When I researched my latest book, Lost Melody (which I co-authored with awesome novelist Lori Copeland), I learned a little about dream interpretation. In the story, Jill King is a concert pianist who loses her ability to play the piano when she suffers a devastating injury to her hand. Her dream of playing at Carnegie Hall is shattered along with her hand. A year later, she begins to have a dream of a different kind – a dream of an impending disaster that threatens the seaside village in which she lives. She knows she must warn people to evacuate the town, but nobody believes her. And she’s not sure she even believes herself.

While researching the meaning of dreams, I discovered that fire in dreams indicates strong emotions such as anger or suppressed passion. A fire may indicate a change taking place in your life, or it may indicate strong emotions that you are trying to ignore.

I once dreamed of a fire that raged through my house. Oh, what a terrible feeling – I was trying to control the fire, but it raged out of control and destroyed everything. As I read about dream interpretation during my research for Lost Melody, I realized that the fire might be an expression of my inner anxiety. I was going through a personal emotional crisis, and the fire represented strong emotions that threatened my emotional stability – my house.

In Jill’s dream, a fire of unknown source rages and threatens the people in her town. Of course, in the book she has no idea what the dream means until the end. But a troop of supportive ladies from her grandmother’s church believe in her dreams, and question her closely about the meaning of fire. To her horror and embarrassment, one old lady even questions whether or not the passion represented by the fire might be, uh, sensual. She quickly assures them that she is not suppressing sensual passions! (I laughed as I wrote that part. Jill was soooo embarrassed by the suggestion, and the little lady was soooo eager for details!)

Have you ever dreamed of a raging fire? Can you remember what was going on in your life at the time of that dream? Is it possible your dream was an expression of anger or suppressed passion?

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About Lost Melody, by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith: The beautiful piano sitting in the corner of Jill King’s apartment begs to be played. For over a year, it has sat untouched, ever since a terrible accident shattered Jill’s ambition of becoming a concert pianist. The ragged scar on her left hand is a cruel and constant reminder of the death of her dream. But another dream is about to come to life—an unexpected, horrifying dream that will present Jill with a responsibility she never wanted. And choices she never wanted to make. Hundreds of lives depend on Jill’s willingness to warn her small, oceanside town in Nova Scotia of a nameless, looming disaster. But doing so could cost Jill her reputation, jeopardize the political career of the man she loves, and ruin their plans for a future together. The fate of an entire community hangs in the balance as Jill wrestles with the cost of heeding one still, small voice.

Purchase at your local bookstore, or online at Amazon.com or CBD.com. Or read on Kindle or Nook.