Guest Blogger: Sam Singer

Please welcome fellow Dreamspinner author, Sam Singer, who has bravely answered my infamous Rick

Reed questions, and is going to tell us about her latest release, Beautiful Dreamer! Have a seat, Sam, make yourself comfortable. Go ahead and begin, why don't you?

The Questions –Sam Singer

1)      You’re marooned on a small island with one person and one item of your choice—who is that person and what item do you have? 

    The clean answer would be survivalist Bear Grylls and my Kindle.  The dirty answer would be Jared Padalecki and a bottle of KY Warming. 

   

2)    Which musical would you say best exemplifies your life – and which character in that musical are you?

I am not a fan of musicals, but I really like Mrs. Lovett from Sweeney Todd but more closely identify with Johanna.

3)      Take these three words and give me a 100 word or less scenario using them:  rank, window, test

Put me on the spot, why don’t ya.  I’m not really good at things like this.  The only thing that comes to mind is a character trying to get into a locked window and not being able to and it is testing his patience.

4)      You’ve just been let loose in the world of fiction, with permission to do anyone you want. Who do you fuck first and why? 

Are we speaking of literary fiction only, or does ‘fiction’ encompass television as well?  If it is that latter, without question my answer is Sam Winchester.  If we are speaking of literary fiction I would say Aragorn from the LOTR.  Both are heroic, noble men and that is very sexy.

5)      What is your idea of how to spend romantic time with your significant other? 

I’m very much a homebody,  so curling up on the couch and watching a movie is pretty ideal for me.

   6)     When you start a new story, do you begin with a character, or a plot?

Plot always comes first.  Most times my plot is just a “what if scenario”.  Like my current WIP began with the scenario what if your alcoholic ex-lover showed up to make amends. 

7)      If they were to make the story of your life into a movie, who should play you?

My life is unremarkable so there would never be a movie but if there was I think Helena Bonham Carter

should play me.  She could capture my unique brand of weirdness. 

8)      Who’s your favorite horror villain and why? 

John Kramer from the SAW franchise, because he was just a human.  A human doing horrific things to other humans is more frightening to me than traditional boogeymen like Jason or Freddy.

9)      Do you have an historical crush and if so, who is it?

Nope.  No one.

10)   Is there a story that you’d like to tell but you think the world isn’t ready to receive it?

I can’t think of one.

 “I… can I tell you something that might sound—er—that will sound mad?”

Charles’s brows came together, and he nodded. “Certainly.”

“I have these… dreams. I have had them all of my life, and they are always about this same young man. If I am honest, I feel closer to this boy I dream about than anyone in my life, except you.”

Charles shrugged and continued to walk toward the carriage house, Nicholas following. “Well, is that so unusual? If you have had these dreams all your life. You have grown up with this boy you dream about, and you’ve only known me two years. Your own family rarely pays any attention to you unless it is to tell you to stop reading and grow up.”

Nicholas was never more grateful for Charles’s easy acceptance as he was at that moment. It was such a release to finally be able to openly talk about his dreams and his dream lover without fear of ridicule or shame that the words poured out of him.

“I love him, Charles. He’s not real but I’m absolutely in love with him. I ache with it. He is all I think about. He is so intelligent, funny, and indescribably beautiful. I wake up and I feel as if I have spent hours with him, yet none of it was real.” Nicholas raked a hand through his hair, frustrated at himself and this situation. “But it feels real. I am alive when I am with him in a way that I am not while I’m awake. I am… whole, but when I do wake up and he is not there, I have to realize all over again that it was only a dream and that what we have is not real, that he is not real, and I grieve, Charles. It is like… like he has died and part of me is dead too. There are mornings I wake up and simply weep until I fall back to sleep.”

Nicholas felt tears stinging his eyes, and he struggled to hold them back. He had never been so vulnerable in front of another person, never shared these thoughts with another living soul. Charles, God bless him, was looking at him with sympathy and heartbreak in his own eyes, not judgment or worry.

“How pathetic am I? I am in love with someone I can never have.” A sob worked its way from Nicholas’s throat and as hard as he fought, he couldn’t hold it back. Charles didn’t hesitate. He closed the distance between them and took Nicholas in a strong embrace.

“There are times,” Nicholas whispered, fighting to get the words out, “when I think of ending it all so I can sleep forever and be with him. Madness, right? It’s madness. I have lost my mind, have I not?” Nicholas clung to Charles, silently begging for strength and reassurance, for he had neither right now.

“It is not madness to want love, Nicholas. Love is the greatest force in the world. Nothing can stop it, not time, not distance, and not even death. But think of this, your dreams may seem so real because you are alive. If you took your life, how do you know that you would be united with your beloved? You do not. Maybe your lover is out there somewhere dreaming of you, and you have to trust and hope you will find each other. I refuse to believe that God would be so cruel as to keep you from your dearest love.”

A weight Nicholas hadn’t realized he carried lifted from his shoulders, and his heart felt lighter.

Paperback: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4341
Ebook: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=4263

Thanks for stopping by, Sam, come back any time!

Until next time, take care!

♥ Julie