So whenever I’m working on a novel, the characters basically hang out in my head. I see them going about their day and think about how they think, talk, feel and dream. I’ll get scene ideas throughout the day or even think about how they’d react to what’s going on in my life. That has taken on a life of its own as I work on In My Dreams… I’m starting to feel like Avery in the first book! The reason is both Marcus and Avery feel so real to me. I can see the way Marcus’s eyes light up and how his face changes when he laughs good and hard, and I hear his comments. I’ll be picturing something for the story and hear him say, “That girly? Really? Dude, you’re turning me into a girl.” Or, “You think I’d hold back like that? When did my mouth get so PG?”
And I imagine Avery going through my crap with me – I’m pouring a lot of my emotions into her right now. My life took some crazy turns and I’m starting over in many ways, and she’s like a friend going through the same thing. When my emotions try to eat me alive, she’s there feeling it too. She’s gotta figure out who she is even while she cares about other people so much; it’s hard to see where the lines are. She’s surprised sometimes as she thinks, “Holy shit, I can do this.” But it’s still hard for her to own that.
So this is going to be one interesting sequel – I want it to be as raw and intense as the first one, or maybe even more so. There’s a crazy wild amount of possibilities too, now that Marcus is back in his body and they both have to figure out their relationship and their separate lives again. Of course they don’t want to be separate. Can you imagine having someone in your heart and mind 24-7 and then you can’t hear them anymore? It’s like falling off a cliff in the dark. That twirling free fall is a good metaphor for the emotions pouring out of them and into the story.
And this story isn’t about just them. We have all these other threads to pick up with Kristina, Kyle, Nash and Jazz. And some weird things happened when those guys started talking, and now some of them have their own chapters and are feeling certain things for each other… Yeah, a big hint there, but I don’t want to give away too much just yet!
First Tracks Series: All in my Head In My Dreams
Kristen James 
I’ll take any Marcus/Avery goodness I can get, so thanks for the post!! Hope the writing process is cathartic for you as you work through your own things and help M&A process theirs. ❤ Can't wait to read the sequel. Anxiously awaiting it!
Where is “In My Dreams”?????
I just finished “All In My Head”, and I am dying for more of their story. Is there still a sequel in works?
I did work on a sequel but it’s not always easy to go beyond the “happily ever after” and I felt the sequel didn’t hold up to the first story. So there might be one in the future.
I’m sorry to hear there is no sequel. I really enjoyed the book, but feel the is still so much left to their story.
I had a critiquer go through the sequel and plan to work on it in the future. I just want to make sure it lives up to what it should!