Last night, I had the most vivid dream. I dream a lot - usually nightmares, usually pulse-pounding - but never in a productive way. I have a lot of semi-cartoonish, horror movie dreams where the landscape keeps sliding sideways and the rules keep changing and some obscure TV character or other is shouting at me to hurry up and save everyone already. They aren't fun. Last night's dream was no less unproductive, but this time, I dreamed about characters from my books.
I got to watch, uninvolved, as a rather benign sequence of events unfolded between Chris and Jess. I saw them in extreme detail: the bags under her eyes, the shaving cut on his cheek. They were tired, but happy, and the sun was dazzling overhead. It was quiet, sweet, and one of the best dreams I've had in a long time.
And then teen lit had to hijack my brain and Chris was suddenly a vampire; I woke up thinking Nooooo! I like my vampires of the Count Dracula variety, thank you very much: no glitter. It was further proof that dreams are like our subconscious on acid, and they aren't necessarily inspiring.
Speaking of Chris, I've had a lot of fun writing about his brother, Ben: a Homicide detective with a sticky personal life and a case that tangles it with his professional life. So far, it's a blast. I get to say things like:
Death
wasn’t peaceful; it was wretched, and shocking, and too bold to mistake for
anything else.
I dig it. I've been a mystery fan since forever, so I think it's only natural I move that direction...in a very character-driven way, of course.
Speaking of law enforcement, I have jury duty next week. And because I always loved Law & Order, and all its procedural jargon, I'm hoping that amid the hours of sitting and waiting and reading and being bored, doing my civic duty might be a little bit interesting. I'll keep you posted.
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