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What is the synopsis of?The Eye-Dancers?For a one-sentence version, the synopsis is:“Four seventh-graders are transported to a strange world, and the only one who can help them find their way back home is the mysterious little girl with the swirling, hypnotic blue eyes.”The longer version would go something like this:“Seventh-grader Mitchell Brant and three of his classmates inexplicably wake up at the back edge of a softball field to the sounds of a game, the cheering of the crowd.??None of them remembers coming here.??And as they soon learn, ‘here’ is like no place they’ve ever seen.??Cars resemble antiques from the 1950s.??There are no cell phones, no PCs.??Even the spelling of words is slightly off.A compulsive liar, constantly telling fantastic stories to garner attention and approval, Mitchell can only wish this were just one more of his tall tales.??But it isn’t.??It’s all too real.??Together, as they confront unexpected and life-threatening dangers, Mitchell and his friends must overcome their bickering and insecurities to learn what happened, where they are, and how to get back home.The answers can be found only in the mysterious little girl with the blue, hypnotic eyes.??The one they had each dreamed of three nights in a row before arriving here.??She is their only hope.??And, as they eventually discover, they are?her?only hope.And time is running out.”Why did you write?The Eye-Dancers???What inspired you?Several things.??First and foremost, my experiences growing up near Rochester, New York, the friends I shared, the experiences I had . . . these all were big motivators to write?The Eye-Dancers.??I was lucky growing up—my parents never moved.??I lived in the same house, and so did most of my friends.??We’d get together every day at times, in the summer, and we’d play our games and wonder and speculate about the universe, the way kids do.??“What’s really out there?” we’d say, looking up at the night sky.??“Is?this?the only reality???Or are there others?”??“What if . . .?”Yes, “What if?”??“What if?” is often the driving force behind sci-fi or fantasy stories.??The Eye-Dancers?is no different.??What if our world, our universe, is merely one of many???What if our dreams felt so real, it became hard to distinguish between what constitutes a dream and what constitutes “reality”???What if we’re all connected in ways we never even considered, and the very fabric of the universe is inextricably woven together???What if two people, strangers, separated by enormous distances, somehow had a psychic link with each other that could bridge time and space, even universes?“What if?”??That was the inspirational question behind?The Eye-Dancers.??And childhood, friendship, keeping the faith when all hope seems lost, holding on to a sense of wonder—these were some of the inspirational themes.Where did the idea for the story come from?Ideas are fascinating.??I know, for me, when I try to “force” an idea, to think about something long and hard, it never works.??Generally, an idea comes to me.??Maybe from a dream.??Maybe from a news story, or a memory.??It might come from anywhere.??But it comes when it comes.??I cannot just wake up one day and say, “I’m going to get a good idea today.”??It just doesn’t work like that.The idea for?The Eye-Dancers?originally came over twenty years ago, when I was in high school.??I had a dream.??In the dream, I looked out the front window, into the street where I’d lived my entire life to that point.?It was late—well past midnight.??Standing underneath a street light, a little girl, perhaps seven years old, gestured for me to come outside.??My heart was racing.??She scared me.??She didn’t seem to be flesh and blood—the light from the street lamp went right through her.??And she had the bluest eyes I’d ever seen.??They spun and expanded as I looked at her.Then I woke up, wondering what the heck?that?was all about.??I wanted to write about it, write about?her.??Who was that strange girl???What did the dream mean???For days, I wrestled with it, tried to weave a plot around it, but nothing seemed to work.??Finally, I jotted down a note and shelved the idea into a mental “story vault.”?Maybe one day, it would all come together.That day wouldn’t arrive for nearly two decades, when, one night, I experienced the same dream!??But this time, upon waking up, the framework for a novel was in place.??I still had a lot of work to do, growing and expanding the idea, but the germ of it, the kernel, was there.??When I had gone to sleep the night before, I had nothing—just the residue of a twenty-year-old dream.??But now I had a basic plot, a foundation.??It came all at once.??It was exhilarating.??That is absolutely one of the highs of the creative process—when an idea strikes, when dots are connected.??When all you want to do is sit down and write, and pour yourself out onto the page.The story involves a parallel world/universe.??Did you do any research into this area before writing the book?I read a fascinating book called?Parallel Universes, The Search for Other Worlds, by Fred Alan Wolfe, and did some research online.??I didn’t go overboard—The Eye-Dancers?is sci-fi, not a science textbook.??But at the same time, I wanted some of the basic principles of quantum mechanics to be covered appropriately, especially with Marc Kuslanski, the book’s resident science wiz.??When he spouts off quantum theory, I wanted to make sure there was a basis of fact behind his words.Who is?The Eye-Dancers?targeted for???What is the genre?Well, I hope people of all ages will enjoy it!??But it’s a Young Adult sci-fi/fantasy novel.??Some might call it Middle Grade, because the protagonists are seventh graders, but I think it fits, generally, under the YA category.Where is?The Eye-Dancers?sold???Where can I learn more about the book?The Eye-Dancers?is an e-book, sold at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and Kobo.??And you can learn a lot more about the book (including the first three chapters and links that will take you directly to where it’s sold) at its website,?eyedancers. ................
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