Wednesday 16th June 2021 brings non-fiction writer Joan C Harthan to Patricia’s Pen with Dream Interpretation
Dream Interpretation
Joan C Harthan
As an Indie author, I give thanks to the god that is Amazon. If it hadn’t been for Jeff Bezos I would have twenty manuscripts sitting on dusty shelves and perhaps an inbox full of rejections. Amazon have given me the freedom to publish what is in my heart; my own truth, uncensored by what publishers think the public want. My only disadvantage is that marketing is my nemesis and so I don’t do it. Fortunately, my non-fiction books are popular because I’m quite well known in the global dreaming fraternity. My best seller Working With Dreams is a course book for a Dream Interpretation Teacher Training programme at Atlantic University, USA.
I have been a strong dreamer since childhood and so it’s no surprise that dreams have always been my passion. They are a window into the soul. They reveal our genius and also our shadows.
I began running dream workshops for my local education authority in 1993 and I guess that marked the launch of my semi-professional career in dream analysis, (my PhD is in Chemistry but that is a dream story for another time). My first book, Working the Night Shift was published in 2004 with Trafford Publishing but, although there were sales, I never received any royalties. A lesson learned. The book was based on the techniques I used in the workshops. In 2011 after many powerful dreams that were directing me to become a fulltime author, I left academia and launched myself into a writing career as an Indie author. The first thing I did was take back the rights on my first book and re-publish on Createspace, (now KDP). I followed this with another six dream books; all of them designed to help readers explore their dreams.
As well as assisting self-awareness, dreams are incredibly creative. They use wonderful analogies that contain the seeds of ideas that the conscious mind would struggle to invent. They speak in the language of poetry. Which brings me to my latest book, Creative Writing for Dreamers: Release Your Inner Daemon. It is for writers who want to explore ideas, emotions and associations that exist beyond their conscious awareness and incorporate those discoveries into their writing to sculpt inspiring narratives and fascinating characters.
Another of my non-fiction books, Working the Day Shift, is all about dream incubation which is a technique I use regularly to develop fictional plots and eliminate writing blocks.
Because my dreaming life is so productive, I have also published nine fiction titles and two travel memoirs, all of which have sprung from, or been inspired by, my dreams.
As this is Indie Author Week I want to shout from the rooftops that self-publishing is wonderfully rewarding. If Indie authors take all the necessary steps to ensure their books are of good quality (structure and copy edited, critiqued from other writers, feedback from beta readers etc…) there is no reason why their progeny cannot compete with, and even out shine, traditionally published books. Especially if they listen to their dreams.
Great insight from Joan C Harthan about dreams. Her books are not only valuable resources to those interested in dream interpretation but will make great gifts too.
All of the above books are available for purchase on Amazon HERE
About Joan C Harthan
Joan has been dream journaling since 1990 and has recorded almost ten thousand dreams to date. Her dreams inform both her writing and her life. She is a long-standing member of the International Association for the Study of Dreams (IASD), having made presentations at international conferences and contributed articles to their magazine Dreamtime. Her mission is to help others explore their dreams for self-development, problem solving and creativity.
She also enjoys writing fiction and makes no secret of the fact that all her novels were birthed during NaNoWriMo and guided to completion by her dreams.
Find out more about Joan C Harthan and her non-fiction on her website HERE
Find out about Jo Harthan’s fiction on her website HERE
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Patricia M Osborne 