Today I am so pleased to welcome Joanna Chambers to Joyfully Jay. Joanna has come to talk to us about her latest release, The Dream Alchemist (I adored this book and gave it 5 stars!). She has also brought along a great giveaway.  Please join me in giving Joanna a big welcome!

To sleep, perchance to dream

About ten years ago, my husband told me that he had learned to control his dreams.

It wasn’t that he could do anything that he wanted to—it began with no more than him developing an awareness that he was asleep and in a dream—but eventually he was able to exert some influence over what actually happened. He learned too that if he found himself in a nightmare and realised he was dreaming, he could escape by yelling and yelling till he woke up; that he could actually connect with and control his sleeping body. That was how he saw it—that if dream-him yelled long enough and loud enough, his sleeping body would eventually read the memo and do the same.

Cue me waking up in the middle of the night to the sounds of his inarticulate shouting.

There were lots of inspirations for The Dream Alchemist, but that, I suppose, was the most obviously direct one (although my dreamwalkers’ abilities are rather more sophisticated than my husband’s blundering attempts to persuade a dream version of Kylie Minogue to… Ok, you do not need to know that).

This idea of my husband being able to control his dreams was interesting to me, not just because it’s something I’ve never experienced, but also because so many of my dreams are concerned with lack of control. One of my recurring dreams features me trying to discipline an unruly dog, only to realise—usually after I’ve just tapped the thing sharply on the nose and scolded it—that it is in fact a tiger, and I am alone in my childhood bedroom with it. In another, I’m trying to drive a car, unable to see out the windscreen because I’m having to slide down in my seat to reach the pedals—and even stretching like that, I can’t push them down properly.

So it’s probably unsurprising that ideas around control became one of the key themes of this book. As a dreamwalker, one of my heroes, Bryn Llewelyn, has extraordinary abilities in Somnus, the world of dreams. In the real world, however, he’s a messed-up wash-out who binges on caffeine to try to keep his waking-self awake, tempering the worst effects with booze. My other MC, Laszlo Grimm lives a far more disciplined waking life, but that very discipline has a choke hold on him in ways that will come to horrify him.

Both of my heroes have issues with self-control. Both of them experience anxiety when they feel out of control. And both of them need to learn to trust themselves—to trust that they have inner reserves that will carry them through whatever trials lie before them.

What about you? Do you dream? And if so, are you usually in control, like my husband, or flailing around like me?


Blurb

22922375-2When the sun goes down, their passion awakens…and so do their nightmares. 

Centuries ago, a man with Bryn Llewelyn’s dreamwalking ability would have been a shaman or a priest. In this time, he’s merely exhausted, strung out on too much caffeine and too little sleep.

Sleep means descent into Somnus—an alternate reality constructed of the combined dreaming consciousness of ordinary humans. A place he’d rather avoid. Trouble is, his powers don’t include the ability to go without sleep indefinitely. At some point his eyes close…and his nightmare begins.

As a teen, the treatment that cured Laszlo Grimm’s sleep disorder stole his dreams—and his ability to feel emotion. Petrified of needing more “treatment”, he clings to familiar rituals and habits. But lately his nightly terror has returned, and when he meets Bryn in the real world, the man seems hauntingly familiar. Not only that, Bryn awakens feelings in Laszlo for the first time in years…

Slowly Bryn and Laszlo realize they are both unknowing pawns in a plan of unspeakable evil. And that their powerful attraction could release the destinies locked within them—or be the instrument of their doom.


Bio

Joanna Chambers always wanted to write but she didn’t find her muse until she rediscovered her love of romance novels after the birth of her first child. These days, Joanna lives in the UK with her family and finds time to write by eschewing sleep and popular culture. You can find Joanna at her website, www.joannachambers.com, friend her on Facebook, follow her on Twitter @ChambersJoanna and connect with her on Goodreads.


Giveaway

Joanna has brought an ebook copy of The Dream Alchemist, along with a $25 ebook retailer gift card, to give away to one lucky reader along her tour. Just leave a comment at the end of the post to enter. 

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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