Once Upon a Dream Forest

 

“Where do you get your story ideas?” It’s one of the most common questions writers and authors are asked. The stock answer is “everywhere,” but sometimes there are certain things which give us an exact story idea.

 

Many times, I have thought “This could be a good story!” after witnessing or reading about some thing or another. But there are some things which could inspire a particular story idea.

 

For my children’s book, The Dream Forest, it was a poster at my youngest son’s preschool that said “The forest belongs to every living thing.” That inspired an idea for a story about a raccoon that literally escapes to a magical forest that is invisible to the real world.

 

Then, I read about how adult turtles will lay their eggs then wander off. They never interact with or have any influence over the life of their babies that will eventually hatch and leave the nest. This grabbed my curiosity and I knew I wanted to write a story about a baby turtle searching for its mother after birth. It took some time, some research about turtles, and when I wrote the story, I ended up placing this orphaned baby turtle into the exact same forest that was in The Dream Forest.

 

That’s when an idea struck: Why not make The Dream Forest a series? All of a sudden, I had more ideas of stories to write about animals in the Dream Forest.

 

That was when the Dream Forest series was born.

 

But first, I had to fix The Dream Forest book to reflect this change. I revised the story, unpublished The Dream Forest, and got busy looking for a cover designer to create the book’s new cover. Oh, and I needed a logo for this series too.

 

Fortunately, at this point, I knew quite a few cover designers. However, I had a feeling that of the cover designers I knew, Abigail Griglack (AKA Silvermilk) was the right person for the job. It was just a gut feeling.

 

So I worked with Abi to get the new cover made, as well as the logo. And Abi did not disappoint. The new cover and the series logo were beautiful. Exactly what I had in mind.

 

 

Next, I had to get the interior files for my book formatted. Yes, I was self-publishing this series. I wanted to keep the original artwork that was done for The Dream Forest and put it in the new book. No publisher would agree to this, because that particular artwork had been done by my son when he was twenty years old, and it was not of professional quality. So, self-publishing it was.

 

Fortunately, Desiree Horton came to my aid and got the interior files for the book formatted.

 

At this point, the second book in the series is currently having illustrations done by my new illustrator, who is also designing the covers for the books in the series from now on. The cover for the second book is already done, and because the second book is sized at 8.5 x 8.5, I wanted the new first book to be the same size.

 

So, everything was set, and I made the ebook available for pre-order. Because the print book is smaller than the full cover art which Abi created for me, I was only able to use it for the ebook.

 

And now the print book has been released today. Little Raccoon Finds the Dream Forest, the new revised version of what used to be The Dream Forest, is now available for purchase as a print and ebook through Amazon.

 

Unfortunately, this new size and the color for the pages meant the price of the book would go up. I am a staunch advocate for making books affordable, especially books for children, but I had no control over this pricing system employed by KDP (which is what I chose to self-publish with). Even so, I plan to make the print books available at a lower cost in some way in the very near future – most likely at readings.

 

And in case anyone is curious, yes, I have the origin story of the Dream Forest, but I won’t put it out there unless readers want it. Meanwhile, I’ll be releasing more Dream Forest stories for this series, each book featuring an animal in the Dream Forest. The next Dream Forest book, the one with the turtle, is slated for release in September. The third book, which has a rabbit, is slated for release in February. 

 

Thank you, Abigail Griglack and Desiree Horton, for your amazing skills in helping me get this new book out there.

 

I hope readers will enjoy this book – and I also hope that future books in this series can be available at a more affordable price!

 

Here is the book’s blurb:

 

A raccoon named Rigby and his friends were captured by Animal Control one night and thrown into cages. He was very frightened and didn't know where he was or what would happen to him! But Rigby manages to escape and run away to a forest that he dreamed about. This wonderful forest gives Rigby everything he needs to be happy and safe, but Rigby doesn't want to share anything with the other animals! Then a special boy appears to teach Rigby a very important lesson about life in the woods, and give Rigby his new name.

 

This book is available in print and ebook on Amazon at this link.

Nature That Inspires: Nature Therapy is a new poetry book about nature and ecology

 

On a recent walk, something caught my eye. I couldn’t tell what it was about this thing I saw on the ground which was tapping on my muse, but I knew I would use it in my writing in some way. I took a picture of it to save for when I could explore that notion and see how I could turn it into an idea for a story. Or a poem.

 

Sometimes I come across things which inspire me to write a poem. Like a flower.

 

My oldest works at a preschool, and there are dozens of varieties of plants and flowers on the premises. In the past, while I waited in the car to pick him up from work, I would often look at a plant, tree or flower I was usually parked in front of or next to and write a poem about it. Then there were the times we would go out to the River House, where he once volunteered, and just staring out at the river inspired me to write a poem. The same thing happened on country drives I went on with other people or hikes out in the hills.

 

My notebook soon filled up with a bunch of these poems, which made me realize: This could be a new collection of poetry!

 

I didn’t just write poems about the nature I was exposed to, though. I also wrote poems about ecological issues. I have seen and read many videos and articles about the destruction that continues to be inflicted on our planet. I have also taken note of various tweets, newsletters, articles and social media clips shining light on the continued destruction of threatened and endangered species such as bees, owls and wolves. All of this compelled me to write poems shedding light on how these species must be saved from extinction.

 

The result is my new poetry book, Nature Therapy. During the many years I wrote this book, it has seen different titles and appeared in different shapes. In fact, the total number of poems in this book are not the amount it had when I first tried to get it published.

 

The book is called Nature Therapy because I have found that just being out in nature has been extremely therapeutic. Romps through the woods, hikes on the hills, explorations along tree-lined roads and admiring rivers, lakes, ponds and creeks have all provided me with a sense of happiness and peace. Once out in nature, my troubles often fade away, and I can just bring myself back to baseline. I can sort through my thoughts, find comfort, and glean wisdom just from being outside in nature. Among flowers, fields, woods, hills and coastal areas.

 

Because I write a lot of horror fiction and poetry, some people may be surprised that I have written a book of nature poems. I actually write whatever inspires me, and nature is just one of them. Plus, I started writing all of those poems before I started writing a lot of horror fiction and poetry. I’m not the kind of writer who likes to let her work to collect dust and remain unpublished, so when I found a publisher interested in publishing my poetry books, I took the leap and submitted this one. Many more poetry books that were written years ago are waiting their turn.

 

This experience is a reminder that even if we write more of one thing at a certain time in life, that doesn’t mean there can’t be room for other things. Just because something may not be what you “normally” write, don’t push it aside and forget about it! Write it. You just might be able to find a use for later.

 

Here is  the blurb:

A gentle reminder of the solace and inspiration that nature offers, and a perfect escape from the noise.

In "Nature Therapy," Dawn Colclasure crafts a collection that's both raw and refreshingly earnest. Her poetry, like a breath of crisp morning air, taps into an almost primal connection to the natural world. Colclasure's verses offer a genuine experience of the seasons shifting and the earth's quiet, persistent rhythms.

Reading this collection feels like wandering through a serene, untouched landscape—each poem is a snapshot of the simple yet profound beauty that often goes unnoticed. Colclasure doesn't just write about nature; she invites you to feel it, to revel in its purity and to recognize its relentless resilience.

"Nature Therapy" is more than just a series of poems; it's an invitation to reconnect with the world outside our windows.

Here is the book's buy link

The Dream Forest: My new children's book that was worth the wait

 

Where do writers come up with ideas for things to write? For me, anything is fair game. I’ve gotten ideas for things to write from my dreams, life experiences, decorations and even other books I was working on.

 

With my latest children’s book, The Dream Forest, I got the idea for it from a poster. Specifically, a quote on a poster. However, it took several years before that idea turned into a full story.

 

One day, when I dropped my youngest off at preschool, I saw a poster hanging on the wall that said “The forest belongs to every living thing.” This quote resonated with me so strongly that I felt I had to put that into my writing somehow. It took some time for me to figure out a way to do it!

 

In fact, it took 11 years.

 

Meanwhile, I had bits and pieces of an idea of what kind of story it was going to be. I had a main character (although without a name!) and a general idea of what happens in the story. So, with those bits of ideas, I eventually got around to enlisting my young illustrator, Centauri, to draw pictures for this book. At this time, Centauri was 14 years old.

 

It would be some years until I finally actually wrote the story. In fact, it happened earlier this year. I just sat down one day and the story hit me out of the blue. I hurried to the computer to start typing the words that were running through my mind. I didn’t stop typing until the story was done.

 

That first draft went through several revisions and then a beta read. Then the day came when I felt it was ready for production.

 

The only problem was, I didn’t have a title! That’s right; all this time, I hadn’t figured out a title for this story. I had the illustrations and the manuscript, but no title. I realized that I also didn’t have a blurb for this book, which is what I was going to need. So I wrote the blurb and, in doing so, came up with a title for this book. Yay!

 

The Dream Forest is the title I came up with. Those words from the blurb just seemed to stand out. (The actual blurb on the book does not have those words, however. I rewrote the blurb during production.) That’s what I called the book and that is the book I now have available in print.

 

It is quite unusual for me to take so long to figure out a story from an idea. My youngest has been out of preschool for years and my young illustrator is now a college student who is selling his very professional artwork. I think the story took so long just because life just got crazy. Or maybe I was meant to write it now and not then. Then, I was an alcoholic. Now, I am sober for over 4 years and I do believe that I am writing better because of it. So, basically, The Dream Forest is my first children’s book since becoming sober. That is significant! Maybe it came at the right time after all.

 

I really think my writing has improved now and perhaps that is why this story was able to reveal itself to me in all its glory. I had this idea for a project but I didn’t see it to completion at the time. That is what happened with some of my other WIPs; I was meant to finish and submit them years ago but … life just happened and I was a mess. I think the drinking contributed to me being so unorganized and just “touch and go” with everything. I am back to work on all of my books and WIPs now, seeing all of them to completion, and I am doing a lot better now. I am stronger, healthier, and my thinking is clearer. Now I am in a much better position to be a better writer and I am picking up unfinished projects where I left off on them.

 

I am just glad this is one of those projects that I can now count as “complete” on my list of books. I only hope it is a story young readers will enjoy.