As you may have guessed from the final image at the end of part (chapter) 2, I was haunted by the beautiful smile of @midnightsun, and as a result, I decided to make the primary character in my book a gorgeous African-American woman, which turned out to be a perfect fit for the story. The character is named Monique Nicole Paulson, Phd, or "Nikki" for short. As you can imagine, a story in which the main character has a Phd in Psychology is quite complex.
Speaking of complex, I believe a short explanation is an order. These updates are called "Writing Beyond the Skai" because I list my home on SG as Ulthar, Beyond the River Skai, and I had to travel twice while writing. Ulthar, for those unfamiliar with the writing of H.P. Lovecraft, is a city in the Land of Dreams where it is unlawful to kill a cat. I spent quite a bit of time there while I wrote this story. 💗🐈
The second time I had to travel, I went North to Spokane, WA for business. It was almost creepy how the waking world and the world of dreams began to overlap.
The first image from this chapter is from the San Diego trip, but it's more appropriate to show it here; one of the gates to the Dreamlands in the writing of H.P. Lovecraft passes by a pillar of flame.
The hotels where I stayed during my travels tied into the weirdness as well. The elevator in the hotel in San Diego had the most curious mirrors, and I couldn't resist taking a picture. The result was an image that looks like it came from the movie, "Blade Runner."
I call it "the selfie from the Twilight Zone."
In Spokane, however, it was the stairways, maze-like corridors, and unusual angles that struck me. The strange correlation between the world of my writing and that in which I walked made it easier to keep writing even while I was traveling. At a certain point, I went to a restaurant famous for its Vegan cuisine, but had to sit at the bar because they were so busy. The food was fabulous, and the extraordinary tea I was served came in a pyramid.
I can pause only for a little while to catch my breath and prepare for the next trip Beyond the Skai. I know that I'll have plenty to blog about before October, when I head to Portland, OR.
Until then, thank you for reading. Consider yourself hugged. 😇
Dream on!
-Dhyani
