Regardless of What, How, or When, We Dream, Dreams Affect Us All by Elisabeth Naughton

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[Note From Frolic: We have a thing for novellas. A BIG thing. In the next installment of an ongoing series, we bring you a piece from author Elisabeth Naughton, whose novella ‘Ensnared‘ with our friends at 1001 Dark Nights is out now!]

Do you remember your dreams? What was the last dream you recall? Was any part of it real, and if so, how would you know?

Dreams occur mostly during REM sleep, which is the deepest form of sleep a person can experience. They’re usually conjured by the subconscious, and scientists think they’re the brain’s way of processing emotions, stimuli, memories, and experiences during the waking day. We usually know or recognize the people in our dreams. According to Psychology Today, “One study found that more than 48% of dream characters were recognizable by name to dreamers.” Our dreams come in many forms—nightmares, night terrors, recurring dreams, even lucid dreams (the kind where the dreamer is vaguely aware they are dreaming and can consciously manipulate the dream in sequence.) But the bottom line is…everyone dreams.

Dreams have always fascinated me, probably because I’ve had some wonky ones in my lifetime. For example, the other night I dreamt I was mountain biking with a baby giraffe in pajamas, and we were being chased through the forest by truckers. (Go ahead, analyze the heck out of that dream, I dare you. I would blame that bizarre dream on cold medicine, but I didn’t take any!) Sometimes I have recurring dreams, where the same person shows up again and again. I’ve even had dreams that later almost seem to come true…those are the ones that really wig me out. A feeling of déjà vu where I think, “I dreamt this…didn’t I?” My middle child suffered from night terrors for years. He would scream nonstop, and nothing would console him. I’ve always wondered if he was remembering something, or if his mind was making up some horrid situation. And it always flabbergasted me that he had zero memory of the night terror in the morning. Couldn’t remember a single thing.

Regardless of what we dream, how we dream, or when we dream, dreams affect us all. To this day, scientists still aren’t certain why we dreams, but you will always find people willing to try to interpret your dreams. One such explanation is rooted in Greek mythology. Morpheus (no, not the Morpheus from the Matrix) was the god of dreams, also known at the messenger of the gods. He had the unique gift of influencing mortals’ dreams, and as such, the Olympian gods used him to relay messages and prophecies to kings and heroes and anyone they wanted to mess with. Many images of Morpheus depict him in human form, which calmed his targets, and with wings on his back, which I suppose aided him in reaching those targets.

You’ll find that many of the stories in Greek mythology are still relevant today. Those stories are how ancients explained the world and what was happening around them. How is it possible the liver can regenerate? Well, it must be because Zeus cast a curse on another god, a giant eagle came down and ate his liver until he died, then Zeus’s curse brought the immortal back to life again—the story of regeneration. Before science and the study of medicine…that made sense. The stories about Morpheus and his ability to influence mortals’ dreams are no different. Especially now when dreams are still so misunderstood, even by the “experts.”

Since I write a paranormal series set in current times but rooted in Greek Mythology, dreams and the inclusion of Morpheus in my Eternal Guardians world was inevitable. In ENSNARED, my newest release, I tackle many of the questions above—why is the heroine dreaming? Who is she dreaming about? Why are her dreams recurring? Is it random, or is there a bigger purpose to her dreams and her life? And what does it all mean? Those are questions we’ve all asked not only about our own dreams, but about our lives. Of course, there are familiar faces from past books, danger and drama, some hot sexytimes, and a few very sweet moments, but at ENSNARED’s core there’s a fundamental element of dreaming I’m always curious about, especially with those dreams that leave me with a déjà vu feeling.

Is any part of this real?

If so, how would I ever know for sure?

And what would I do if it actually was real?

About the Author:

Before topping multiple bestseller lists—including those of the New York Times, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal—award winning author Elisabeth Naughton taught middle school science. A voracious reader, she soon discovered she had a knack for creating stories with a chemistry of their own. The spark turned into a flame, and Elisabeth now writes full-time.

Though primarily known for her romantic suspense work, Elisabeth has penned over thirty books and continues to write in multiple genres, including paranormal romance and contemporary romance. Her books have been translated into numerous languages and have earned several award nominations, including three prestigious RITA® nominations from Romance Writers of America. In 2017, REPRESSED, the first book in her Deadly Secrets series, won the RITA® for best romantic suspense.

You can find her here: https://elisabethnaughton.com

Ensnared: An Eternal Guardians Novel by Elisabeth Naughton out now!

From New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Elisabeth Naughton comes a new story in her Eternal Guardians series…

RYDER–Mysterious, powerful, every woman’s fantasy come true.

For thousands of years, Ryder has reveled in his role as an immortal messenger—a dream weaver sent to seduce and manipulate. Until he’s ordered to deceive a fantasy of his own.

Zakara, the daughter of one of the mightiest Eternal Guardians, is his perfect woman. But she’s impervious to Ryder’s advances. Each attempt to sway her to his will pushes him deeper into a dreamscape she seems to be controlling. To survive, Ryder will need to find a way to master his sexy new prey. Because if he can’t, he risks forever condemning himself and the woman he’s grown to love to a never-ending nightmare drawn straight from the twisted depths of hell. 

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