Writing announcement: chapter 1 of In Your Dreams is available online!
I just pressed "publish" on chapter one of my book In Your Dreams!
Dear readers,
I sincerely hope you are doing well.
I came to share a book update with you, as promised. When I first published this newsletter, I explained that I’m working on editing my novel In Your Dreams for publication. I still want to publish it traditionally, and it’s SO close to being ready. While it’s still in the editing process, I decided—inspired by a dear friend’s suggestion—to publish it online in the meantime.
So, I’m excited to say that chapter one of In Your Dreams is available online on Wattpad!
I think you’ll love In Your Dreams if you enjoy stories about:
Friendship
Family
Best friends to lovers
Mystery
Humour
Swimming
Nature
Philosophy
University
Young adult or new adult fiction
If you think someone you know might be interested in reading it, please spread the word. And if you’re interested in reading it, welcome! You may need to create an account to read it, as it’s over here on Wattpad. To thank you so much for your support, I’m also sharing part of chapter one here at the end of this newsletter.
Thank you all again SO much for your support!
And, if you read In Your Dreams, I truly hope you enjoy!
Writing tips
I can already tell you that just the fact that I set a launch date for my book has me working on it more often. Even when I felt tired, I worked on my book (in a good way—not a ‘pushing yourself’ too much way, as it’s always important to find balance) to help get it ready for launch, so I hope that sharing it online helps to speed up the editing process. I’m especially excited to connect with readers again!!
Of course, I recognize that this newsletter is about writing, and you came here to learn about and get support for your writing. That’s still my primary goal with this newsletter.
I have so many ideas swirling for helpful storytelling/writing/editing workshops based on what I learned while editing In Your Dreams. I’m really eager to share that in the hopes that it can help others with their writing too. And, somehow just in time, Substack recently launched a live videos feature!
My writing focus continues to be In Your Dreams and publishing new chapters weekly while getting it ready for submission to literary agents. When it gets into a rhythm/on track, I’m eager to launch some writing workshops here on Substack. I’ll absolutely keep you posted!
In the meantime, wishing you the best with your writing and wishing you well.
In Your Dreams by Marisa Baratta
Chapter 1
“Wake up! Please, wake up!”
His hand, still warm and wet, is clasped between mine as I kneel beside him, the rough concrete of the pool deck digging into my knees. I take in the way his eyelashes flutter, clinging to that sign of life.
“Come on, Chris. Stay with me, stay with me.”
I lean closer, desperate to find a heartbeat. His bathing suit is changing colours, from red to green and back to a shade of red. My heart pounds, echoing in my ears as I place my hands on his chest and will it to move, all my CPR training coming into focus. Compress, compress, compress—
And then he breathes—a loud gasp that has me rushing to support his back as he sits up on his elbows, coughing and struggling for air. I watch, feeling helpless, willing the water to get out.
Finally, he lets out a deep sigh, and I take my first real breath since he stopped taking his.
“Jessie.”
I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to hear my name. I choke on a sob and wipe at my eyes, feeling the weight lift off my chest. “You're okay.”
He lies back on the floor, coughs again and sputters, voice hoarse. “Where are we?”
Relief loosens the tightness in my throat. “At the pool.”
“The pool?” He directs his gaze to the Olympic-sized pool floating above us.
“We were practising for tryouts.”
He takes a shuddering breath. “I remember now. What happened?"
Just the thought of saying it makes me choke up again. I clear my throat, trying to drag out the words and soften them at the same time. "You almost drowned."
"What?! How?"
I still don’t understand what happened. “We were both doing laps and—” I remember the terror seizing my heart when I saw him sink towards the bottom of the pool. “Suddenly you were unconscious.”
He swallows hard, quiet for a few moments as we both catch our breath. I know we’re both thinking it: How does one of the strongest swimmers on his high school team almost drown in the middle of a lap?
I lie next to him and wrap my arms around him. "That was scary."
His arms press against my back, hugging me tight. I watch his chest rise and fall, monitoring, noticing his breathing slow to its regular rhythm. “I know.”
I find myself counting the moments that are putting me further and further from losing him. Not him too. Please, not him too.
We lie like that, staring at the skylight of the campus gym, saying nothing for a long time. Even in our best moments, silence is never awkward. And for once, I'm too busy feeling grateful to think.
He rubs my shoulder soothingly, then stops. "Did you pull me out by yourself?"
"Yeah." I remember getting us both to the wall and pulling him out, shouting his name, as if I could just wake him up.
"This doesn't feel like enough to say, but thank you.”
I squeeze his arm. “Of course. You know I’m always here for you, just like I know you’re always here for me.”
He cranes his neck to make eye contact. “Always.” He rubs my shoulder again in agreement, then jerks to a sitting position. “Wait, that pool is massive. You swam all of that while keeping both our heads above water? Are you okay?"
“I—hold on a sec.” I sit up, my foot sloshing in a puddle. It’s so easy to be completely open with each other, but I resist to keep the focus on helping him. “Physically, I’m okay. It's you we should be talking about."
I take in his dark brown eyes, almost positive I can pick out every thought swirling there—he's confused, he hates that I could have gotten hurt too, he's tired, and he's afraid.
I know he is because I am too.
I stand up and hold out my hand. “Come with me.”
Thank you so much for reading! If you’re interested, you’re welcome to continue reading In Your Dreams on Wattpad.
Thank you so much for your support with this newsletter and wishing you well!