Blog Tour Tens List & Giveaway: The Dreamosphere by Laura Stoddard

Dremosphere blog tour

Welcome to my tour stop for The Dremosphere by Laura Stoddard! Laura is stopping by today to talk about what she dreams about and to host a giveaway. Enjoy!

The DreamosphereThe Dreamosphere
by Laura Stoddard
Middle Grade Urban Fantasy
Paperback208 Pages
July 8th 2014 by Cedar Fort Publishing & Media

Summary

What if dreams don’t disappear when we wake up? Haunted by her younger sister’s death, and her unwitting role in the incident, 11-year-old Gwenevere Stoker takes solace in the Dreamosphere—a dimension where all dreams still exist. But when someone begins destroying her dreams, Gwen must find the culprit—or risk losing all her happiness forever. Bask in the mystery and imagination of dreams in this touching, funny, mind-bending children’s tale that encompasses themes of grief, friendship, family, healing, and grand adventure!

Excerpt

"What do you think happens to your dreams after you wake up?"

Gwen shrugged distractedly, too disoriented by her sudden arrival in the remarkable setting to focus. "I dunno. They disappear?"

The unblinking gray eyes of her young companion flashed as she leaned forward. "Incorrect. Every dream you've ever had still exists. All of them. They reside in a dimension called the Dreamosphere. It's where we are right now, as a matter of fact. Each dream basically exists as its own world, or dream-orb. There are thousands and thousands of them, connected like drops of dew on a gigantic spider web. Every dream you've ever had, Gwen. They're all up here. And you can visit them any time you want."


Tabitha, the enigmatic child who shares this information, has some even more shocking news. Gwen’s dreamosphere is in danger. Someone has been hacking into it—destroying her dream orbs, erasing pieces of her past, and affecting Gwen in more ways than she realizes. Together, Gwen and Tabitha travel through the outlandish landscape of Gwen’s dream worlds to find the person responsible. What will happen to Gwen when all her dreams are gone? What critical clues lie within the pages of her dream journal? And what does Edgar Allan Poe have to do with it all?

    
Book Trailer

The Top Ten Things I Dream About
By Laura Stoddard


1. Flying. A lot of people probably dream about this, but the way it happens in my dreams is kind of frustrating! I can never make it very far off the ground, and when I do manage to get in the air, it’s only for a few seconds. It’s like when you blow on a feather to keep it in there air, and it hovers tremulously for just a few moments, then falls back to the ground. Sigh…

2. Celebrities. I’ve been told by people all my life that I missed my calling and should’ve become an actress. Maybe my subconscious agrees! Well that’s not going to happen in real life, but I get to act out fun, dangerous, movie-quality scenes in my dreams all the time. One time I was trekking through a rhino preserve with Angelina Jolie. Another time Eminem took me to a church dance (Ha!). Another time, I got married to Jim Carrey and we lived in a decrepit apartment with a bunch of Russian families. I’ve also married Tom Cruise in my dreams, and been in the army with Christian Bale.

3. The vulture man. I’ve had a recurring nightmare all my life—well up until my adult years—about a freaky, half-man, half-vulture creature, bent on my destruction. In the dreams I was constantly trying to hide, but inevitably, he would find me. I always woke up before he could work whatever deeds of torture he had in mind. The vulture man was actually the inspiration for the “bad guy” in my book. You’ll be just as terrified of him as I was.

4. Fighting. I don’t know what this symbolizes, but I do a long of hand-to-hand combat in my dreams! Which is crazy, because I volunteer at the humane society on the weekends. I may play aggressive sometimes, but I’m the proverbial big teddy bear. The weirdest part is that I wake up feeling so elated after these dreams. I remember one dream where I broke into a submarine and saved a bunch of girls who were being held captive, and then found the perpetrator and held his head under water till he was no more. I woke up feeling like I could tackle the world. I don’t know where this stuff comes from! I watch a lot of movies…

5. Emotional dreams. My dreams are so visceral, so real, that the emotions I feel in them are every bit as powerful as when I’m awake. I can wake up feeling absolutely drained after dreaming about something heartbreaking. Death dreams, where I dream about loved ones dying, affect me for hours, and sometimes days afterwards. I have both laughed and cried myself awake. Intense stuff.

6. My dad. The most important male in my life passed away three years ago and I dream about him all the time, which I think is a real blessing. I can’t miss him too much when I see him all the time in my dreams. We have conversations ranging from light-hearted to intensely deep. When he first died, those dreams provided such a sense of comfort. In one dream he touched my shoulder, and it immediately woke me up, because I thought I felt it in real life. Again, a testament to how real my dreams are.

7. Rollercoasters. I love rollercoasters, and for some reason, so does my subconscious. Actually, lots of amusement park rides. Just recently, I dreamed that my mom and I exited a movie theater by going down one of four waterslides at the bottom of the stadium seating. The slides took us down through a mall and out into a Siberian winter scene.

8. Farm in Idaho. The happiest time in my life was my adolescent years growing up in a tiny farming town in Idaho called Ashton. We lived on a farm that was a child’s paradise, and it plays a major part in the book. The farm sat up on a hill overlooking acres of gorgeous farm land, and our nearest neighbor was a field away. We had an epic tree house that stretched through three trees. It had ladders and swings and staircases and furniture and a trampoline to jump down onto. We practically lived in that thing. The farm had an old stone outdoor fireplace where many a dutch oven meal was cooked. We played on tractors and four-wheelers in the summer and snowmobiles in the winter. It had lush grass bordered by every type of flower, specifically peonies and hollyhocks. A lovely hammock lay out between two trees looking straight on to the Teton mountain range. Because it was such an old farm, there were nearly a dozen little buildings dotting the farm, that we loved to explore. An old pump house, a chicken coup, a tool shed, and the musty barn of course. Because the farm is in the family, it will always be a place I can visit to get away from the hubbub of city life, and I swear when the winds blow up, there’s fairy dust mixed in with it, because the place is just enchanting.

9. My younger sister. She’s in her 30s, just like me, and quite a bit taller than me, but she’s still my ‘little’ sister. I’ve always been very protective of her, so it’s no surprise that I used to dream about her, specifically protecting or saving her, all the time.

10. Haunted houses. I love haunted houses. I live for haunted houses. It’s part of that adrenaline junkie thing. So there’s definitely a theme with my dreams. I dream about things that I feel very passionately about; good or bad. Mixed in, of course, is a healthy dose of randomness, but I’m definitely influenced by things that affect me in the waking world.

About the Author

Laura StoddardLaura Stoddard was born in Idaho and spent her formative years running amok in the great outdoors. She received her bachelors degree in English Literature from Arizona State University. After being rejected from the masters program for creative writing she decided that she didn't need a masters degree to tell her she could write, so she started really dedicating her time to finishing the story she'd started months earlier, with the goal of writing a complete novel, and getting it published. The result is her debut novel, The Dreamosphere, for which her own vivid, bizarre, and incomprehensible dreams provided the inspiration. Laura is an adrenaline junkie and will try anything once--or twice--or maybe three times. She can already check whitewater rafting, going down in a shark cage, and skydiving (three times) off of her list. Oh, and getting Lasik. It was five minutes of terror. She enjoys hiking, rowing, reading classic literature, embarking on new adventures and hobbies, volunteering regularly, and spending time with family. She currently resides in Phoenix, Ariz.


Giveaway

Paperback (US/CAN Only) or ebook of The Dreamosphere
Ends July 27th

a Rafflecopter giveaway

16 comments

  1. I often dream of falling from a cliff.

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  2. I don't dream very often, but when I do, I dream weird things that do not make any sense.

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  3. Yes, I would love to wear those fancy clothes everywhere I went and live In the beautiful homes and do nothing!! ( Now I know I would have to be wealthy and a lowly maid)Ha

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  4. I dream little but when I have one it's either a place that had a profound memory of, that's the best way to put it. thanks & good luck.

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  5. Zonell Conant7/13/14, 6:20 PM

    I rarely remember my dream, only strange bits and pieces.

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  6. I love the cover...I know I sound like a broken record ;). I love that her dreams took her on a roller coaster ride. I think everything would be more fun if we could ride a roller coaster there ;)

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  7. I wish I could read all the books soon ;). I am definitely going to be reading it though. Great review :)

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  8. Unusual stuff that doesn't make sense.

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  9. Most of my dreams are quite unpleasant, to be honest. They are usually about tornado's, terrible things happening to my children, or my husband abandoning me. :o/ Not pleasant at all.

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  10. This sounds like a good book! I love when endings do that to me :) Lovely review!

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  11. SenorSensible7/13/14, 9:17 PM

    I don't have recurring dreams any more but I used to dream about work a lot. When I was a kid I had a lot of flying dreams to, those were fun.

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  12. Charlie Anderson7/14/14, 10:47 AM

    I dream about scary stuff! I had one dream in high school where I was kidnapped...and again a few times in college, but different scenarios, AND several where I end up dead.


    Needless to say, I hate dreams.

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  13. It was really good - at least I ended up loving it. It was very different, which was part of the draw, and then I just about died towards the end and it really made this a great read for me.

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  14. Ah! The ending. Still. Very creative and good.

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