Dreams

I have weird dreams.  I always have.

When I was five, I had a dream that a giant macaroni noodle monster with purple spots was chasing me around the mall at Christmastime.  It eventually followed me back to my house, jumped out at me, and I woke up screaming.

A few years ago, I dreamt that my high school class took a field trip to a train amusement park.  All the rides were trains, you moved around the park on a train, you stayed in a train, it was kind of neat.  Then I woke up and completely forgot about the dream.  Until about a year later, that is, when I dreamt I was showing my best friend around the same train amusement park and telling her all about my high school trip to that same place.  That was strange.  How did my subconscious remember what my conscious mind had forgotten?

What really weirds me out is when I can feel what’s happening to me in my dreams.  For example, I’ve had several dreams about tornadoes.  Even though I’ve never experienced a tornado personally, I can always feel the pressure in my head and my ears whenever one is around in my dreams.  Another time, I dreamt I was shot in the back and I could actually feel my lungs filling up with blood.  I’m not sure what was going on there.  Just the other night, I dreamt that I was dying of cancer (probably because I’d been up late rereading The Fault in Our Stars).  Death, in that dream, was actually a very peaceful process.  Hazy and grey and relaxing.  I could feel my loved ones around me and I remember whispering, “Wait for me.”

Last night was probably one of my weirdest dreams of all.  It started off in the house of someone I’d known in college.  Then there were dinosaurs.  Then aliens.  Then an escaped serial killer.  Then a satanic ritualist.  Then zombies.  It was pretty much everything that scares me in one horrifying dream.  On top of all of that, I had no idea where my camera was.  Then, at one point I had to search all over for something to kill zombies with because they were marching down the street, and the best I could come up with was a bowling ball.  I don’t think I’m what you’d call Zombie Apocalypse Material.

One day, I think I’m just going to sit down and rewrite every dream I can remember.  There’d be a lot.  I can’t tell you about the scariest dream I’ve ever had, because I actually managed to rewrite it into Between Worlds, but after it’s released, I’ll be able to tell you.  It’s one that I’m certain I will never forget.

What’s been your weirdest or creepiest dream?

 

Of Zombies, Reviews, and Country Music

Okay, there is something I have been meaning to ask… well… anyone who will listen, actually.  It’s about zombies.

Whenever I write, I like to put on a television show or movie that I’ve seen a thousand times, you know, sort of just to keep me company while I type.  Last night, I decided to watch the pilot episode of The Walking Dead.  

Now, I’m absolutely terrified of zombies, but for some reason, I just love movies and books about them.  Maybe a sick, twisted part of my brain just really likes being scared.  Anyway, in most movies and books I’ve seen and read, I can’t help but notice the characters never use the word “zombie.”  For instance, in The Walking Dead, the zombies are called “walkers.”  That makes me wonder if, in these universes where these stories are taking place, do zombie books and movies not exist?

You see what I’m saying?  Because I’ve read and seen all these zombie stories before, I know that a walking corpse is called a zombie.  Since these people have no idea what these things are, I can’t help but assume that zombie movies and books simply do not exist in these worlds.

Okay, this seemed like a lot more pressing issue as I was falling asleep last night than it does now, but I’m still curious to see what people think.

In other news, Cemetery Tours got another AMAZING review, this time, from a fellow blogger here on WordPress!  I “pressed” the review earlier, but here’s the link again because it is just such a great review!

http://aprillwood.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/book-review-cemetery-tours-by-jacqueline-smith/

Finally, I received a message from Jessie Lee Cates (the awesome country artist who sings my new favorite song, “Scotland”).  She read the blog post that I wrote about it and has selected me to be her February fan of the month!  I’m so excited!  I’ll write more about it in the days to come, but in the mean time, you should definitely go check out her website!  She’s awesome!

http://www.jessieleecates.com

Well, I’m going to go write some more on the sequel.  I’m having a girls night with a friend I haven’t seen in a few months tonight, so I want to be sure to get some work done!

Talk to y’all later!  🙂