suspect most people have what I would consider natural aspirations that lead them to write books or novels. Maybe it’s their passion, maybe a chosen profession, or the proverbial life-experience they want to share. Maybe it’s simply a goal on a wish list of things to accomplish before leaving this world. Whatever those reasons or ambitions may be, I can guarantee you I had absolutely none of them before starting to write Circle of Doors.

 

Previous to this new course, my writing projects consisted primarily of short articles, business proposals and novel-length e-mails. So what would cause a person with a thriving and completely unrelated business to give it all up and write a bona fide novel? I can tell you the mechanics of what prompted this journey, but as for the reasons why it all happened, I believe those answers, for me at least, still lie ahead.

 

Focus and ambition are two things I’ve never lacked. Even in childhood I had definitive and independent interests that influenced my professional career choices - a perpetual drive within me to improve and achieve. When I left the private sector to start my own companies, this instinctual motivation continued to serve me well. It was like being tuned into an ethereal radio station always giving me ideas, new directions and possibilities - a friendly and invaluable companion. So what do you do when that guiding voice you’ve been listening to for over twenty-five years suddenly goes silent?

 

When I woke that one very strange morning, there was no desire to continue in my chosen profession. Not only that, but finishing existing projects became a burden. It was confusing and even a little frightening. You wonder what uninvited guest has been playing in your internal filing cabinet. The desire to work was still strong, but even related business interests were now unappealing. An unfamiliar and starkly empty state of mind had become my new reality. I waited for life to return to normal. It never did. Not only had my radio blown a fuse, someone had pulled the plug.

 

About three months later, everything changed again when I experienced two consecutive and very distinctive dreams. This was the second defining event that would set a new course for me and my family.

 

The first dream I experienced didn’t seem overly special other than it was very clear, organized and consistent. It didn’t follow the capricious nature of typical dreams. When it started, I was sitting in an old movie theater reminiscent of one my friends and I used to occasionally patron a long time ago in a nearby town where I grew up. It was an opera style theater with a mezzanine and had undergone a recent remodel. I remember it had large Roman-esque columns to the sides of the stage with long, flowing red velvet draping on the walls and gold rope trim. In the dream, I was the only one in the theater - sitting in the middle of the lower section with a box of popcorn and a drink. A movie came on the screen that I sat and watched the entire night.

 

The next morning, I described the dream and what I had seen to my wife. She thought it was interesting and suggested I write it down. It was a thought, but who listens to their wives?

 

The day went on as usual. That night after drifting off, I found myself in the same theater in the same seat with the same popcorn and drink. When the movie came on the screen again, it was a continuation from the previous night – the movie beginning from where it had left off. When the movie in the dream was over, I woke at around 3 or 4 A.M. Needless to say, I didn’t go back to sleep. At that point I knew something incredible had happened and this time started writing it down.

 

The overall story from the dream was something I had never seen or heard before. It was complex and contained an element of science fiction that’s popular in movies and TV. That element is something some people speculate might be possible to achieve someday. Personally, I don’t think so, at least not in our current state of existence. So when I came to that part of documenting the story, it was changed…just a little.

 

There were a few other places that begged for embellishment or reflection. Before long, I realized I was writing a new story based on the events from the story in my dream. Then a very strong impression came that I was supposed to write the entire story in detail and share it with everyone. That was the beginning of what became a five-year journey to write and publish Circle of Doors.