Guest Author: Marilee Brothers

would like to welcome Marilee Brothers to Literary Escapism today. Have you ever been accused you daydream too much?  Well, Marilee is here to tell you it’s alright.  Make sure you stick around because what’s an author visit without a great giveaway, right?

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Daydreamers Rule!

When I was a kid, I often heard the following words: “Get your head out of the clouds!” “Hey! Are you listening to me?” “Concentrate!”

My parents were called into school and told, “Your daughter could be an “A” student but she’ll never reach her potential if she doesn’t stop daydreaming!”

Embarrassed and ashamed, I hung my head and tried to stop. But… I couldn’t.

The years went by. I married, had children, worked full time and kept right on weaving wonderful stories in my mind. Then came the day I discovered the world of paranormal fiction, a match made in heaven for someone like me. Starting with the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon, I read everything I could get my hands on. I began to write, drawing upon the characters and plots I’d developed over the years through the act of daydreaming. Waste of time? No way!

People often ask where I get my ideas. Here’s the best explanation I can come up with. I picture my brain as an incubator full of fertile eggs. When I crank up the heat, the eggs begin to jiggle and vibrate, bouncing around randomly until one cracks and out pops an idea, complete with feathers and squawking to be heard.

Sometimes, this process gets me in trouble. One night, my husband and I went out to dinner. I was in the process of writing Moonstone, my young adult fantasy. We were seated next to a couple who were chatting amiably over their pie and coffee. For the sake of clarity, I’ll call them Ralph and Louise. I like to bounce ideas off my husband who’s a good listener, so I leaned across the table and said, “I finally figured out how to kill Baxter.”

My voice carried into the next booth. Ralph shot to his feet and said, “Louise! Get your purse. We’re leaving.”

I wanted to run after them and say, “No, no! It’s just a book!” But, when my husband quit laughing, he stopped me and said, “You can explain when the police get here.”

So, if you’re a dreamer like me, embrace your creativity. Find a way to express it. Daydream. Fantasize. Build that castle in the sky. I did. After I built it, I filled it with strong, opinionated women and a ghost named Rose. To keep things interesting, I created a hunky, but chauvinistic knight, plunked him down in this sea of femininity and dared him to sink or swim. My castle in the sky became Castle Ladyslipper, a paranormal romance set in twelfth century England and my first published book.

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Thank you Marilee for sharing with us how daydreams are necessary in life.

Contest Time!  We’re giving away a copy of Marilee’s newest novel Moonstone to one lucky  commentary and it’s very easy to enter.  All you have to do is answer this one simple question: Are you a compulsive daydreamer?  Where do your daydreams take you?

As always, if you want more chances to win, you can post about today’s contest on your blog, social network, or anywhere you can. Digg it, stumble it, share it with the world. Wherever you share it, make sure you add a link to it along with your answer.

Join the Literary Escapism blog group over on Facebook and you’ll get an additional entry.  Only new readers to the group will be considered.

I’ll determine the winner with help from the Research Randomizer.  All entries must be in by midnight on Dec. 9th.

About Jackie 3282 Articles
I am a 30-something SAHM with two adorable boys and a supportive husband who is very tolerant of my reading addiction. I love to read and easily go through about a dozen books a month – well I did before I had kids. Now, not so much. After my first son was born, I began to take my hobby of reviewing a little more serious and started Literary Escapism to help with my sanity. I love to discuss the fabulous novels I’ve read and meeting all the wonderful people in the book blogging community has been amazing.

10 Comments

  1. I’m a horrible daydreamer and do it quite a bit. I am almost embarrassed to say it, but I daydream quite a bit about being the star of TV shows and guest on stage with my favorite bands. I guess I’m living too quiet a life for my dreams.

    Thanks for the guest blog!
    Katie

  2. Heh…all the time. My poor husband will sometimes have to physically tap me to get me to snap out of it, and I wander around with a notebook tucked under one arm all the time because I don’t want to have ideas pop out and run away before I can get some kind of sketch of them down on paper.

    ~Jana

  3. Wonderful blog, Marilee! Like you I have been a life long daydreamer. Mine tend to be of the romantic variety and usually set in the early middle ages. I have filled notebooks with unfinished stories. Maybe I’ll take another look. You are an inspiration.

  4. My day dreams are where my stories start and they take me into the lives of my characters. I dream the conversations they have, the pain and happiness they feel and the crisis they face. Some times my day dreams will drift and show me a better plot turn or ending than I had planned. Often a new character will emerge from a standing day dream and will create their own story.

    Thank Goodness some of us do continue to day dream after we are told to be realistic. Only by day dreaming can we reach our full potential.

  5. I daydream a lot and usually it takes the form of the current book I am reading, reliving my favorite scenes. If not that then I am on vacation somewhere I always wanted to go but only seen on TV or in the movies.

  6. I am always daydreaming. My daydreams tke me everywhere and sometimes nowhere at all.

    I also joined your blog group on Facebook.

  7. I daydream all of the time. I guess I’m the creative type so dreaming is very helpful. I’m always thinking about my next project, the book I’m reading, a gift I’m making or what my family has going on. Daydreams are a good thing as long as that’s not the only thing you do! Thanks for your contest. I’ve added it to my blog.

  8. I am always daydreaming, and they take me any where I want to go. But they especially take me into the story of the book I am reading.

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