Blog Tour, Spotlight, and Giveaway: Dreamscape (Christie Rich)

Every night before Amelia falls asleep she makes a wish to dream of him – the man who calls her to their beautiful private oasis, her sanctuary where she is free of her greedy landlord’s threats. But tonight, he will not call Amelia to him. Tonight, another man will step into her world to claim her. Tonight, Amelia’s shattering reality will crumble - and disappear into the Dreamscape…along with her freedom.
When Amelia dreams tonight, her nightmare becomes her new world where Seth is her captor and anything is possible…except escape. Seth needs Amelia to break the curse that binds him to the Dreamscape. He must convince her that she was made to free him, that she was made to join him.
For if he fails, he will never escape his prison, and he will lose Earth to the Netherworld where the evil Erobos wait to consume the human realm and everything in it. If he fails, Seth will lose the one thing that matters to him: Amelia.

I love to be creative. It is more than a hobby. It is a need of mine. Whether writing, reading, painting, flower arranging or trying something new, I spend most of my time in the pursuit of freeing the creations inside me.

Be Careful Or You Just Might End Up In My Novel

By Christie Rich

Sounds like the makings of a bumper sticker, right? Well, it is. I actually won a contest and got this puppy in the mail…and I absolutely love it.

I’ve had some strange things happen to me in my life. I’m an observer by nature, so I probably notice things others might not. That being said, I’ve got a couple examples to share with you that might just end up in one of my novels some day.

I work at a clinic that happens to be attached to a hospital. Those of you who are familiar with health care know just how weird things can get, but this one floored me. A few months ago, after a particularly hectic morning of phone calls and trying to slog through piles of paperwork, I went to lunch. The usually long line wasn’t that bad, so I was able to get my food and was on my way in a flash. An older couple walked by me, heads turning back to stare at something down the hall.

I’d never seen an actual warlock in person, but I was about to. Once I bypassed the gawking duo, I caught my first glimpse. He was huge, not only tall, but wide in a way that might have been fat, but might have been ten gun holsters slung across his back.

I say might because he wore a cloak. I’m talking pointy hat and draping fabric sewn in a funky patchwork pattern. The ensemble did nothing for his physique, but it did make my hair stand on end. Suffice it to say I bypassed the elevators Mr. Magic waited for and headed to the next set. No way was I getting in a four by four box with that guy.

On my way to escape, security passed me. I expected a shrill code silver to come across the loud speaker any moment, alerting the staff that yes, indeed, an armed man was in our hospital, but thankfully none came.

I’m not sure what happened after that. For all I know he was a burn victim who was trying to hide his scars, but couldn’t he have at least picked the non pointy hat cloak, or I don’t know, a hoodie? It’s funny how certain moments have stayed with me throughout my life.

One of the weirdest came on vacation. My family mostly lived in Utah, USA growing up. I say mostly because we also lived in Arizona and California off and on.

We have a lot of relatives in Arizona and most summers were spent basking in the 120 degree desert heat without air conditioning, mind you. So suffice it to say we generally travelled from my home to Arizona at night.

One year, when I was much older, my brother and I took turns driving. I had made it all the way from Salt Lake City to Kanab, Utah. It was probably a six hour shift. My brother took over after that and we were on our way again. Unfortunately we followed an aunt’s advice to use a “short cut” to get to Page, Arizona. Well, the short cut ended up costing us two hours and we almost drove right into a river. Long story, but holy crow that was a scary dirt road to nowhere.

Anyway, we finally made it back onto pavement and past Page. My brother, making up for lost time, was driving about 90 miles per hour on a lone stretch of highway between Page and Flagstaff. It’s pretty barren country so, as you can expect, most of us were trying to sleep. I was crammed in the back seat of my little Ford Festiva with my three sisters, while my mom occupied the front passenger seat.

I’d just about drifted off when I heard a horrible string of curses. I jolted upright, only to see some dude standing in the middle of the road. His arms and legs were spread wide and his head was lifted toward the sky.

I’d barely had enough time to think what the heck when my brother swerved to miss the guy, who apparently had no intention of getting out of the way. He wasn’t trying to flag us down; he was more than likely trying to rob us if the three guys in the ditch were any indication.

Sound fun? We laughed about it later, but at the time the experience put us all on edge. We were a lot more careful through that stretch of desert on our way back. Thankfully, now when I go to Arizona, I fly.

My point here is that scene stuck with me for quite a few years now, and I actually used part of it in a novel I started but haven’t had time to finish yet. I thought it would be fun to share that with you today:

I heard the thud before his half naked body rolled across the hood toward me. The windshield buckled in a deafening crack on impact. I screamed, losing my grip on the steering wheel. The car skidded wildly, throwing him onto the pavement, before it jerked to a sudden stop.

My pulse thundered in my ears. What had I just done?

I covered my eyes with trembling hands, not wanting to see it: his body crumpled on the road, broken. No one survived that kind of impact. I sat there stunned for a few moments then snapped out of it. What if he wasn’t dead?

I reached for my cell, hoping it would work between nowhere and Phoenix. My fingers fumbled with the numbers until a shadow slid across my vision. I jerked away from the window.

He stood there watching me.

Heaving a relieved sigh, I let my mouth curve in a tremulous smile.

How could you adequately apologize for nearly killing someone?

He pressed his palms to the glass, his fingers spread wide. The muscles in his forearms flexed under flawless skin. He was shirtless, and I was quite certain now that it was a loincloth draped loosely around his hips. Not your average attire, but hey, I wasn’t the fashion police. I was just glad he was alive.

Thinking he was in shock, I scanned his body for damage. There was none. How was that possible? I gazed up at him bewildered.

A dark look flickered across his obsidian eyes. The smile he gave me offered no comfort.

My body moved before my brain processed what was happening. His hands slid along the glass until they reached the door frame. His muscles bunched and his veins popping as if he was trying to force the door out of the way.

Without warning a metallic groan rocked my senses. The window splintered into a web under the pressure. No way was I waiting to see what else he was going to do. I threw the gearshift into first and let off the clutch. The car lurched forward then stalled. The door groaned again before the glass shattered. Adrenaline pumped faster through my veins, making it impossible to control my shaking hands.

I revved the engine, trying again. Why wasn’t I moving? The acrid smell of burning rubber assaulted my nose. That was when I realized: He wasn’t alone.

They rose from the side of the road like wraiths in the night, swift and lithe. They circled my car, chanting. I had to be dreaming. Maybe I had fallen asleep at the wheel and crashed and this was my mind’s way of dealing with dying? Maybe I was still in bed and hadn’t left Great Falls yet? Maybe…

So what do you think? That’s where my mind took me when I recalled that fateful vacation night. What was your weirdest moment? Have you considered writing about it? You never know. You just might end up writing a novel because of it.

Thanks so much for hosting me today, Beth!!!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway