Welcome Nicole Wolverton, Author of The Trajectory of Dreams
To begin with, I’d like to extend the biggest of congratulations to Nicole Wolverton, whose novel The Trajectory of Dreams was released this month. Nicole agreed to stop by with a character profile, and if you know anything at all about me or my husband, you’ll understand why this particular character was chosen for this particular blog. Without further comment, I turn this space over to Nicole and Nike.
Every superhero needs a sidekick. Wonder Woman has Wonder Girl. The Tick has Arthur the Moth. And Lela White, the main character in my novel THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS and a hero in her own mind—has Nike. Nike is a giant, yellow cat . . . and he communicates to Lela via Morse code eye blinks.
You read that correctly. It sounds a little nutty, maybe a little satirical. It definitely doesn’t make it sound as though THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS is a serious book, and yet it is: it’s a fairly dark psychological thriller. Lela, though, definitely believes that Nike is her adviser. Perhaps it would be a good time to bring up the fact that Lela also has a mental disorder that leads to some fairly magical thinking, including the idea that if she breaks into the homes of astronauts to monitor their sleep patterns, she somehow keeps the space program safe.
Mental illness notwithstanding, most of us with pets—particularly those of us with cats—do hold a deep belief that they’re talking to us in some way. Nike is based (at least in appearance) on one of my cats, Mayor McCheese. The Mayor will look at me, and I know he’s thinking I’m a moron. And I’m fairly certain both of my cats convene while my husband and I are out and scheme to plop their butts in our faces while we sleep.
Assuming that Lela is right, and Nike serves as her Alfred (think Batman), what is Nike like? Well, he’s a cat. He’s sort of a less funny Stewie Griffin without the English accent. Nike is smart and observant, and—like all good sidekicks—he’s totally committed to Lela’s mission in life:
Nike slinked into the room and settled on the desk amid a cloud of long, shedding fur and twitched his pink nose. Nicely done, he blinked out.
“The new camera lens really helps with the low light conditions, don’t you think?” I asked.
Yes, and you were very thorough. Do you think there’s any significance to his choice of vitamins?
“I seriously doubt it,” I said. “Zinc is pretty common, particularly if he’s trying to ward off colds before the launch.”
Zinc deficiency can mean a few things. Impotence. Hair loss.
“Does it matter? It’s not any of my business whether Meehan can get an erection, and he has a full head of hair. Neither one of those things impact whether he can sleep during lift-off.”
Nike’s baleful glare made me turn away to again study the photographs I’d taken.
Would you want your cat to be your life coach? While I’m sure Mayor McCheese would have interesting things to say, I think a lot of his advice would center on feeding him more catnip. Comment below and enter the raffle for a chance to win two THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS cookie cutters and a beaded bookmark!
Reviews for The Trajectory of Dreams
Publishers Weekly calls THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS (Bitingduck Press, ISBN 9781938463440) a “skillful mainstream examination of a psychotic woman’s final descent into insanity.” The novel exposes the chaotic inner life of Lela White, a sleep lab technician and mentally ill insomniac who believes she has been tasked with protecting the safety of the revitalized U.S. space shuttle program. She breaks into the homes of astronauts to watch them sleep, and she is prepared to kill to keep those with sleep problems from the shuttle launch. Her delicate grasp on reality becomes more tenuous when annoying co-worker Trina Shook insists on moving into her house and visiting Russian cosmonaut Zory Korchagin inserts himself into Lela’s life. Korchagin’s increasing interest puts her carefully-constructed world at risk of an explosion as surely as he does his own upcoming launch. Lela’s tragic childhood unfolds throughout the novel, revealing the beginnings of her illness and long-buried secrets, and as Lela’s universe unravels, no one is safe. Buy a copy of THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS at your local independent bookshop, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or anywhere books are sold. a Rafflecopter giveaway
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About the Author
THE AUTHOR: Nicole Wolverton fears many things, chief amongst them that something lurks in the dark. From ghosts to stalkers, her adult and young adult fiction plays on the mundane and not-so-mundane things that frighten us all. THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS is her debut novel. She is a freelance writer and editor and lives in the Philadelphia area with her husband, dog, and two cats.
MORE STOPS ON THE BOOK TOUR FOR THE TRAJECTORY OF DREAMS=MORE CHANCES TO WIN!