Remember when you took that martial arts class? You’re remembering the different moves to disarm someone if they have a knife or a firearm. Somehow going over different fighting techniques helps to lull you to sleep. Remember… you’re an author, and authors really are not like everyone else. I mean it takes a unique individual to create captivating characters, complex themes, and interesting stories which actually appeal to a wider audience. Remember…you are that individual…now sleep though you’re someone who doesn’t struggle with imposter syndrome….sleep….

AND ENTER YOUR NIGHTMARE…

Your hands are slick with… Your vision is blurry. The place your in looks like a spaceship that was designed by Apple. You look to the right there is a cylindrical vat with bluish liquid.

Is that…a human heart?

Your vision clears. Indeed there are four branches of the heart’s aorta pumping blood to nowhere. Somehow the heart in the vat is still beating. Below the heart you see an entire arm in a vat. The sinews, muscle fibers, and nerve endings of the shoulder blade float like fleshy strands of seaweed.

Your hands are slick with…

Looking up into a mirror on the ceiling….

You scream as you look into a mirror on the ceiling. Below your neck your entire body has been dismantled. Like a mason jar full of plastic straws, streams of electrical wiring protrude out of your neck.

You awake feeling the nape of your neck. The sheets are damp with what you imagine is your sweat. Your partner is no longer next you. Across the master bedroom you see that the bathroom door is shut and the shower is running. You gather that your partner is getting ready for work. Looking over at your clock you see that it’s 7AM.

Well might as well get ready to go see my editor at 9AM.

You remember your editor wanted to pitch you some revision ideas concerning chapter five…