Book Spotlight~ "Fractured Dream" by KM Randall

Have you ever wondered where fairytales go once they're created?

It's been eight years since Story Sparks last had a dream. Now they're back, tormenting her as nightmares she can't remember upon waking. The black waters of Lake Sandeen, where her Uncle Peter disappeared decades before, may hold the secret to Story's hidden memories, or a truth she'd rather not know. On a bright summer afternoon, Story and her two best friends, Elliott and Adam, take a hike to the lake, where they dive into the cool water and never reemerge. What they find is beyond anything they've ever imagined could be possible, a world where dangers lurk in the form of Big Bad Wolves, living Nightmares and meddlesome witches and gods.

Now Story must remember who she really is and somehow stop two worlds from ultimate annihilation, all while trying not to be too distracted by the inexplicable pull she feels toward a certain dark-eyed traveler who seems to have secrets of his own. The fates of the worlds are counting on her.

Guest post by KM Randall

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The Meaning Within the Name

Names are really important to me. My husband and I talked baby names for all the months leading up to my son’s birth, even though we always knew what we’d name a boy. The same is true when I name my characters. For some characters, it takes but a minute to come up with the right one. But for others, it’s a journey.

For instance, my main character’s name in Fractured Dream is Story Sparks. But Story was only realized a year or so ago. It took me eight years to write the book and seven to come up with the right name. But when it hit me, I knew it was her. She truly came to life for me then, and her personality showed itself more than it ever had when she was Ava, the first name I chose for her.

I never really clicked with Ava. We didn’t see eye to eye. I felt at odds with her. Story was a name I’d seen somewhere several years before and loved the moment I heard it. Mainly because I love to read. So when Story whispered her name in my ear, I knew it was perfect. What better name can you give someone who goes into a world where storybook characters live and breathe? Once I knew her first name, she made her last name known to me fast. Sparks just felt right; she’s a girl who definitely has a fire burning.

In my upcoming novel, The Reaper’s Daughter, my main character finds out her mother is the Grim Reaper. And the main character’s name is Blake. I chose it specifically because it means dark or light or someone with dark hair. There is a duality there that I believe symbolizes death or the darkness that people feel when they lose a loved one, or the light at the end of the tunnel we’ve been led to believe exists when a person dies. It has depth.

In the end, it’s just a matter of what feels right. I Google meanings, I search for the click. If the name fits, I’m better able to visualize that character and see into his or her soul and truly bring them to life. It’s just like magic, they all eventually tell me their real names if I just listen. 

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About the Author:  As a girl, K.M. always wished she’d suddenly come into magical powers or cross over into a Faerie circle. Although that has yet to happen, she instead lives vicariously through the characters she creates in writing fantasy and delving into the paranormal. When K.M. is not busy writing her next novel, she is the editor-in-chief of a blog covering the media industry, as well as an editor with Booktrope Publishing. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in English-Lit from Nazareth College of Rochester. K.M. lives in Upstate New York’s Finger Lakes region with her husband and her extremely energetic little boy. Fractured Dream is her first novel.

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