Review of The Last Dreamwalker

I am so excited to announce the release of Rita Wood's new book The Last Dreamwalker. I was privileged to critique the early drafts and Rita's prose makes first drafts a pleasure to read. Her characters are 3D, her settings rich, and her wordcraft elevates everything she does. Not every writer has that gift. The plot of The Last Dreamwalker is tight and kept me turning pages until I read the whole thing in one sitting with a few breaks for sustenance.

The story follows Layla, who learns at her mother's funeral that a mysterious island off the coast of South Carolina now belongs to her. Digging deeper into her mother’s past, she discovers the terrifying nightmares that have plagued her since she was a child are actually something more - the ability to enter the dreams of others, and the power to manipulate them. She is a Dreamwalker. Kept apart from her mother's family, Layla reunites with them and learns more about her heritage, the good and the bad. Her two Aunts are exquisite "characters." I love how she finds out there was more to her mother than she could ever have imagined. I think that is often true. Parents are just "parents" and by the time we are curious to find out about them as people it is often too late.

The story is set in the Gullah Lowcountry region off the coast of  South Carolina in the Sea Islands. The slaves mixed African heritage with aspects of the south to create their own Geechee language and customs that you can still witness today.

When my daughter was young, we watched a show called Gullah Gullah Island which ran from 1994 to 1998 which explored the Gullah culture. So I have long been fascinated with the setting.

I am pretty certain this is a standalone but would love to read a sequel. The setting and mythology and culture are fertile story building ground. Would love to read more stories with this setting if you have recommendations.

Pick up your copy here: https://www.amazon.com/Last-Dreamwalker-Rita-Woods-ebook/dp/B09NHL1SSC/

If you would like to learn more about the Gullah culture, check out: https://lowcountrygullah.com/

I also recommend her first novel Remembrance which you can read about here: https://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/2021/02/the-path-to-publication-with-rita-woods.html You can connect with Rita here: Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rita.woods.14 Twitter https://twitter.com/RitaWoodsAuthor

Posted by Diana Hurwitz, author of Story Building Blocks: The Four Layers of Conflict, Story Building Blocks II: Crafting Believable Conflict, Story Building Blocks III: The Revision Layers, and the YA adventure series Mythikas Island. Her weekly blog, Game On: Crafting Believable Conflict explores how characters behave and misbehave. Visit DianaHurwitz.com for more information and free writing tools. You can follow her on Facebook and Twitter.