Have you ever had a dream which seemed unusually real? I’ve had such experiences quite a few times in my life, but this time was different; so different, in fact, that it’s hard to explain. About nine years ago I really wanted to write a book, yet the problem I faced was I believed I had nothing about which to write. I stewed over this problem for several months.

Then one night, I had a dream about a young girl, named Juila, from another world who had an amazing ability to swim faster than anyone in her high school on Earth. She found out about her unusual talent when she joined the school swim team and won every race with ease. Juila confided in her boyfriend about her true origins as she demonstrated her other special abilities for him.

While this may not seem like much, the dream was very vivid and detailed. I woke up from the dream and said out loud, “This is what I’m meant to write about.” Now here’s the strange part…I was still asleep. I had experienced a dream within a dream. When I really woke up the next morning it had made so much of an impact on me that I could not forget it. Even as I tried to convince myself otherwise, Juila would be a part of my life from then on.