Thursday, April 11, 2019

Do You Dream In Color Or Black And White? @kathleenlawless #romancegems

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.

I worried I must dream in black and white, because I tend to create my first draft that way.  And of course, those TV Westerns that I loved as a child were broadcast in black and white. 

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.”

~ ~ ~
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

20 comments:

  1. 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.

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  2. I 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.

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    1. interesting about the tense dreams being B&W, Nora

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  3. I 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...

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  4. I 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.
    Your excerpt looks great!!

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    1. 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.

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  5. I love your analogy for drafting. I very rarely remember my dreams.

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    1. Satin, a lot to be learned if you can remember your dreams. My early morning ones are the easiest to remember.

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  6. I Rarely remember my dreams. My brain is busy working out thorny writing issues because I wake up with solutions.

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  7. I 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.

    Kathleen, 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).

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    1. *off a cliff
      Does falling "on" a cliff even make sense? Oh my...

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  8. Falling on a cliff. I will look that up and see what it means.
    Iris, I refused to settle. But when I met the 'real deal' he was worth waiting for.

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    1. Oh girl, I know... But the waiting is so lonely :-(

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  9. Interesting 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.

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  10. I'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.

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  11. I 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!

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  12. Interesting, I believe it's in colour, close to reality.

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