Dreamrunner

by Clare Jay

When Olivia's husband Carlos begins having violent nightmares in which he leaps, fighting, from his bed and rampages through the house, her family's idyllic life in Lisbon is shattered. Things escalate when Carlos unwittingly injures Olivia and Leo, their seven-year-old son, and they can no longer hide the purple bruises staining their skin. But what is causing the warm-hearted, gentle Carlos to have such explosive nightmares? While Leo retreats further into an imaginary world, it's a question that sends Olivia - desperate to protect her son and rescue her floundering family - into the depths of her husband's childhood, where she uncovers a secret so shocking it has held Carlos in its powerful grip for almost thirty years.

Unknown Binding

First published November 1, 2010

About the author

Clare Jay’s short stories and poetry have won prizes and appeared in anthologies, and she tutors writing at university level. One of her most powerful memories is of nearly drowning in a turquoise swimming pool in a dream she had when she was three, which was what got her hooked on dream imagery. Her interest in dreams led her to an ongoing exploration of lucid dreaming and the development of dream-based techniques for entering the writer’s trance. Clare’s earliest academic research into lucid dreaming took place while she was studying for her undergraduate degree at Lancaster University. Her Creative Writing PhD with the University of Leeds (2007) focused on the connection between lucid dreaming and the writing process, and she leads ‘Dreaming into writing’ workshops at international conferences and retreats.

Brought up in South Devon, close to Dartmoor, Clare has since lived in Montpellier, Lisbon, Stuttgart and Cádiz, and has travelled extensively in South-East Asia. Fluent in five languages, Clare spends her non-writing time teaching yoga, experimenting with acrylic painting, walking by the sea, and reading novels. She married her husband, Markus, on an Algarve beach and they have a baby daughter. Clare currently divides her time between Totnes in the UK and Cascais in Portugal.

Clare’s first novel, Breathing in Colour, initially written as part of her doctoral thesis, is about a mother whose teenaged daughter, who has the sensory condition of synaesthesia, goes missing while backpacking in India. It is published in the UK as part of a two-book deal with Piatkus of the Little, Brown Publishing Group. She is currently writing her second novel, Dreamrunner, which is set in Lisbon and is about the effects of a violent sleep disorder on a family. This will be published in 2010.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me a while to get into it, infact started it a few weeks ago, put it down & came back to it. I’m glad I did

[Sara Casalino · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very engaging story!

[Johanna Juntunen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terrific book!! Loved it!!

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

1 star for interesting topic - sleep disorders.
1 star for easy read.

The story is poorly written. 'Kiss him on his mouth'? It reflects a complete imagery compared with 'kiss on his lips'. Sometimes it feels like the author has English as a second language. Writing felt unnatural and there were no points of connections with any of the characters.

Story turns felt naive and superficial. When the wife suggested to the husband to leave separately, the husband immediately suggested that the wife was trying to break the family. I feel there's no depth in turns of events.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if enjoy this book, my Mum lent it to me and though the idea of sleep disorders had my interested I will had my doubts. Turns out I rather enjoyed this quick read, as someone who has an interest in psychological disorders, including sleep disorders, I didn't learn anything new but I found the story engaging. Jay had a wonderful way of using colour imagery to describe a scene and is one of my favourite points from the book. The characters irritated me at times (who waits that long to really protect their family) but were mostly believable and complex enough not to distract from the plot. A recommended weekend read.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

You'll race through this book because the tension grips you and won't let go. This story of a family trying to remain intact as violent nightmares (acted out by the husband) rip their lives apart is a moving and emotional read with a secret from the past to uncover if they are to save themselves in time... Great characterisation and a wonderful storyline with a gripping conclusion.

[Miffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting concept - you don't get many books about sleep disorders! Overall very good

[Sarah Prudham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book however the beginning part was a little boring in my opinion. The second half however was really good.