen his brother stumble and fall from a cliff near their home. The next day, he’d warned him of it and begged him to be careful. He knew that Elimar often went to the cliffs to gather sheep, but Elimar did not pay any attention to his younger brother. Even his parents had laughed a bit asking him if he thought himself some kind of Druid prophet.

Chapter 3

Rebirth

AD 500

Adair had set out from the Island of the Druid’s, believing that his trip back to be with Erin would be much quicker this time, especially since he had taken a small pack horse along to carry his burdens. However, finding someone with a large enough boat to transport both he and his animal across the water, along with the difficulties caused by the severe winter weather, had worked against him. It looked as if the trip would take him a good ten days instead of the seven that he’d hoped for. This was a great worry to him because Erin needed him there exactly at the end of the current moon cycle. The extra three days could cost Erin his life, so Adair made up his mind to travel an extra four or five hours each day, starting early in the morning and not stopping until darkness had set in. He had to get there on time.

Chapter 4

Black-Haired Beauties

AD 500

His sight, as he dreamed and stumbled through a world beyond knowing, was like a patterned collage of images, moments, and times from the past, present and future. Most in color and as real as the creases in his own hand, but some in black and white, flat and two-dimensional like white cave drawings swirling about on black walls. Each picture held meaning and foresight, but only if he could truly see and understand them; only if he could sort them, classify and arrange them in a way that would bring insight and coalesce into prophecy.

Chapter 5

Fergus’s Tale

October 7, 2022

Even on her eighteenth birthday, Bea had wanted to spend some time working at the Druid & Wiccan Spiritual Center. It was located on her family’s estate where their old mansion had once stood. Architecturally, the Center was a very unique building. It was made of wood, stone, and glass, with sections of green turf laid out artfully across its exterior. It resembled a large rounded hill. Its shape and design had been derived from a famous real-life rock mound that stood behind the Iona Abbey on the revered Isle of Iona.

Chapter 6

Bea’s Story

October 8, 2022

The smell of scones, coffee and tea lingered in the air, and the metallic sounds of glasses, dishes, pots and pans being cleaned and put away emanated from the kitchen. Bea couldn’t help but smile as she watched her mother and father take over from Marta and her grandmamma. They had ushered the two masters of the kitchen into the living area, insisting that it was time for them to take a break. Of course Marta complained, but in the end, the two of them acquiesced and sat together on the couch. They had munched while cooking and serving everyone else, but they hadn’t eaten properly. Now, they could finally relax and chat a bit, while savoring a buttered scone slathered with Marta’s homemade wild cherry jam and sipping casually on their favorite blend of morning tea.

Chapter 7

The Mirror Image

October 4, 2010

Having awakened from an unsettled sleep and a long night of hellish dreams, Brenna stood next to the open window in a milky-white cotton shift that her acolyte, Abbey Creag, had given her. The fabric was loose and soft as it ebbed and flowed across her body in the early-morning, autumn breeze. Sweat still glistened on her sallow brow, but her heart had slowed along with her breathing - the nightmarish visions fading with each passing moment.

Expanding My Writing

Cave of Dreams 

Cave of Dreams is my latest novel. It's my fifth and probably my most ambitious project to date. As I've written, studied, and read other authors, I've become more and more aware of the importance of details. Having a rich story that feels life-like and real to the reader beg the necessity and importance of them. There are scenes to be painted, character's to be enriched and enlivened, and the tremendous importance that details play in the plot as well. There are times, though, when you need to watch out for the pitfalls that one can encounter with details from either slathering the page with too many of them or trying to place them into a story at the wrong moment.

In Cave of Dreams, the number of characters has increased over my other novels as have the fine details that tick the story along - moment to moment. And, I'm painting my characters with richer and finer tones and qualities. All of this detail also teaches me patience and sometimes creates a need for more research to make sure that the work feels authentic and has some basis in fact, even if it is a fantasy, as this book is.

I've been working on Cave of Dreams since the beginning of June, and I'm only into the sixth chapter. So far, though, my chapters are longer, and I'm building the world of this story a lot more slowly and carefully than ever before. In those six chapters, I've almost written 25,000 words, and chapter six isn't even complete yet. I'm not a word counter, normally, but it is an indicator of what I know is happening in my writing.

I mentioned patience, and I know that I'm gaining that as an author. I'm really enjoying the slower pace. I've always loved writing descriptions anyway, and taking more time to lay out the scenes has become very enjoyable for me.

I also mentioned the possible pitfalls of too much detail. I'm watching for that and using places where I believe other authors have stepped over that cliff as my measuring tape. Sometimes simpler is better, so I'm doing my best to balance conciseness with rich texture. "Balance in all things..." has always been one of my mottos, and I think it definitely applies to writing as well.

I'm enjoying and learning and working hard on Cave of Dreams. The book should be done in five to six months. I'll be excited as always when I finish and look back on its development and the wonder of creating something from my mind. It's a ride that I relish and revel in!


Learn More About My Other Books
To learn more about my other books, click on the BOB'S BOOKS link at the top of this blog.

New Fantasy Novel CAVE OF DREAMS: Chapter 4 Quote

CAVE OF DREAMS

Below, I've included a quote from the first paragraph of chapter 4 of my new fantasy novel, CAVE OF DREAMS. I've been working on it now for about a month. It's going slowly, but I'm having a great time writing it, and I wanted to share this with you.

“His sight, as he dreamed and stumbled through a world beyond knowing, was like a patterned collage of images, moments, and times from the past, present and future. Most in color and as real as the creases in his own hand, but some in black and white, flat and two-dimensional like white cave drawings swirling about on black walls. Each picture held meaning and foresight, but only if he could truly see and understand them; only if he could sort them, classify and arrange them in a way that would bring insight and coalesce into prophecy.”

Rooms Kindle Giveaway Has Ended & NEW FANTASY BOOK UPDATE

The ROOMS Kindle eBook giveaway has ended, and I hope everyone that downloaded ROOMS will enjoy reading it. Thanks for participating!

UPDATE!

CAVE OF DREAMS

As you can see, I've chosen the title for my new fantasy novel. It will be called CAVE OF DREAMS and will be the second book in a series that will follow my fantasy/mystery novel titled Beatrice. Each of the books after Beatrice, though, will be able to be read independently of the others.

I'm truly enjoying the work on CAVE OF DREAMS. I did a lot of research prior to the writing of it and am doing even more as I go along. I'm working hard to make sure it is authentic to Scotland and to the time periods within the plot.

The first four chapters take place during AD 500 and lay the foundation for what happens in the rest of the story, which will take place in modern day Scotland. The book looks like it will be my longest to date, and the plot will be intricate and complex as well as being a lot of fun to write.

I'll let you know more as I progress, but I think it will be at least another six months or so before the book is ready to publish. We'll see how things go...