Half
a century ago, three-quarters of Americans, including those of college-age,
rarely saw color in their dreams. Today, a recent study suggests people over 55,
not exposed to color TV as children, dream in black and white at least 25% of
the time.
Then
recently I had a dream about poached eggs.
(Apparently, I was hungry in my dream and hungry when I woke up.) I was amazed to remember the yellow egg yolks
in my dream. Yay! I dream in color.
Which must mean I write in graduated shades. The first draft is a charcoal sketch. Definitely black and white. The second draft draws on depth from color pastels, as the story takes on hues and tones. The third draft contains brush strokes of bold color. By this time, I really know where my story is going. I top it all off with a final polish, a gloss coat, to really bring out the layers in my work.
I never thought of myself as an artist until I wrote this.
Check
out the layers in my award-winning western historical, GRACE’S FOLLY, on sale for .99 on April 18th, an early
Easter gift. Here’s a teaser.
Grace’s breath caught in her throat.
Was it possible Dex really, truly understood? “Are you saying we’re not so different, you and
I?”
“On the contrary,” Dex said, his voice
a sexy rumble in his throat.
She glanced up, recoiling at the smoldering look in his eyes as his gaze
traveled her length.
“You’re afraid to get close to me,
afraid to touch me. I, on the other hand, can’t seem to
fight this compulsion I have to touch you.”
As he spoke, he pushed her blouse off
one shoulder. Grace trembled at the
feather-light sensation of his fingertips grazing her
skin.
“Not so bad, is it?” He caught her hand in his and placed it on
his chest. She could feel the steady beat
of his heart, not nearly so erratic as her own. His skin
was warm and smooth, textured by the thicket of hair
which spread across his pectorals, angled into a
thin line, and disappeared into his trousers.
She moistened her suddenly dry tongue,
and the movement seemed to catch and hold Dex’s
fascination.
Her knees started to tremble as he
stared hungrily at her mouth, then pushed her
blouse off
the shoulders and down her arms. Wet
cloth clung stubbornly to her skin. As he peeled
the
uncooperative fabric away from her, she
could feel the faintly abrasive rasp as he worked
to separate her from the garment.
At last he managed to free Grace from
her blouse. He dropped the sodden garment,
and it landed on the wood floor with an
ungracious flop. He trailed his hands lightly up her
bare arms. “There. Isn’t that better?”
His touch, rather than chasing away the goosebumps, seemed to enhance the
pebbled texture of her skin and heighten the shivers
which coursed through her. Heat from his body radiated outward in
undulating waves. She was afraid of
melting beneath his touch, of going up in flames.
She was
afraid of far more than that.
“Put your arms around my neck.” When she didn’t comply, he took the
initiative and did it for her, looping her arms
across his shoulders and pulling her close. “I
faked being a doctor today, with your help. It’s your
turn now. Your turn to fake being a wife.”
On sale April 18th.
~ ~ ~
To
get a jump start on the Easter celebrations, I’ve hidden some cute Easter eggs on
one of my social media sites. They
should be easy to find, they’re in one of my favorite colors. Naturally, I’d love it if you like my page
while you’re there.
Once
you find the eggs, head back to the blog page, click on the Contact Romance
Gems link at the bottom left hand side and enter to win a $20 Amazon gift
card. All you need to mention is my name
or the blog date, the site where you found the eggs, and the color. And of course, your name and email, written
out as in dot com. Do not post your
answer in the comment section below.
Make everyone else scavenge to find the eggs the way you did.
Don’t
forget to download your free prequel to my upcoming
Seven Brides series, by
joining join my reader group news for updates on new releases, fan-pricing and
special freebies.
Most
importantly, have a Happy Easter. May
the bunny bring you lots of treats.
Kathleen
I do both. Depending on the dream. I find if my grandchildren are in my dream, it's color. If I dream about family members who have passed, it's black and white.
ReplyDeletefascinating, Nancy.
DeleteI rarely dream in black and white. When I think about the dreams I've had that lack color they are all tense and close to nightmarish. I must have watched too many of those black and white horror movies with my brother.
ReplyDeleteinteresting about the tense dreams being B&W, Nora
DeleteI don't actually know whether I dream in color or not, but I think so--they're so vivid sometimes, it seems they'd have to be...
ReplyDeleteI wondered that as well, Liz.
ReplyDeleteI dream far too much, that's what I know. I have so many dreams each night that I wake up exhausted from being so busy. And they all seem so real.
ReplyDeleteYour excerpt looks great!!
often I wake up agitated, as the dreams are so intense. I lose my car a lot! freaks me out. Like my life is that vehicle.
DeleteI love your analogy for drafting. I very rarely remember my dreams.
ReplyDeleteSatin, a lot to be learned if you can remember your dreams. My early morning ones are the easiest to remember.
DeleteI Rarely remember my dreams. My brain is busy working out thorny writing issues because I wake up with solutions.
ReplyDeletebusy brain, Bonnie. Put it to good use!
DeleteI don't remember much of my dreams, but they're in color - like dark colors, cloudy days, muddy paths, dense trees. Brrr. And I usually dream of falling on a cliff.
ReplyDeleteKathleen, how can I find a real Dex for me?? The problem of reading so many romance books is that I can't really put up with "average men" - I always compare with book boyfriends! The struggle is real!
I'll leave a review as soon as I finish reading it (I have so many great books to read - it's a good problem).
*off a cliff
DeleteDoes falling "on" a cliff even make sense? Oh my...
Falling on a cliff. I will look that up and see what it means.
ReplyDeleteIris, I refused to settle. But when I met the 'real deal' he was worth waiting for.
Oh girl, I know... But the waiting is so lonely :-(
DeleteInteresting post, Kathleen, and equally interesting comments. I can't remember ever dreaming in black and white even when the dreams are dark and depressing. My dreams are often like a Salvador Dali painting, and I've had dreams "come true." Not often thank goodness. Last time was over 10 years ago. I dreamed we were in a car crash and were all badly injured. The next day the family went to the movies. I asked my husband to drive and told him why. He and my daughter are used to my weirdness. When we left the theater, we had a car crash--but no one was hurt. My husband saw the car that came out of nowhere and reacted. I've always felt that if I'd been driving, it would have been a different story.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if I dream in color or black and white. I do have very vivid dreams and remember a lot of them when I wake up. I have a few places that only exist in my dreams. They're sort of a combination of places I've been, but I recognize them in my dreams. The same places serve as the background to the dream story.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether or not my dreams are in color, I believe that I dream in emotions only! I remember my thoughts, fears, even solutions to things that have been troubling me, but my dreams seem to all be in thoughts or even written on my brain. Guess I just read too much!
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I believe it's in colour, close to reality.
ReplyDelete