Cylon Occupied Nightmares

The past few nights, I've had three dreams where I find myself on Cylon Occupied Caprica after the fall. I'm strangely attached to this abandoned world where life in the twelve colonies came to a sudden end. A world left somewhat intact, but completely unlivable.

The dreams have played out somewhat like video games where I wander, vaguely aware of danger everywhere but encountering very little first hand. And though the dreams have been nightmares, I feel oddly at home on Caprica. Naturally this means I've been watching too much Battlestar Galatica again. But I blame the BBC for that.

I think one of the strongest compliments a writer can get is when a reader admits they had a dream about his or her story. The world you created suddenly feels more real because you know that now it exists in more than one person's imagination. It is no longer just some place you made up--it's a real place where others can go.

I could live in a place like Caprica, but I could never live in a world without fiction.

Story Hunting

`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves

Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:

All mimsy were the borogoves,

And the mome raths outgrabe.

-Lewis Carroll

Hunting stories is a dangerous business that I don't recommend anyone undertake lightly. To find and capture your story is not enough. You have to make sure you get it home alive. Treating it like prey will only make it fight back. Before you know it, you've speared it dead and then it's time to start all over again.

Treating the beast like a pet typically works better. If nothing else, at least it will keep you comfort while the cast of characters gets their act together and the scenery decides to fill in the empty patches. If you care for it long enough, it'll will grow into something worth keeping.

Dreaming of Wonderland

It's been an amazing dream week for me. Following an animated dream (a rarity) the other day, and a flying dream (just as rare), last night I was rewarded with a Dream of Wonderland, a place I've hardly ever visited.

Things there weren't so pleasant in Wonderland. Everything was a little off and totalitarian. There was this dark-haired little girl creating everything with her imagination. She was pretending to be my friend, but I could sense she was evil, or trying to trick me, and that I knew I was being held in this ever expanding Emerald City kind of building for something devious.

Certain that I was to be boiled alive, I decided to flee. I found that when I out-raced her imagination, I discovered flaws in the scenery...parts unfinished...deformed characters...that type of Coraline-esque thing. I eventually escaped only to find the card soldiers in my own front lawn. I followed them to the elaborate Martian-like rock pit that magically appeared at would-be the top of my driveway. The formerly flat card soldiers were then transformed into old men set to judge me. They had conducted a computerized vote over radio waves. All of the evil girl's imagined people voted and I was guilty of course. Of course, the ruling was initially "Off with his head" which they chanted in sunstroke laziness. Before my execution, I somehow managed to sink through the center of the sunlight that blazed upon us.

I woke into another dream. This time I was in a flea market type boardwalk carnival setting. I saw the evil girl again, this time dressed in one of those cheap Disney Snow White costumes. She was very nice. She offered me a hot dog. Like Alice, I realized it must have been a dream.

Why do I share this? After all, nobody likes to read about dreams. But if you kept with it, I'll tell you. You see, several key elements of this dream were directly influenced from scenes in my new novel. Dreams have always been deeply connected to my writing. I often use elements from my dreams in novels. As a reward, I often have the joy of getting some of novels in the form of dreams.

I truly believe Wonderland exists. I don't think Lewis Carroll invented it. He simply gave a name to the place where our imaginations spring from.

The Looking Glass Wars Have Ended

Yesterday, I finished reading the last book in The Looking Glass Wars trilogy. I had read all but last thirty pages by mid-morning and decided to save the end for bedtime. That's the kind of books these are...those rare books that you can't decide whether to plow through because you're enjoying them so much, or the kind you savor slowly because you never want them to end.

This last installment (though, does anyone really believe it will be the last, there are certainly open doors for more books) wasn't a let down at all. It did what a third book needs to do...wrap up the bigger story, but also introduce new satisfying storylines. 

I loved the Catepillar Oracle plot. It was very inventive and kept me guessing. I also enjoyed the House of Clubs anti-imaginationist plot, though it sort of disappeared half-way through. And of course, the further development of Lewis Carroll's character along with more time in Oxford was a treat. My favorite part however was the many twists the conclusions of Redd's storyline took, which is odd considering her stories in the previous two books weren't my favorite by any means.

Are these the best books ever written? Absolutely not. Do they benefit from my obsession with Wonderland and the real lives of Alice Liddell and Lewis Carroll? Absolutely. But that's what makes these books so special. Their inspiration comes less from the Alice books and more from the legend that surrounds the books' creation. In many ways, they look at our world with the same kind of imaginative lens that the characters in the story use to look at our world. 

As a whole, the trilogy is packed with intriguing ideas to ponder, as any good sci-fi fantasy should. At the same time, it never loses its heart. There's nothing cynical in these books and for me, that was a bit refreshing. 

For anyone who hasn't read The Looking Glass Wars, but wants to...may I make the following suggestions. Certainly read the Alice books first because a big part of these books' strength comes from the stark contrast between the two Wonderlands. Secondly, read up on the history of how the original Alice story came to be...because as I said before, these books are about the real little girl Alice and not the literary character. My last recommendation...just enjoy the ride.

It's a Mad World

Today is Mad Hatter Day, so designated because of the 10/6 featured on his hat. The Mad Hatter in the book represents all of those strange social rules that adults inflict on children, who rightly see them as crazy. So, today is a day when we can call out all the craziness that we pretend is sane on every other day of the year. 

For example, the Republican Party. They have a seat at the table and they talk and talk and we respectfully listen, but deep down, let's all face it, they are bat shit crazy. On second thought, add the whole political system to that. Or our silly economic system of buying and selling things nobody needs. In fact, there's no shortage of things to celebrate on this day. So kick off your heels and have fun telling that crazy old lady on line in front of you that it is NOT normal to take a half an hour to buy two things.