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I recently read about a woman who had a dream in 2004. Her dream was about money, and the amount was $112 million. She believed it was a premonition and decided that the only way that much money might come her way was if she won the lottery. So she began looking at lotteries that promised that number. In 2007 she read that a lottery in her state had reached $112 million. She plunked down her dollar, and her dream came true. That’s her story, anyway.
Me, I don’t dream of numbers. I dream of being in my kitchen and putting my hand on the side of my refrigerator and discovering that it’s all wet. Then I look at the wall and see that the paint is peeling. I punch a hole in the wall and a torrent of water floods the floor. What kind of dream is that?
Have I ever dreamt of winning the lottery? No. Should I start dreaming of winning it? You bet. But how to turn my brain into Nostradamus? And wouldn’t I have to start playing the lottery in order to win? My dreams aren’t in the something-for-nothing category. I have more practical dreams. Sometimes I dream of walking into a used bookstore (remember those?) and looking at the G section and finding a book with my name on it, only I don’t remember having written it. I buy the book and like what I read. When I go to search for another copy, it doesn’t exist. That book was meant for me and me only. And all I have to do is submit it to a publisher and it will get published. I guess this is a variation of the lottery dream, as it is, after all, something-for-nothing. I think Cocteau once did a story like this.
Lately I’ve been trying to turn the books that sit in my computer into books that can sit on shelves, or in other people’s electronic devices. The books are written and I like them. The next step, I figure, is to get them out. I asked my multi-talented sister to design covers for the books, making them that much more real. She did a terrific job, I think, and those are the covers I put on the Home page of this site. Now I’ve got to figure out how to get the books into digital form and have them come out as e-books.
It’s all a process. For someone like me, who cherishes printed books, books that I can hold, books that I can carry from room to room, it’s a leap to think of publishing what I’ve written as e-books. What happens to first editions? But this is the world we live in. When I travel, I count the people in the first class section of the plane who are looking at their Kindles, Nooks, and iPads. It’s usually two-thirds. I also count whoever is holding an actual book. More often these day, that’s no one, or just one. I can’t count myself, because I am sitting in coach.
Maybe I’ll try to dream some three digit number. And if I win that lottery, I’ll just publish all the books I want. And build more shelves.
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