Devon Alexander
is a 15 year-old teenager coping with the monotonous reality of his average
life. His life receives an interesting reprieve as he has his first realistic
dream of a spaceship. The strangest thing about the dream is that he seems to
be the only one on board who isn’t in a dream-like trance. Before he can figure
out anything about the dream or his strange shipmates, he manages to wake up.
The next day, Devon catches a news story about inexplicable comas taking place
all over the world. Devon’s life becomes increasingly interesting as he
recognizes some of the victims from his spaceship trip.
Devon and an
unlikely group of other teens start devising a plan to find out who is behind
the strange dreams and the comas. Their plan is not only successful but
immerses them in to the fantastical world that only resides in dreams. While in
the dream world, the teens learn about the power of teamwork, a
new world of culture, and their hidden potential to be heroes.
Suspenseful,
funny at the worst times, and just a hint of teenage romance, Lucid takes a group of young adults and
throws them into a fantasy world that they only thought could exist in their
dreams. In a sense, they’re right.
Excerpt:
I know that most
adventure/fantasy/whatever-you-would-like-to–call-these-stories start with
something magical, but my story starts with something ordinary, dreams. I’m talking
about the “I’m taking a test and don’t realize I’m in my underwear” kind of
dreams. We have them every night, whether we remember them or not. Sometimes
they leave us waking up with excitement or inspiration. Sometimes they cause us
to wake with a shriek and to look around our rooms. Sometimes they leave us
waking up confused or ashamed. These experiences are probably commonplace for
most people, but I doubt any of you could ever say your dreams caused you to
stay asleep for a long period of time.
What if your dreams made you
disappear?
Now it's time for a fun Q&A!
What inspired the creation of Lucid?
I
started writing Lucid after
experiencing my first lucid dream. It’s a very out-of-body and surreal
experience. We’re used to dreaming every night, but being able to control your
actions and fate in the dream world is almost a magical thing. After figuring
out how to wake up (yes, you have to oftentimes find your way out of the
dreams,) I started pondering the idea of a dream world actually existing, and
before I knew it, I had Devon and the plot for Lucid.
You write from the
P.O.V. of a 15 year-old boy. Is there anyone who shaped Devon’s character as
the protagonist?
A
wonderful counselor-in-training that I worked with actually inspired Devon’s
character. Real-life Devon, who shall be nameless, was one of those campers
that turned into a CIT when he outgrew the camp’s age groups. I never went to
summer camp as a child, so working at one was a very interesting experience. I
got to witness real-life Devon change from being a happy-go-lucky camper to a
miserable CIT. As for Devon’s personality, that was shaped by my own sense of
humor. I wrote Lucid through Devon’s
eyes, and my own commentary sort of slipped through. It fit his sarcastic
nature, though, and rereading some parts still makes me laugh.
What about the
villains? How did they come to be?
Ever
since I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by mythological monsters. There
seems to be a common thread of villainous snakes and lions. A chimera combines
these two deadly creatures, along with a goat, into one evil creature. I liked
the idea of having three diverse villains; the more you get to know a villain,
the scarier they can become for the reader and the heroes. As I wrote,
Serpentine, Gruff, and Leona, seemed to appear out of nowhere to fit the evil
villain’s roles. The Nightmares were a little trickier. I thought long and hard
about how they should be portrayed, and I eventually started combining features
of animals and creatures that people feared the most into one character. That’s
why they have shark teeth and devil horns.
Lucid is your first novel. Are you currently working on anything
else?
Since Devon and his friends’ story didn’t want to finish at the end of Lucid, I’m currently working on the
sequel. The story will continue our heroes’ adventure, but you’ll get to hear
from other characters in it. It will also have much more of a fantasy element
with an even crazier cast of characters. Aside from Lucid, I’m working on two more stories, both in the YA fiction
genre.
What inspired you to
write YA fiction?
I’m
a teacher, so I love working with young adults and teens. I’ve seen the power
of books transform kids’ ways of thinking about the world and boost confidence.
Never underestimate the power of reading. I know it played an important role in
shaping my future, and I hope to reach out to as many young adults to inspire
them to find their inner heroes and go change the world for the better.
Author Bio:
L. E. Fred is a perpetual dreamer who writes about worlds both within and without this realm. With a degree in psychology, L. E. Fred tends to get lost in the mind, the greatest adventure of all. L. E. Fred is currently traveling the world, finding more adventures to inspire new tales of dreams and beyond.
Social Media Links:
Author Bio:
L. E. Fred is a perpetual dreamer who writes about worlds both within and without this realm. With a degree in psychology, L. E. Fred tends to get lost in the mind, the greatest adventure of all. L. E. Fred is currently traveling the world, finding more adventures to inspire new tales of dreams and beyond.
Social Media Links:
Facebook: http://facebook.com/only.but.a.dream
Blog: http://marsjaws.blogspot.com
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/marsjaws
Buy Links:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/451564
Blog: http://marsjaws.blogspot.com
Goodreads: http://goodreads.com/marsjaws
Buy Links:
Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/451564
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