New Book Alert!

When old novels get a glow-up

Back in 2009, I had an idea: What if fairies stole children for the same reason Social Services sometimes takes kids from bad homes?

From that seed of an idea eventually blossomed a book called Tagestraum, which I released in 2014. It was one of my earliest forays into self-publishing, and it suffered from a lot of problems with formatting and cover design as a result (not to mention a weak title).

But the core story remains a good one, and I’ve always thought the book deserved better than languishing in obscurity at the bottom of my Amazon page. So I decided to re-release it: new title, new cover, professional formatting, and a fresh copy-edit.

I think it’s had quite the glow-up!

The Darkness of Dreamland developed down a somewhat different path than that first story idea all those years ago, but at its heart it continues to be a book about childhood, memory, imagination, and the ways our fears and traumas shape our lives. It’s reminiscent of Clive Barker’s Abarat and Brandon Massey’s Thunderland, a second-world fantasy cut through with equal parts humor and horror.

Here’s the pitch:

When 7-year-old Nathaniel Weaver is kidnapped by his imaginary friend, the only person who can find him is his social worker.

Child welfare agent Adrian Montgomery lives a life of routine, reason, and careful compartmentalization. But his search for Nathaniel leads him through a door in reality itself, slipping into Dreamland: A faerie realm fueled by human dreams, where unseen monsters sweep through in the darkness to eat away at rational minds. Lingering too long in Dreamland means losing himself entirely, but escaping means finally confronting his worst nightmares -- literally.

If you’d like to procure yourself a copy, the book is now live!

Amazon (paperback): https://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Dreamland-T-L-Bodine/dp/1737465000

Amazon (kindle): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B097S6SHPL

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-darkness-of-dreamland-t-l-bodine/1139720039

If you’d like a FREE copy in exchange for a review, I’ve got some ARCs available on Booksprout: https://booksprout.co/arc/69633/the-darkness-of-dreamland