The Stuff of Dreams: Dream Boy Interview with Madelyn Rosenberg & Giveaway!

What if your dreams were real? What if someone you only knew in a dream showed up in your life one day? That is exactly what happens to Annabelle, the protagonist in Dream Boy by Mary Crockett and Madelyn Rosenberg. Today, I’m very excited to have Madelyn stop by the blog for an interview about a myriad of subjects including dreams, the book, what she’s reading, and of course as is a tradition on the blog: Donuts!

First, a little about Dream Boy:

“If dreams can come true…then so can nightmares.

One night Annabelle dreams of the perfect boy: tall and handsome with impossible blue eyes. Then, just as suddenly as he appeared, he’s gone…until he walks into her science class the next day. Perfect and REAL. The boy of her dreams. And when he brushes past her, he whispers “Annabelle.” Suddenly, Annabelle’s got the perfect boyfriend and a date to homecoming. Her life is like a dream come true…until her dreams stop and the nightmares begin.”

EXCERPT from Dream Boy:

I’ve always been a dreamer. Daydreams. Night dreams. Dreams of grandeur and dreams of escape. If I were an onion and you peeled back the papery outside, you’d find layer after layer of eye- watering dreams. And in the center, where there’s that little curlicue of onion heart? There’d be a puff of smoke from the dreams that burned away.

It was all just brain waves, I thought— disconnected, like the notebook that my friend Talon keeps. She draws a line down the middle of the page; on the right she writes everything she remembers about a dream, and on the left she puts notes about the stuff that’s happening in real life, things that might trigger her subconscious. Reality on one side, dreams on the other—a  clear line between the two.

But it turns out there are no clear lines, just a jumble of what is and what might be. And all of it is real.

“Dream Boy explores the mysterious world of dreams, where we access our deepest desires…the authors expertly weave fantasy and the real world in a perfect blend.” — Erica Orloff, author of In Dreams

Preorder Your Copy of Dream Boy: INDIE BOUND, AMAZON, B&N

And now for the interview!

The cover is beautiful and intriguing. Is it similar to anything you had in your minds about what the front image would look like for your novel?

We’d wanted a wild-looking tree, though I don’t think we pictured it looking quite as fantastic or with this (perfect) color scheme. I think at one time Mary and I had talked about the back of a boy’s head being on there, which, of course, is why we don’t design book covers. We loved what the team (Shane Rebenshied and Eileen Carey along with Adrienne Krogh) came up with. Here’s a link if you want to see the art without the words: http://blot.com/post/74092861177/dream-boy

Lovely! Thank you for the link—it’s brilliant to see the artwork on its own.

As a blogger, I am very interested in the spirituality of a story. As authors, do you think your spirituality affects your writing?

In part, it might depend on what you mean by spirituality – people define it so many ways, inside religion, outside of it, upside down. But whatever the definition, I suppose the answer should be a resounding yes because everything that is a part of me defines my writing – experiences that I had as a kid, the way I feel about the earth and the need to protect it, my thoughts about religion (mine and everyone else’s). Dream Boy is actually one of my few books where there hasn’t been a prominent Jewish character in some way, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t aspects in there, too – from foods they eat to the way the mountains and landscape are described. Mary and I explored some creation theories with dreams v. Adam and Eve, and it was interesting to go there. I do a lot of questioning, which seems to be built into Judaism. So any characters I help create are going to do a lot of questioning, too. Theme-wise certain subjects — family, the environment, good. v. evil — creep into most things I write. As does humor. I think I might believe in laughter above all else.  

I asked Mary to chime in on this one. She says: My spiritual side is connected to my subconscious – much the way my writing is connected to my subconscious. I tune into that undercurrent when I sit down to write.

I can understand that, Mary. I can certainly see how you explored the dream theories and the narrative of Adam & Eve in the story—very interesting!

Dreams and their significance are mentioned often in your novel—how important do you think our dreams are?

Very? Extremely? Undeniably? And that goes for the dreams we dream when we’re asleep and the dreams we dream when we’re awake. They propel us forward. They hold us back. They allow us to become our best selves. They destroy the world. They save the world. They wake us up.

Yes! I think dreams can be so important. Do you ever write down your dreams and look up definitions of symbols?

For awhile I kept a dream notebook where I would wake myself up, write down what I’d dreamed, and try to interpret the dream the next day. When you get in the habit of remembering all of your dreams, it makes you remember more of them. As a result, I went through a time period where I really did feel – like Annabelle – that I was awake all of the time. It was exhausting, so I stopped. Also, it turned out my subconscious was more disturbing than I thought.

I do agree with you that when you make a conscious decision to remember your dreams, it can be the case that there are too many to write down! Now onto reading: What’s on your summer reading list?

Lots of things. Testament, a photo book with essays about Chris Hondros, a photojournalist who was killed on assignment in Libya. In YA world, it’s Tabula Rasa (Kristen Lippert-Martin) and Sweet Unrest (Lisa Maxwell), which were written by two women who live near me in Arlington. (I haven’t met them but I’m a huge advocate of reading local.) Also the Vigilante Poets of Selwyn Academy by Kate Hattemer, When We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Lies We Tell Ourselves by Robin Talley. I’m sure I’ll be primarily reading middle-grade, as that’s an area where I do a lot of writing and I also like to read what my kids are reading. (Half a Chance by Cynthia Lord. Angie Sage has a new book coming out, as do John Scieszka, Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell.)

Thank you for sharing these—I’m going to have check out the book about the photojournalist. I’ll also be interested to know what you thought of We Were Liars. Now onto what you’re reading and your writing: Are there any books that inspired you in the writing of your novel?

Not specifically, but as with the spirituality question, I’d say that many things I’ve read – especially when I was a young kid – informed the kind of writer I’ve become.

I find that this is true of other writers as well, and I can say that the books I read as a child have really affected my own writing today and even how I view the world. It’s amazing how our childhood reading can be so impacting.

If you could have dinner with any author, which one would it be? Tell us why!

Norton Juster. He’s the first author I remember loving, because The Phantom Tollbooth taught me so much about words. In interviews/documentaries/speeches I’ve seen live and in person, he’s seemed funny and friendly and accessible. I am a pretty anxious person and a number of writers I admire would probably intimidate me to where I couldn’t speak. Or eat. I think I’d be able to manage a few bites with Norton Juster and I might even be able to talk back.

We like to ask all the authors we interview on the blog this question: Favorite doughnut?

That would be the Tres Leches doughnut, from the Doughnut Plant in New York’s Lower East Side. http://doughnutplant.com

I haven’t been there, though I’ve investigated a handful of dessert spots in NYC over the years. I’m going to have to hunt this one down the next time I’m in the city. Thank you for the heads up about the Doughnut Plant and thank you for visiting Spirit of Children’s Literature to talk about Dream Boy!

Dream Boy is out July 1^st! But you can win a copy here on the blog—enter using the link to the Rafflecopter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Mary Crockett likes turtles, licorice, and the Yankees. Madelyn Rosenberg likes cats, avocados, and the Red Sox. Luckily they both like the weirdness of dreams (and each other) enough to write novels together. The friendship has survived three moves, six kids and countless manuscript revisions. Madelyn lives just outside of Washington, D.C. Mary remains in the mountains near their hometowns in southwestern Virginia. You can find them on Twitter @marylovesbooks and @madrosenberg or their blogs at http://www.marycrockett.com and http://www.madelynrosenberg.com.

You’ll find my review of Dream Boy on the blog later this week!

Happy Reading & Sweet Dreams!