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Stranger On This Earth
The Dream Collector: Book II: Sabrine and Vincent Van Gogh follows the relationship of Sabrine and van Gogh, who grow increasingly self-destructive, leaving Julie and Freud to find out why. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
The setup arose out of my passionate desire to understand why Vincent van Gogh, a genius of a painter, possessed his self-destructive impulses. I came to the conclusion that, in part, he perceived himself as a “stranger on this earth.” From childhood (in Biblical terms), a seed who fell by the wayside. Of course, for a more detailed (and explosive) explanation, one must read my novel. Sabrine, my fictional character, enabled me to mirror Vincent’s sense of abandonment and betrayal with her own backstory.
What experience in your life has had the biggest impact on your writing?
Hmm… another hard question. I remember, at age 14, the awe I felt after finishing Dostoevsky’s ‘The Brothers Karamazov’. It revealed to me the affective power of literature.
Can you tell us where the book goes and where we’ll see the characters in the next book?
This book reaches a definitive and (I will boast) a happy ending. There is no next book, but my ultimate plan has been a film in which to draw out more aspects of the characters in The Dream Collector.
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Sabrine, hospitalized for five years at the infamous Salpêtrière Asylum for Women, gains her release due to intervention of her sister Julie Forette and a young Sigmund Freud. The reunited sisters are introduced to the dazzling art milieu of 1886 Paris, and soon become close friends to the leading Impressionists. Sabrine attracts a cult following as a poetess, the enigmatic “Haiku Princess.” Seemingly cured by Freud of her Grand Hysteria, Sabrine soon enters into a tumultuous relationship with Vincent van Gogh.
Jule and Sigmund Freud, alarmed by the eerie parallels between the emotionally volatile couple and their self-destructive impulses, begin an urgent search to discover the root causes for Sabrine and Vincent’s growing psychoses. Julie, ‘The Dream Collector’ seeks their most unforgettable dream for Freud’s interpretation and revelations occur.
The Dream Collector is an exploration of the psychological consequences of betrayal, abandonment–and the redemptive power of art.
LITERARY TITAN 