Pulling Prose from Our Dreams
26 March 2025
Dear Friends Who Read and Readers Who Are Friends,
I’m writing a novel that is, at least in part, about my childhood and adolescence, memories of which seem to be peppering my sleep.
And so lately I’ve been trying to understand my dreams.
A novel about dreams may sound like a yawn, but at the moment I’m finding it eye-opening.
I’ve also been reading a bit of Freud and a bit of Jung, but a little of either analyst goes a long way in a novel � especially a novel set between in 1978 and 1980, which is, much to my horror, historical fiction.
I’ve also been thumbing through articles on nightmares, contemplating the way we use the words “nightmare� and “dream,� which is rather like navel-gazing, unless the people using the words are James Joyce, Frida Kahlo, or Martin Luther King, Jr.
And just as I am thinking more about my own dreams, I am driving my lovely bride crazy by asking her about hers. My wife may be a lucid dreamer. Sometimes when she is asleep, she’s aware that she’s dreaming and has some control of the content. It also means that she is capable of waking herself up when the dream is morphing into a nightmare: before the plane she is on actually crashes, for instance. But it also means that she will remind herself as even less dramatic action is unfolding that she is dreaming and this is, perhaps, merely wish fulfillment of a sort.
Likewise, she enjoys flying without a plane, and does so periodically � well aware that she is, technically, asleep.
And yet there is nothing we hate more as readers and viewers than a story that ends with these five words: “And then I woke up.� We feel utterly cheated. There are a few exceptions to this, of course. We do not merely forgive L. Frank Baum and “The Wizard of Oz� for building his story around Dorothy Gale’s dream; we cherish the construct. Likewise, we accept (more or less) the premise of Christopher Nolan’s movie, “Inception,� which has characters attempting to move about in one another’s subconscious and dreams.
So much of what novelists and filmmakers do is to try and convince our audiences to suspend disbelief. “Fiction does its work by creating a dream in the reader’s mind,� observed John Gardner in his concise examination of our craft, “The Art of Fiction.� He compares this dream to a movie in the reader’s head, adding that most of the time there is nothing worse a writer can do than distract the reader � “[break] the film, if you will� � with bad technique. In other words, we never want to wake the reader from the fictional dream.
Which brings me back to real dreams. Lucid dreams. Nightmares. I think I know the answer to this, but one of my characters has been pondering which is more profound: the relief when we wake that a nightmare was but a dream, or the sadness when we wake that a good dream � a really good dream � wasn’t real? Certainly I’ve experienced both. Everyone has.
And it is very easy to read more into a dream than is there.
But here is the one, deeply personal reality I keep coming back to: I write in the morning. It’s a work habit that goes back to my years before I became a full-time novelist: I would write everyday between five and seven a.m. before going to work at advertising agencies in Manhattan and then Burlington, Vermont.
It’s only now, as I write a book in which the role of memories and dreams is pivotal, that I am realizing why this time of day has always worked so well for me: my mind is still rich with the magic of the subconscious.
Thank you, my friends. May you always have a book you love by your bedside.
All the best,
Chris
PS: Here are the upcoming events on The Jackal's Mistress Rock and Roll Book Tour
FRIDAY, MARCH 28
Virtual Facebook and YouTube Event
A Mighty Blaze -- in conversation with Jenna Blum ("Those Who Save Us"); books by Bookshop.org.
4:00 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 3
Montclair, New Jersey
First Congregational Church of Montclair -- in conversation with Christina Baker Kline ("The Exiles"); books by Watchung Booksellers
7:00 p.m.
Tickets here:
SATURDAY, APRIL 5
Tallahassee, Florida
Word of the South Festival -- in conversation with Mark Mustian ("Boy with Wings")
3:30 p.m.
The AC Marriott Hotel Ballroom
801 South Gadsden Street
MONDAY, APRIL 28
Virtual Facebook Event
Dolen's Bookclub
8:00 p.m. eastern time.
Yes, the brilliant novelist, Dolen Perkins-Valdez -- author of the forthcoming Happy Land -- has selected The Jackal's Mistress for her April pick. Join her bookclub on Facebook and tune in to enjoy Chris and Dolen in conversation!
FRIDAY, MAY 2
Garden City, New York
The Garden City Hotel -- in conversation with Alyson Richman ("The Timekeepers")
A lunch event hosted by Friends of the Port Washington Library
11:00 a.m.
Tickets here:
THURSDAY, MAY 8
Wilmington, Massachusetts
"Behind the Books!"
Shriners Auditorium -- hosted by the Wilmington Public Library
6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4
Manchester, Vermont
The Northshire Bookstore --- in conversation with Joe Donahue of WAMC.
Stay tuned for Details!
THURSDAY, JUNE 5
Bristol, Connecticut
The Friends of the Bristol Public Library
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
42 Century Drive
11:30 a.m.
Books by R. J. Julia
Ticket order form here:
Praise for The Jackal's Mistress -- An Instant National Bestseller
"Inspired by true events�.A moving tale about the difficult choices people must make in dangerous circumstances." -- The Washington Post
"It’s hard not to get pulled in from the first sentence�.The Jackal’s Mistress gallops along, sweeping us up in its heart-pounding final pages." -- The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Masterful." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred
A "page-turner." -- Library Journal, starred
"Elegant, poignant, and richly atmospheric. . .Bohjalian once again demonstrates his profound respect for women, endowing his female protagonists with depth and nuance.� -- Booklist, starred
"Readers will be glued to the page." -- Publishers Weekly
One of the New York Times's 24 Books to Read This Spring
One of the Washington Post's 10 Noteworthy Books for March
An Indie Next Selection for March
An Amazon Editors' Pick for March
A Barnes & Noble and BookBub "Most Anticipated Book" for March
Dear Friends Who Read and Readers Who Are Friends,
I’m writing a novel that is, at least in part, about my childhood and adolescence, memories of which seem to be peppering my sleep.
And so lately I’ve been trying to understand my dreams.
A novel about dreams may sound like a yawn, but at the moment I’m finding it eye-opening.
I’ve also been reading a bit of Freud and a bit of Jung, but a little of either analyst goes a long way in a novel � especially a novel set between in 1978 and 1980, which is, much to my horror, historical fiction.
I’ve also been thumbing through articles on nightmares, contemplating the way we use the words “nightmare� and “dream,� which is rather like navel-gazing, unless the people using the words are James Joyce, Frida Kahlo, or Martin Luther King, Jr.
And just as I am thinking more about my own dreams, I am driving my lovely bride crazy by asking her about hers. My wife may be a lucid dreamer. Sometimes when she is asleep, she’s aware that she’s dreaming and has some control of the content. It also means that she is capable of waking herself up when the dream is morphing into a nightmare: before the plane she is on actually crashes, for instance. But it also means that she will remind herself as even less dramatic action is unfolding that she is dreaming and this is, perhaps, merely wish fulfillment of a sort.
Likewise, she enjoys flying without a plane, and does so periodically � well aware that she is, technically, asleep.
And yet there is nothing we hate more as readers and viewers than a story that ends with these five words: “And then I woke up.� We feel utterly cheated. There are a few exceptions to this, of course. We do not merely forgive L. Frank Baum and “The Wizard of Oz� for building his story around Dorothy Gale’s dream; we cherish the construct. Likewise, we accept (more or less) the premise of Christopher Nolan’s movie, “Inception,� which has characters attempting to move about in one another’s subconscious and dreams.
So much of what novelists and filmmakers do is to try and convince our audiences to suspend disbelief. “Fiction does its work by creating a dream in the reader’s mind,� observed John Gardner in his concise examination of our craft, “The Art of Fiction.� He compares this dream to a movie in the reader’s head, adding that most of the time there is nothing worse a writer can do than distract the reader � “[break] the film, if you will� � with bad technique. In other words, we never want to wake the reader from the fictional dream.
Which brings me back to real dreams. Lucid dreams. Nightmares. I think I know the answer to this, but one of my characters has been pondering which is more profound: the relief when we wake that a nightmare was but a dream, or the sadness when we wake that a good dream � a really good dream � wasn’t real? Certainly I’ve experienced both. Everyone has.
And it is very easy to read more into a dream than is there.
But here is the one, deeply personal reality I keep coming back to: I write in the morning. It’s a work habit that goes back to my years before I became a full-time novelist: I would write everyday between five and seven a.m. before going to work at advertising agencies in Manhattan and then Burlington, Vermont.
It’s only now, as I write a book in which the role of memories and dreams is pivotal, that I am realizing why this time of day has always worked so well for me: my mind is still rich with the magic of the subconscious.
Thank you, my friends. May you always have a book you love by your bedside.
All the best,
Chris
PS: Here are the upcoming events on The Jackal's Mistress Rock and Roll Book Tour
FRIDAY, MARCH 28
Virtual Facebook and YouTube Event
A Mighty Blaze -- in conversation with Jenna Blum ("Those Who Save Us"); books by Bookshop.org.
4:00 p.m.
THURSDAY, APRIL 3
Montclair, New Jersey
First Congregational Church of Montclair -- in conversation with Christina Baker Kline ("The Exiles"); books by Watchung Booksellers
7:00 p.m.
Tickets here:
SATURDAY, APRIL 5
Tallahassee, Florida
Word of the South Festival -- in conversation with Mark Mustian ("Boy with Wings")
3:30 p.m.
The AC Marriott Hotel Ballroom
801 South Gadsden Street
MONDAY, APRIL 28
Virtual Facebook Event
Dolen's Bookclub
8:00 p.m. eastern time.
Yes, the brilliant novelist, Dolen Perkins-Valdez -- author of the forthcoming Happy Land -- has selected The Jackal's Mistress for her April pick. Join her bookclub on Facebook and tune in to enjoy Chris and Dolen in conversation!
FRIDAY, MAY 2
Garden City, New York
The Garden City Hotel -- in conversation with Alyson Richman ("The Timekeepers")
A lunch event hosted by Friends of the Port Washington Library
11:00 a.m.
Tickets here:
THURSDAY, MAY 8
Wilmington, Massachusetts
"Behind the Books!"
Shriners Auditorium -- hosted by the Wilmington Public Library
6:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4
Manchester, Vermont
The Northshire Bookstore --- in conversation with Joe Donahue of WAMC.
Stay tuned for Details!
THURSDAY, JUNE 5
Bristol, Connecticut
The Friends of the Bristol Public Library
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel
42 Century Drive
11:30 a.m.
Books by R. J. Julia
Ticket order form here:
Praise for The Jackal's Mistress -- An Instant National Bestseller
"Inspired by true events�.A moving tale about the difficult choices people must make in dangerous circumstances." -- The Washington Post
"It’s hard not to get pulled in from the first sentence�.The Jackal’s Mistress gallops along, sweeping us up in its heart-pounding final pages." -- The Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Masterful." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred
A "page-turner." -- Library Journal, starred
"Elegant, poignant, and richly atmospheric. . .Bohjalian once again demonstrates his profound respect for women, endowing his female protagonists with depth and nuance.� -- Booklist, starred
"Readers will be glued to the page." -- Publishers Weekly
One of the New York Times's 24 Books to Read This Spring
One of the Washington Post's 10 Noteworthy Books for March
An Indie Next Selection for March
An Amazon Editors' Pick for March
A Barnes & Noble and BookBub "Most Anticipated Book" for March
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