Author coming to DL wrote novels about her dreams

By Vicki Gerdes Today at 5:55 a.m.

Though she makes her home in the Twin Cities suburb of Minnetonka, author Heidi Skarie has strong roots in the lakes area.

“We have a cabin in Detroit Lakes, because my husband (Jim Skarie) grew up there,” she says.

So it isn’t all that surprising that Skarie is planning a book signing here. She will be signing copies of her latest science fiction novel, “Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge,” as well as her first published work, “Red Willow’s Quest,” this Saturday from 1 to 3 p.m. at Book World, located at 815 Washington Ave. in Detroit Lakes.

Though “Star Rider” is Skarie’s most recently published work, it was actually written long before “Red Willow’s Quest.” In fact, “Star Rider” was the first thing Skarie ever wrote… and the story behind it came to her, literally, in a dream.A Minnesota native, Skarie grew up expressing her creativity through the visual arts.

“I majored in art in college, and then switched to teaching,” she said.

Even after becoming a second grade teacher and starting a family, Skarie continued to pursue her love of the arts as an oil painter. She never really had any aspirations toward becoming a writer… until one night, when she experienced a very strange phenomenon.

“I had a very vivid dream, that was like an action-packed space opera,” she recalled. “The next night, I picked up the same dream where it had left off, and I ended up having a series of six dreams (over six nights).”

Those dreams were so vivid, in fact, that Skarie could recall the details quite clearly when she awoke the following morning.

“It was such a great story, I found myself thinking, ‘Too bad I don’t know how to write,’” says Skarie

But she was so taken with the events that had unfolded in her dreams that Skarie began to compile a dream journal… and it was this dream journal that formed the basis for “Star Rider.”

The first step was to learn how to write a fiction novel.

“I think you have to love the writing first,” she says. “It has to be something that you really enjoy doing, so it comes from the heart.

“It should be something that you’re passionate about and look forward to spending that time developing the character. It’s an exploring process, and you learn learn a lot about yourself as you write about other people and cultures. It’s a fun use of the creative imagination.”

Eventually, Skarie created a seven-book series of science fiction novels based on that initial dream. But when it came to finding a publisher for her series, Skarie found the process a bit more challenging, so she decided to focus on writing single titles.

She found a small publisher who took on her first historical novel, “Red Willow’s Quest,” and made it her official debut, though it was actually the ninth book that she had written.

“Red Willow’s Quest” is a story, set in the 1890s, about a Shoshone Indian woman who went on a quest to learn how to become a medicine woman.

After getting that book published, she went back to “Star Rider on the Razor’s Edge,” and decided to publish it independently. The book tells the story of an undercover operative, Toemeka Ganti, who has the codename of “Star Rider.” Her mission is to journey to another planet and help its resistance overthrow the despotic government that is protected by a ruthless space fleet – the same space fleet that once destroyed her home world.

Skarie says her plans for the coming year include publishing a second book in the “Star Rider” series and another historical novel, “Annoure and the Dragon Ships,” which tells the tale of a young English woman captured and enslaved by Vikings.

For more information about Skarie and her writing, visitwww.heidiskarieauthor.com.

Follow Detroit Lakes Newspapers reporter Vicki Gerdes on Twitter at@VickiLGerdes.

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