By Lawrence Loiseau
Local author and bookstore owner Kay Gibson has self-published her second book – Death Dreams. Fans of her first book, It Was a Hard Pull, now have an opportunity to sample another piece of the local writer's talent.
Be prepared for a change however. Death Dreams is fiction.
While It Was a Hard Pull was a non-fiction story, Death Dreams is an imaginative piece.
“Basically, it’s a psychological thriller,” Gibson explains.
“It takes place in a fictional town named Silverton set in the Cariboo.
“It’s about a man, Dean, who has psychic abilities but is a giant in size. He is six-foot-six.
“Dean can psychically discover things with his talent even though he only has a Grade 5 education and lives in a house full of special children and an evil caretaker.”
Murders occur in the story and Dean dreams them in advance with his psychic abilities, she says, adding he wants to solve them but thinks he's committed them instead.
Discussing her motivation to write generally, Gibson says she felt I just had to do it, “so, I wrote it.”
Gibson notes she wrote both her books long before they were published. It was not until she had allowed her family to read them, that because of their response, she decided to publish them.
There is certainly one connection between her life and Death Dreams. She says Dean has a love for animals and is seen taking care of horses, cattle and pets throughout the story.
Gibson reminisces about a time when she moved to the Cariboo with her husband, Ernie. She raised stock on Tatton Road, and endured the cold winters. Born in Rossland, she moved to 100 Mile House in 1976.
Another connection she makes between her fiction and her life is friendliness. The kindness to people and animals shown by the main character reflects the kindness and generosity she's experienced from people in the 100 Mile area.
Gibson recalls the immense generosity shown by 100 Mile residents when her and her husband suffered a devastating house fire in Nov. 8, 1981. She and Ernie lost everything except the clothes on their backs and the barn animals.
Everyone helped in one way or another. The 100 Mile House Lions Club even donated $700 at the time.
Her son, Jordy Gibson painted the book’s front cover.