Discussion of a Decent Dream VBT

Blurb:

In the fall of 1789, on the western edge of the Yorkshire Dales, a dense, persistent fog enshrouds the village of Ingleton. Shadowed spirits hide in the mist and bedevil the townsfolk, heralding a tragedy that has befallen one of their own.

Edmond continues to search for Alexandra, his fiancée, who disappeared the same night that the mist set upon their town. Presumed dead by all others, he visits Alexandra's empty grave, desperate for any hint of what has become of her. Weary from the sleepless nights on his quest, no longer able to stay awake, Edmond falls into a dream before her headstone and there obtains clues from Alexandra as to her whereabouts.

Haunted all the while by a malevolent spirit, Edmond follows the trail that Alexandra left for him and enters the underworld, only to learn that he has been there before, and in fact, quite often. But more, he discovers how he is to blame for Alexandra's disappearance.

A dark literary novel rich in imagery, Discussion of a Decent Dream unearths the consequences of a child's decision to surrender his heart in exchange for unholy power and transcendent knowledge.

Discussion of a Decent Dream is a Finalist in Britain's Wishing Self Book Awards in the Adult category.

Excerpt:

I had seen in dream that which appeared before me, a gloriously lined whirlwind of black. It exhibited itself as odd, twitchy, yet with cohesion, both beautiful and horrible at once, as if the core of this being eclipsed an otherwise unseen dawn. The vapor then solidified and took the form of a man, though its feet made no impression in the sand.

It warmed to me, expressing in that charred face such familiarity and delight. Even for my instinctive recoil, I made no real retreat, for I again wanted to hear it speak.

Do you have any tattoos?

No, I am unable to commit to something so permanent.

Is your life anything like it was two years ago?

Oddly enough, it is. I still do what I am compelled to do. Writing is only a part of that. A big part, but there are other endeavors as well. I continue to study martial arts, which I have now for twenty-five years. I began training to remain creative but wanted a form of exercise that was continually engaging. After researching, I found a style that suited me, and it stuck. I have now been teaching it for the last eighteen years.

How long have you been writing?

Although I enjoyed reading novels, I never had thoughts of writing one. Too much work. But one afternoon during my senior year at boarding school, I was sent to detention by my mentor and piano teacher. Having never gone to detention in my four years there, he thought that it would be funny to send me just once, so he came up with an assignment so huge that no one finished it in time, and he threatened detention to all who turned in the assignment incomplete. So, he got his wish, and I went.

Being later in my senior year, I had nothing much to do, so I took a pencil and a blank notebook to detention with me. I sat at a desk in the hall and happened to be under a fluorescent light, which was going out and blinking rapidly, which put me into a kind of trance. Words started to pour from my brain onto the page. And, thus, it began. I have been writing ever since.

I do think that writing is a way of sharing my life experience that is quite unique. No one understands when I make verbal attempts to explain. My subconscious creates stories that relate the worlds that I see and know. I write because I am compelled to, not because I want to.

What advice would you give a new writer just starting out?

If you must write within a genre, a critique group may be helpful. If, however, you seek to innovate, steer clear of critique groups. Everyone will tell you that you cannot do what you are trying to do or that you are doing it wrong. Do it your way and see what happens. Also, seek the counsel of an editor who only wants to make your writing better, not change you into something else or fit your work into a mold.

Tell us something about your newest release that is NOT in the blurb.

Discussion is a story of an existential awakening, a multi-layered allegory, that shares what I have come to know of a world that borders our own.

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Author Bio and Links:

E. Curtis draws on personal experiences of the otherworldly for his writing. Through dreams, visions, and waking encounters, his exposure to darkness has motivated him to detail what he has come to know of the preternatural. While a few short pieces have been published on an online literary magazine, Discussion of a Decent Dream is his first novel.

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The book is on sale for $0.99 during the tour.

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