About the Book
Title: My Dream Woman
Author: C.H. Clepitt
Length: ~25k words
Published: July 8, 2018
Category: fiction
Genre: lesbian fiction, urban fantasy
Synopsis
When your dreams are real there’s no-where to escape!
Andi is just holding it together. Working two jobs means she doesn’t need to rely on anyone, but doesn’t have much of a life. In her dreams, however, she is a hero: battling monsters and saving innocents. When her dream woman turns out to be very real, Andi’s life begins to spiral out of control.
Step into an exciting urban fantasy that will have you on the edge of your seat. Think The Book of Abisan, only sexier!
Purchase Link
Review
The concept for this story grabbed my attention right away. I have always loved the idea of the dreamscape being a real place, and some of my favorite stories involve characters solving mysteries or fighting battles or finding love on the dream plane. My Dream Woman does not disappoint in this regard, and I think it’s a unique take on a well-loved theme.
Recently, some other readers and I were lamenting the lack of great butch women as point of view characters. And then lo an behold, along comes this gem. Andi is a great narrator and worthy of being your next “book girlfriend.” She isn’t your typical tough-as-nails-but-secretly-a-softie. Her life is hard, but she also makes no secret of caring about her friends. For such a short story, she’s incredibly well-developed and complex.
In her dreams, Andi has a much more exciting life. But until she meets another dream warrior, she’s unaware of everything going on behind the scenes. I love the way this unfolds and all the revelations about who is behind the events. It’s nicely done in a short span of time, but there’s ample room for more to come in the future.
And speaking of Andi’s dreams, those are fascinating too. I love the way each one is a warped mirror of a real person’s life. Andi’s compassion leads her to help her “charges” to find real solutions to the problems they’re working out in their dreams. There are some good themes around redemption and what it means to be strong.
The romantic sub-plot doesn’t overwhelm the rest, just enough to satisfy without being a distraction from the main story. It’s part of the natural flow. The sex is steamy without being over the top or gratuitous. Everything fits into place exactly right, and it’s easy to hope our heroines can make their love last while taking out the bad guys.
For easy to love characters, deep themes, and a world that left me wanting more, this gets 10/10 fountain pens.
Interview
To celebrate the book’s launch, I’ve invited C.H. Clepitt here to chat about life, writing, and My Dream Woman. Welcome! Let me clear a space on the sofa, and please excuse the dog hair.
First, what inspired you to write your latest story?
This is actually one that I’ve always had buzzing about in my brain. Ever since I can remember I’ve been playing with the idea of dream warriors, people who rescue you from bad dreams. I tried writing it a few years ago, but as a children’s story, and I really struggled with it. Now it’s a very grown up story, and I’m really pleased with how it’s turned out. I really hope people like it.
That’s interesting because I recently finished a YA that I’d originally tried to write as a grown up story. I guess our characters know best, right?
Your YA is really good! I don’t see how you could have made it adult, unless you aged the characters. Maybe a sequel set in 10 years, eh?
I’ll consider it for the future. Speaking of which, tell us a little about any upcoming projects.
So, the story I’m releasing on Sunday is called My Dream Woman, and it is about a woman who discovers that her dreams about rescuing people are actually real. It’s a fun urban fantasy for grown ups. I am currently working on the sequel, which is called “The Night Knight” as part of campnanowrimo and I’m absolutely flying through it, so watch this space, it should be out soon!
I love the title of the sequel! Also, you’ll have to share your secrets for writing so fast.
I think it’s because I’m writing what I want to write, so I’m flying through it. I’m not trying to please anyone but me with this story. So far the feedback has been all positive, too, which I’m really happy about.
Sounds like this one has hit a sweet spot for readers. Who do you write for (your audience or who you hope to reach)?
I want to reach people like me. I write what I would like to read, and I can’t possibly be the only person who wants to read it, so I want to reach those people. I feel like the market is woefully underserved, and I hope to go a small way to rectifying that. How I reach them is the question I have yet to find an answer to…
That’s the trick, isn’t it? How to reach the right audience. If you learn the answer, come back and tell us because I can’t be the only one who would like to know the magic.
Anyone already know? Pop and answer in the comments. First commenter gets a torso cover of their choosing…
Maybe I should make that a regular feature of this blog.
Okay, time for some Word Sprints. Plotter or pantser?
Pantser. There’s no point in plotting, the characters do what they want any way. In this current book there’s a traffic accident that was never meant to happen…
Ha! Trying to get characters to comply with our wishes is a lot like training a cat to bake a cake.
Is that from experience?
I’ll let you guess. Coffee or tea?
Tea. I love coffee, but it makes me anxious so I can only drink decaf now. Stupid writer brain.
Yeah, no thanks on decaf coffee. Just the thought makes me shudder. I can see why tea is the better option there.
Last one. Reusable or disposable grocery bags?
Reusable. Let’s save the planet, shall we?
For sure. Plus, they don’t break on you with glass jars of spaghetti sauce in them which then end up smashed on the floor. Uh…not that I would know from experience.
Although… I heard from someone… that if you have a rabbit they quite enjoy the taste of the reusable bag… can’t remember who that was now…
That sounds like quite a story! Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to drop in any time.
About the Author
C H Clepitt has a Master’s Degree in English Literature from the University of the West of England. As her Bachelor’s Degree was in Drama, and her Master’s Dissertation focused on little known 18th Century playwright Susannah Centlivre, Clepitt’s novels are extremely dialogue driven, and it has often been observed that they would translate well to the screen.
Since graduating in 2007, she gained experience in community and music journalism, before establishing satirical news website, Newsnibbles in 2010. In 2011 she published her first book, A Reason to Stay, which follows the adventures of disillusioned retail manager, Stephen, as he is thrust into village life and the world of AmDram. Clepitt’s feminist fantasy, The Book of Abisan not only crosses worlds, but confuses genres, and has been described as a crime drama with magic. She has often said that she doesn’t like the way that choosing a genre forces you to put your book into a specific little box, and instead she prefers to distort the readers’ expectations and keep them guessing. Her 2016 work, I Wore Heels to the Apocalypse does just that, as just like the characters, the readers won’t know what’s going on in this laugh out loud satirical scifi.
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