Helena Fairfax

Today is the release of Alison May’s novel, Midsummer Dreams, a delightful take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Besides writing a fresh take on Shakespeare, Alison has come up with a fresh take on book promotion. Today, more than twenty other authors and I are all posting on three dream- related themes. (You can see the links to the other authors’ articles, and find all the details of Alison’s book, at the bottom of this post.)

Here’s my take on the themes Alison has given us. Hope you enjoy!

1.  I had a dream…

My dreams tend to be quite dull things, which is hardly surprising, as my life is ordinary. When my children were younger, for example, and I used to cook for five or six hungry people every day, I often used to dream that I’d gone to the fridge and there was no food in it. Then I’d wake up and be quite cross with myself. Really, my imagination had been let loose all night…and all it could come up with was cooking again?

Then one day I read an article saying that you can take control over the events in your dreams without waking up, using the power of your mind. I was a little sceptical about this. I’m usually totally at the mercy of my dreams. But one night I had a dream that I was in a cabin on a cross-Channel ferry. The boat was about to dock, and the crew were knocking on the doors telling the passengers to disembark. The only problem was – my clothes had been stolen! I was butt naked and had absolutely nothing to wear. What to do? I could hardly walk down the gangway into Calais without a shred on my flesh, without getting myself arrested by the gendarmes.

This is the point in a dream where I generally wake up and think, “Phew. Thank God that wasn’t real.” This time, though, somehow I found myself thinking, “Hang on a minute…I can take control of this.” I refused to let my dream get the upper hand. I opened a wardrobe in my cabin, and – yay! – there was a lovely dress. Yellow isn’t shade I’d normally wear, but this was only my first attempt at dream control. I put the dress on and went out. So there, dream world!

Since then I’ve managed to change the ending to quite a few dreams, and it still gives me enormous satisfaction when it works.

2. I had a nightmare…

When I was around ten or eleven I went to a convent school. My school-friends and I decided we were going to go to the chapel and raise the devil. (I haven’t got to the dream part yet. This actually happened. I blame the nuns.) Anyway, we were in the chapel saying all these chants that we thought would raise Satan, and I swear something chilling happened. A great shadow fell over us, and one of my friends let out an enormous scream. We ran out, terrified, and I had terrible nightmares for weeks afterwards. I had to sleep with the light on. Don’t mess with the nuns, is my advice.

3. My dream for the future…

I live near the moors in Yorkshire, which is an area of outstanding beauty. My village in Yorkshire is absolutely clogged with traffic. When I stand at the top of a hill on the moors and look around, I see a pall of exhaust fumes hanging over the land. Two hundred years ago the moors must have been a wonderful place. My dream for the future is that we find a way to transport ourselves that doesn’t involve burning fossil fuels or pollution. I’d love to stand on the moors and know what it’s like to enjoy true fresh air and look out on a clean world.

And now here’s Alison with her book, Midsummer Dreams….

About Midsummer Dreams

Four people. Four messy lives. One party that changes everything …
Emily is obsessed with ending her father’s new relationship – but is blind to the fact that her own is far from perfect.
Dominic has spent so long making other people happy that he’s hardly noticed he’s not happy himself.
Helen has loved the same man, unrequitedly, for ten years. Now she may have to face up to the fact that he will never be hers.
Alex has always played the field. But when he finally meets a girl he wants to commit to, she is just out of his reach.
At a midsummer wedding party, the bonds that tie the four friends together begin to unravel and show them that, sometimes, the sensible choice is not always the right one.

You can download the kindle edition of Midsummer Dreams here: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00XJOEJTM

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If you’d like to find out what all the other authors have written on Alison’s three dream themes, please do check out their posts. I’m looking forward to reading them!

Jane Lovering / Rhoda Baxter / Sheryl Browne / Laura James / Lisa Hill / Sally Malcolm / Chris Stovell  / Clare Chase / Janet Gover /Morton Gray / Henriette Gyland / Ann Evans /  Georgia Hill / Christina Hollis / Kathryn Freeman / Bernadette O’Dwyer / Debbie Flint / Julia Ibbotson /Anne Stenhouse / Janice Preston /Linn B Halton / Heather King / Sally Jenkins / Holly Magill / Evonne Wareham / Kate Haye

And here is the post by Alison May herself.

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I hope you’ve enjoyed my dream-related post. Do you believe that dreams hold significance? What’s your worst nightmare? Your dream for the future?

I think Alison came up with a great idea for promotion. What do you think? Have you come across any other ideas for author promotion that you thought were creative?

If you have any comments at all, I’d love to hear from you!