While reading Dreams Unleashed, by Linda Hawley, I was intrigued by the references to current political leaders and events that the dystopian novel utilized.   Hawley has been gracious enough to guest blog with us today to explain her reasoning, so, without further ado, I give you Ms. Hawley:

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I’m honored to guest blog today; I was asked to speak to my choices in using current political icons and events as a forerunner to future events in Dreams Unleashed. 

As a reader of dystopian novels, I always wonder how things got to the condition they are in (in the future), so as a writer I wanted to ground my story and explain to readers how things got so bad in the year 2015.  Because of the chaos in America and globally in the past several years, it seemed natural to take those events and use them in my fictional trilogy.  For example, I’ve used the financial crisis (bailing out the banks and having people’s retirement accounts go bust) as a springboard for future calamities that Ann (the protagonist) has experienced.  Using current events grounds the reader, even though they’re reading about the future.  I made sure when writing Dreams Unleashed, that there was balance between the characters and current events, so that readers weren’t overwhelmed.

When I first started writing Dreams Unleashed, I wasn’t writing the novel in first person.  Then, when I reached about one-third of the way, I realized that I needed to switch to first person, so that I could bring Ann’s passion about current events to the reader.  That brought power and passion to the story that wasn’t there before.  Think about it—Ann is a member of a subversive government organization that will charge her for treason if they learn she’s a member.  She believes so much in the cause that she risks her life and liberty. 

Besides current events, I took technologies that are already in use today, and projected the use of those technologies for the future.  I did a great deal of research to ensure I got it right, and what I learned rocked me to the core.  The truth is that almost every industrialized nation is either currently tracking, or has plans to track humans through RFID.  When I learned this, I could see that I had found a framework for Ann’s fight against the government.  It’s a chilling reality for our future.  In the next two books, more future technology will be revealed.

With all this control the government has through RFID and other technologies, I also wanted to show another side of technology in the future.  So I created Sinéad, the computer with the Irish accent.  I thought Sinéad brought balance to the other uses for technology.  Sneak Peak:  There is an event with Sinéad coming, that will show you how heroric she really is.

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Thank you so much Linda!  I absolutley LOVED Dreams Unleashed, and your reasoning behind the use of political icons and events is fascinating (and a tad bit scary!) 

To read my review of Dreams Unleashed click HERE.

The eBook version of Dreams Unleashed is available for purchase NOW for $2.99 (for all eBook readers) at:

Smashwords:  http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/61373

Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051VDGJK

Barnes & Noble:  http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/dreams-unleashed-linda-hawley/1031408704?ean=2940012935533&itm=1&usri=dreams%2bunleashed

You can read a free sample of Dreams Unleashed at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0051VDGJK

The print version of Dreams Unleashed will be published the week of June 20^th.

Linda’s website is:  http://lindahawley.com/

Linda’s blog is:  http://lindahawley.com/b2e/blog5.php