In Robert Whitlow's book The Living Room, he detours away from his usual legal fiction. Well, the main character is employed in a law office, but it's not his typical lawyer-based novel. The protagonist here is Amy Clarke, a writer of inspirational romance who has just completed her second novel. All her life, she has had vivid dreams when, in her sleep, she visits "the living room," an "empty, windowless room with shimmering walls." Here she found "a presence that permeated her being." As a child she cherished these dream times, and as an adult, she draws inspiration for her writing from these dreams.
After that second novel, though, she began seeing things in these dreams that had connections to real life. A brief vision directed her to alter her morning commute and led her to discover an elderly man who had gotten lost. She correctly encouraged a woman who had been infertile about her not-yet-discovered pregnancy. She gave other encouraging words that turned out to be prophetic, all based on her dreams.
When Amy returned to work at the law office, to cover for an employee on maternity leave, her dreams began to infiltrate her daily work. She is faced with decisions about what to reveal and when, and whether she can trust her dreams to guide her. After some apparent misses, she learns that the real truth of what is revealed in her dreams can touch very close to home.
Whitlow keeps this story moving, and, while it's not as suspenseful as some of his other books, he does work in a few mysteries. I enjoyed Amy and her writing process. I wish I had stories to tell the way Amy (and Whitlow) do. I suspect her habits and methods for writing reflect Whitlow's. I wonder if he gets inspiration for his stories in dreams. . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment