It's done!!!  So excited, I can hardly believe it!  I had, by far, one of the most talented and creative artist create this for me!

You know someone has 'mad skills' when you describe what you want, what your vision in your mind is, and they have the ability to bring that vision to life.  That's how this cover was made.  I described and Whendell created, simply amazing!

So the credit for this fantastic piece of work goes like this:  Cover Art by Whendell Souza - whendell.deviantart.com
 
It's been a few weeks since my last blog; once summer ends, I will try to post weekly.
​This will be a separate post, I will be back to discuss chapter 5 tomorrow.

Hope you like the cover as much as I do, until tomorrow--

Dream on...

 Ok, before we move on to chapter 5, a few more things about chapter 4.

Tink's father is named in this chapter. Without going into details, her mother's husbands name is interesting. What's fun about this first book, is that this is the first time we are meeting characters, exploring new lands, and so on. I explained Tink's name when I started this blog, but what's amusing here, is some of the other character's names. This book has what some refer to as "Easter Eggs", some of which most cannot understand without me revealing those, but some can be figured out on your own. Hint:  when you see a name of either a person or thing, if it is not in English, Google it and translate. Not every single word, I will help you out as we go...

Tink's uncles' names were just names that came to me in my head a long time ago, so they remain as is. Tink's name we've discussed, and Tommy, well, it is what it is. It's always been Tommy, and that's that. But Tink's mother's first name is actually a name that has been in my family, two people had this name, one on my mom's side and one on my dad's. So the mother's husband's name was fun. He is incredibly old, and is Czech. So for his first name, I asked my mom to give me a couple of "old-fashion" ruler/dictator names used back when. His first name is perfect, but the part I had fun with was his last name. If you Google/translate it, the definition defines him. This is one of those "Easter Eggs" no one will know unless you either speak Czech, randomly think to translate it, or read it here in my post. 

In chapter 4, her uncle also remembers a man that was slaughtered. This one was super fun to name! His name is written for the first time in chapter 6. For his first name, he was given another family name which fit perfectly. But his last name, this one you have to translate! It embodies his character precisely! Love this one!!!

In chapter 4, Tink's uncle mentions a sacred book, no title given here, but this book plays a major part in this story, meaning each book in this series. We will always come back to it in some way, and as things become complex, this book sometimes provides answers.

We haven't discussed Tink's ninjas in any length, the ones that she's lived with and treated as family for over 12 years so far. Each of their names and origins is specifically calculated and chosen for a reason. I cannot disclose any of that at this point, too early, sorry.

Tink also has a "pet", an odd pet for sure, but it is something that is always with her. Once you see the amazing book cover that is more than half-way done at this time, you will see who this "pet" is. She and "it" are on the cover together. There is an entire story behind that as well, but we are not there at all, not yet.

As other names come up as we go, I will mention if you should translate or not. At this time, we haven't met everyone yet. In chapter 4, Tink and both uncles had a meeting, if you could call it that, with the 'bad boy' and his two brothers. The bad guy got his way at the end of this chapter and left the uncles house quite smug and satisfied with himself.

The next chapter, #5, will belong to Tink. She will give us her version of what happened at her uncle's house with that cocky vampire, and then she moves on to what happens next. There is a pattern you will quickly see. When another character takes over, we digress a bit to interlock the timeline, there will be no gaps anywhere, everyone always has their place. Even if a couple chapters go by, be prepared to remember and link things together. We're about to get tangled.

​Until next time, dream on...

So let's pick up from where we left off...

Right here is where we meet Uncle Joey, in a sense. Each of the characters I introduce is complex, but I will only give you the information you need when the time is right. With some, you may think you've been told all up front, while others may be vague or mysterious. So as we begin with this chapter, we open with this guy patiently waiting for that 'nuisance of a vampire' to show up and announce his demands on how he expects Tink should be punished for what she did in the clearing.

As he waits, he reminisces back to the most magical time of his life. And what a long life he's led so far. This vampire is the leader for a reason and not just because of his age. What you will learn in this chapter right off the bat is who he 'is' in terms of a relation to someone and maybe why this has been kept a secret. He reflects back to a major deception which led him to that special relation, again, a magical time that much later, you will start to question his real purpose or part in that magical moment. And when 'later' comes, there will be so many questions surrounding him and the 'lagoon'.

Oh, the lagoon...do we even go there yet? I'm actually sitting here thinking, wondering, whether or not to embark on that subject. So here are a few breadcrumbs. The lagoon is black, ominous, holds secrets you can't even imagine at this point in time, and did I mention that you cannot just drive out to see it? That's right, it does exist, but where is it located? And how does one get to it? Who knows about this lagoon? Who has seen it or better yet, has anyone been in it? Or perhaps just wadded through even the first few inches of it? What is in it? If anything. Yep, I know. I ended up helping you with questions instead of providing answers. I could write a book solely based on that lagoon, hahaha! So are you wondering right now why the name of the book isn't something like 'The Lagoon'? Yeah, that and so much more has paraded through my mind, but it all falls into place, just like that gazillion piece puzzle you always wanted to give up on due to frustration, but just can't walk away from until each piece is placed exactly where it belongs.

So we first hear of this mysterious body of water in this chapter. But as important as it is, this chapter is far from over. During his reminiscing moments, he remembers a man, someone who was blamed for something and slaughtered because of it. Now at this point, you may wonder, why would he care? Or why is a vampire, who has obviously killed many in the span of his lifetime, being made out to, what, feel bad about the death of some random person he never really knew? Normally, we would call this guilt, but is he guilt-ridden? Or is he reflecting on a deceptive masterpiece that he was a part of? If his conscious has kicked in and he feels guilty, why after so many years is it still eating away at him? But if the latter, the next question would be, are there others besides him that know of this deception and have lied over the years with him? Would he need to worry about someone else - talking? Or if he wasn't alone in this, is he the only one still standing? Or maybe it was all his own doing, you know, flying solo, Maybe he was reckless, acting alone, as vampires often do, without consequence. 

So all of this, and yet the chapter has just begun. As Josef ends one memory, he jumps right into another, Tommy. He briefly remembers how he met him, a few other things, and just then, Tink walks into the room. Soon after, that vampire showed up with two of his people by his side. And so the debate over 'the proper punishment' begins.

Spoiler alert as you're not really reading the book at this time; this chapter ends with one up for the bad guys.

Until then, dream on...

Missed a week, sorry...but here we go.

So to review a bit, Tink & Tommy have finally met. Tink rescued her ninjas that were being held, questioned, and would have been ultimately killed by that 'bad-boy' vampire. She also helped free Tommy's brother. Accomplishing what she and her other ninjas came to do, they left. Now they were on their way back to her uncle's house where they were to stay during this visit.

So Tink does a bit reminiscing here to when she was younger, recalling certain, specific events of her childhood. But as the girls enter the uncle's house, Tink finds out something shocking using one of her many supernatural skills. She shares this with her 'side-kick' Ji, and they leave without anyone knowing they were there. Tink performs some of her cool magic as she needs to help her friend unlock memories that were intentionally locked away without her knowledge. They are not in the States even 24 hours, but it seems that new unexpected questions are presenting themselves as the girls are stunned to find out what those hidden memories are. Tink has two uncles that she grew up knowing well, and this is the first time she is realizing that they have been withholding things from her. Does this make them untrustworthy or does she just need to be cautious until she is able to find out why they have been lying to her? You decide...

So she and her friend didn't go back to the house for a while, well, not until the uncles started texting her, demanding she return. So eventually, the girls do return to the house, only to find out that the crazy vampire she left back in the woods has contacted her uncle. This uncle happens to be the Vampire King or King of the Underworld, he has interchangeable titles, but in the end, he rules the underworld and is highly respected, and respectfully feared.  So there is a heated discussion -let's call it- and Tink finds out that because of her actions in the clearing, this is far from over. This bad-boy vampire now has demands, and he is coming over to collect. So the fun is about to begin, well, not so fun for all involved I guess.  

During their heated argument, Tink mentions that man in the clearing here, you know, the one who was screaming in agony when the story began. The uncles seem surprised, maybe somewhat alarmed, as they heard nothing of some man in the woods that day, someone who clearly wasn't a part of any clan as he wasn't a vampire. So we still don't know much about him, but at some point, we will find out what happened to him.

I am jumping over certain things intentionally, but will give you the overall accounts of what is happening.

As we move on to chapter four, the 'narrative baton' is now passed over to her Uncle Joey. In this chapter, he shares a very significant reveal, and how it came to be.

Stay tuned, and until next time, dream on,,,

Wow! A few days late with this one, sorry:)  This is a busy time of year.

So we left off talking mostly about Tink last time. She narrated the first chapter, but now passes the 'baton' over to Tommy for chapter two.

As this chapter begins, you will instantly, normally in the first sentence or paragraph, recognize who is narrating. What I have done is back-track a bit, after the first few chapters, you will see what I mean. So Tommy and one of his brothers are leaving Tink's uncle's house. This is an interesting take on the upcoming scene as it actually happens, time-wise, before the beginning of chapter one. You will see how & why these two men ended up in that clearing, which is where the story begins. During this scene, there is a mention of Tommy's tattoos. It seems to belong out there in left field, but keep this little tidbit in mind for later. This is also where Tommy introduces us to his family members.

Let's fast-forward to the clearing and Tink showing up with her ninjas. Tommy is clearly not prepared for her sudden arrival, since he has searched for her over centuries with no luck whatsoever. And suddenly, here she is. So there is this two steps back and three steps forward as you witness this scene from his point of view, his mind, his take on it all. The story then flows from there, as he and his family leave the clearing.

So thus far, what is happening mostly is the character and scene set-up. As this story is new and just beginning, we need to learn a little about who these people are, hints or some information as to how they may be connected, the relationship between some characters, the good, the bad, etc. You get a feel for the scenery, where they actually are, but no insight as to what will happen next. There are a few more important characters to meet, some location descriptions, and backstory into the past. The backstory continues intermittently throughout the book so you can understand along the way why something is or how someone came to be or feel a certain way. There will be decisions made that are difficult early on, some will start withholding information, some secrets may be revealed, and lies will be told--you know, for the greater good of course. And still, there are those 'bookmarks', so far two were mentioned, that will come around when the time is right. The first one mentioned in the last blog will be discussed by chapter four, but you will get a better explanation in the middle of the book. But the most recent one, well, that one is going to tease you and make you wonder and maybe even attempt to guess what it means, but this is one spoiler I will not give up here. I will mention it during our blog journey, but I will not give anything away. I always proof my blog before I post, just in case I inadvertently gave something away that I should not have. So no chance of that happening, not on my watch, lol.

Chapter three is passed back to Tink. In this first book, she narrates 19 of the 26 chapters. So we will pick up as she and her ninjas are now driving away from this wooded area, back to her uncles house where they are staying during their visit here in the States.

​Until next time, dream on...

So, chapter one...instead of dragging out the inevitable OMG moment, Tink and Tommy meet in this first chapter, for the very first time---ever. She was 'released' from her protective exile back in Thailand and invited to not only visit with her uncles in the US, but to finally attend a particular summit.

You may notice that most names will not be revealed or good spoiler alerts will not be disclosed. I don't mean to be evasive with some of this information, but I think it would be a good idea to reserve some things for the book itself.

So she and her ninjas haven't even unpacked their things or rested from their flight, when we open the story with Tink and what is left of them, walking through the woods, in hopes of locating and rescuing the two that have gone missing. As they approach the location where her people are, there is something else happening that doesn't seem to be connected, but in this story, every single detail at some point will connect to something else. All I can say is that they followed the screams. Once they reach their destination, so much more than she expected happens within the next fifteen minutes. Other than realizing what was about to happen to her ninjas (which she knew she must stop immediately), Tink sensed that all but one person were vampires. And then she noticed him, Tommy. She knew it was him instantly, she was drawn to him, but never in her dreams was he a vampire. 

In this scene, we introduce the, let's call them, 'good' guys and the 'bad' guys. Three people die in this first scene, and defensively, Tink displays some pretty cool magic. As she and her people don't ever outstay their welcome anywhere, they decide to leave. But she is drawn to this man and approaches him. She notices a certain necklace that he is wearing which resembles hers. So here is one of those 'bookmark' moments as I call them, you may just want to put a pin in it, lol. But this necklace; the observation that it resembles hers, turns out to be something quite significant. He, Tommy, also seems to be quite stunned with her presence and lets her know. But she feels the need to get away from him, as she was not prepared for this, and tops off that scene with some more magic, this time, simply because she can.

The ninjas--other than Tink who now leads them, there are seven, so eight in total. Should I tell you where they are from? I suppose I can, but I am thinking that I will save that for another time. Yes, they all live together in Thailand, but only two of them are of Asian decent. There is, as with all groups, a pecking order within their ninja group. The one who was their leader for centuries now, ends up being the second in charge, as Tink quickly rises above them all in skill, and just overall, all things magical. Remember, they are vampire ninjas, but none of them possess magical powers. So as young as Tink is, or is she, hmm, good point there. Oh look! there's a bunny, lol, no-I don't have ADD, bet you couldn't tell! Anyway, even though this group of ninjas practically raised Tink, even though they always have each others back, and even though in this story you will see how close they are and how they care for one another, if you really sit down and think...or maybe put yourself in the place of, now second in charge-her name is Jina, how would you feel? Would you feel honored to be asked by the Vampire King to look after, raise, and protect with your life, his niece? Did she know; did the King tell her that one day this child would take over her leadership position and that she, Jina, would answer to her? Again, would you be honored or would you be insulted, internally and privately? Would you promise yourself that you would one day make things right and take back the reigns? Well, in this first book, you won't see any of this, in fact, none of this may ever surface since they become besties. I was just thinking out loud, you know, food for thought. But what if...

So I was going to discuss her uncles and Tommy a bit, but I noticed my blogs end up quite long. So I will leave you with the above to think about for now, and I'll be back before you know it. Until then, dream on...
​

So let's get to know our protagonist, Tink. 'The Prologue' is narrated by her. If you are one of the people who read/previewed this first book, you didn't read the prologue, there wasn't one. It starts out with a rhyme about dreams. Then over the next couple pages, she describes the various dreams she has, which gives you an insight about what we are going to experience in her reality.

Tink was born in Europe, Prague to be exact. This is one of those similarities she and I share. If you were to dream that you were a superhero, say The Flash, in order for your mind to depict that person being you, you would need to relate in some ways subconsciously with this fabricated version of that superhero.

Tink's mother is a very powerful witch who is also half fae/fairy. Her father (the mother's husband), is a very old and powerful vampire. I made a point to write that he is her mother's husband, stay tuned, it will become obvious why, we're just not there yet. Tink also has two uncles that she is close with; they've been around since she was born. There is some mention of events during her first ten years of life, especially the age of 10. When Tink was 10 years old, she was at that time living with her uncles in the US, but went to visit her parents in Prague for the summer. As her father was a powerful and old vampire, they lived in a castle which had been in his family for thousands of years. Well during that summer, Tink was kidnapped, and did not return for close to a year. When she magically returned, her parents seemed aloof, like hey...look, she's back. Did they look for her while she was away? Did they think at any time that she may have been killed, and did they care? Or was it convenient that she was out of their hair? What about her uncles? How did her disappearance affect them? Did they search for her or go to any lengths to find her?

Let's discuss that missing year, a little. First off, who took her? Well, in the first chapter, we find out that a demon witch named Demonica kidnapped her. In this book, you will find out that this demon witch took Tink because she believed that Tink possessed great powers, but as she was a 10 year old child, she did not know how to tap into and access those powers. So this self-absorbed, wicked witch decided to take this child and help her jump-start her abilities. She believed that if she taught her the ways of witchcraft and the magic of fairy dust, for example, according to her own beliefs, Tink would conform to Demonica's ways and be her minion. She planned on using this child's magic for her own selfish purposes and to advance herself to a higher level among the supernatural beings of the world. So, basically, she was power-hungry, vile and evil through and through. There will be a few examples of some of the punishments doled out to Tink during that year of captivity. It will give you an idea of what Tink endured, which in turn, explains why Tink has obsessed, ever since, over revenge. She vowed back then, that one day she will make this witch pay for what she put her through. But there is so much more to that story, a year can be a long time, and a lot can happen, but you will only get a glimpse; only enough to understand Tink's desire for payback.

During that year, you will also learn that a woman came to visit Tink one night. She turns out to be her Guardian Spirit Witch who befriends Tink, she almost becomes a stand-in for a mother. She listens to Tink, consoles her, and gives insightful advice. She comes to her one night and tells Tink that it is finally time to return to her life. So Tink magically appears back at the castle from where she was taken close to a year earlier. She doesn't stay there, her uncles take her to the US, where she stays for about the next nine months. During that time, her Uncle Joey had a chateau built for her, quite far away, in Thailand. He takes her there and leaves her in the care of a group of ninjas who basically raise her and become her family. He selected this group because they were the elusive Ninja Elite, the world's most feared and respected ninjas. Not only were they physically strong and ruthless, they were honorable and humane vampire ninjas, perfect for the job at hand. So this chateau was built on sacred land, on a cliff, which provided ample seclusion. The nearest village was a half an hour away. There, in Thailand, Tink thrived and grew up with meditation and martial arts. She led a simple life, but we are not told much about that life in this book. She remained in her 'protective exile' for ten years, wow! A lot can sure happen in ten years...  

You can sit and wonder, did she have any friends in the nearby village? What about a boyfriend, did she have at least one of those? Did anyone other than the occasional visit from her uncles ever set foot in her chateau? What about school? How did she start to use her powers, did someone teach her or did she just figure things out? Did she ever leave Thailand during that ten years stretch of time? The answer to that last question is yes.

As far back as Tink can remember, she's had very selective as well as repetitive dreams. Just as many of those were lucid dreams; so many of them were not. The nightmares were certainly controlled subconsciously.  Before she was taken, most of her dreams were of animals. They were strange dreams, but happy ones. Sometimes, when she dreamed of that large flying bird, she saw a man. In her dreams, she heard someone call him Tommy. When they met, in her dream, he was kind and gentle. He was a part of her dreams as far back as one can remember, always. She also loved fairy-tales and imagined that she, herself, was a princess. Once she was abducted, she dreamed of going home, at first. She imagined that this man, her friend Tommy, would come and save her and bring her home. She even started imagining him as her prince. But soon after, her dreams started getting dark; she began to dream of revenge, she wanted to punish and torture the witch that took her from her life, from her home. Tommy was now her best friend, in her head. She envisioned that she would, with Tommy by her side, inflict merciless, painful torture upon that witch. She would make sure that Demonica died a slow, painful death. By the time she moved to Thailand, he had become the man of her dreams. She grew to love and desire this man that did not exist. But she had hope...

So we are not done with Tink, not by a long-shot. We will pick-up next time where chapter one begins. You will meet her ninja family, find out who her uncles are, and maybe something about Tommy, Until then, enjoy! 

Welcome to my first blog post! Great to have you here!

Just in case you haven't looked at the other pages in my website, I am going to give a brief overview as to how this story came about before we jump in. This blog is not meant to be a 'how to' on writing, outlines or formatting discussions. If however, you have questions relating to writing, no worries, I will be happy to address and answer all that I can.  

The purpose of this blog will be to introduce my story to you. I'd like you to meet the 'friends and foes in my head', visit different lands, and join me in following the different characters on their journeys.

So how did this story come about? Well, it came to me in a dream close to 20 years ago now. I can still remember the first time I saw the main characters. I remember what they wore, what they said, and where they were. This story became a repetitive dream. There were always new characters, new scenes and locations, new plots; and yet, the story-lines that already existed continued and evolved further. This story would linger for months, then disappear. And then, without warning, it came back! I don't know how or why, but it would pick-up where it left off, repeating certain events with more detail, as well as new convoluted beginnings.   

"Thru Eyes of REM..." is a fantasy series and purely a work of fiction. The books in this series are referred to as 'Narratives'. I chose to call these books narratives simply because of my writing style. When I first started to write, the only way it made sense to me was to give some of the characters their own voice and allow them to tell us what was going on, what they were feeling and simply their point of view. Once I finished the first book, I googled 'how to write a novel', strange, I know. The reason for that was because it dawned on me that there may be some standard formatting involved. In fact, I remember reading a suggestion that you should first write an outline before beginning your book. Well, I may have done things backwards, but I had so much in my head, I never even thought of putting together an outline, I just sat down and wrote. But here is something else I read after finishing the first book. I read that there are different writing styles and that most books are not written in the first person. Well, guess what I did? That's right, I wrote in the first person, and that's not all. I read it is also not recommended to write with multiple points of view as the readers may get confused. So, I not only wrote first person, allowing one character to tell you the story, I wrote in first person, multiple narrative points of view, so the first book is narrated by five people. I even thought (for a minute) of revising the entire book to third person, but the meaning of it all just got lost. So first person with multiple narrative points of view it is. You will either love it or just not. I myself have never read a book written this way, so I love it!

The series title "Thru Eyes of REM...", this, for me, was as plain as the nose on one's face. The Home Page of this website describes REM sleep, so I won't rewrite it here. But it is fitting, as this story was created in a dream. If you get a chance, it is quite an interesting read.

Now on to the name--'The First Narrative' MARTINKA; yes the name is similar to my first name, Martina. Good idea to discuss that 'elephant in the room' right now. Question--when you go to sleep and dream, are you not in your dreams? Well, that's how this came about. In that dream, I was her, the protagonist, the main character. Of course, I had no idea that this dream would evolve and become what it has for me. Back then, it was just a dream, nothing more. But interestingly, in that dream, her name was Martinka and her nickname was Tink. Ok, if you are a language arts teach by chance, this next analogy may have a specific name...to give you an idea--let's use the name Nicholas. So, Martina is to Nicholas, as Martinka is to Nicky, as Tink is to Nick, got it? In my dream, her real name was Martinka, which was my 'child' name, but she is mostly referred to as Tink, which is a nickname taken from Martinka. There are some similarities between, say, my background and hers, maybe some physical similarities as well. But in the end, the character is fictitious. 

So for now, until my next blog, I leave you with this...we are about to enter a world of fantasy; vampires, witches and fairies, oh my, lol. The next blog will introduce our protagonist; who she is, what kind of life she's had leading up to the first chapter, and what she dreams of.