What if the life you were meant to live was waiting just
outside your door?
When the Forest
Dreams
by Andrea Ezerins
Genre: Romantic Women’s Literary Fiction
For fans of L. M.
Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, a contemporary retelling of the
beloved romance that follows a sheltered young woman’s quest for love in New
York City—and her search for a rare and elusive bird in the deep Arkansas
forest.
What if the life you were meant to live
was waiting just outside your door?
New York City, 2013. Emma Jablonski’s life is as dry as the day-old
bread at her family’s bakery. Living with her parents and grandmother, she
clings to the only escape she knows: a recurring dream that feels more real
than her waking world. But when Emma’s eyes are open, she’s reminded of what’s
out of reach—Jake, the enigmatic boy-next-door.
After a life-changing diagnosis forces her to face her fears, Emma decides it’s
time to truly live—before it’s too late. With Jake and his vibrant friend Vee,
she dives into a whirlwind of experiences: a fake engagement, dazzling parties,
and an obsession with the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that may not
even exist.
But as her daring adventure is coming to an end, Emma begins to embrace a
future she never thought possible. Dreams and reality aren’t supposed to mix .
. . are they?
A modern retelling of L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, this
gentle story of love, resilience, and the beauty of the unknown reminds us to
seek joy in the most unexpected places.
What Readers
are saying:
“Birds anchor nearly every part of the novel...Emma
connects to the myth of Halcyon and Ceyx, lovers who were turned into birds so
they could stay together. That story threads through Emma's dreams and later
through her waking choices."-Book Trib Review by Caroline Belina
“When the Forest Dreams is magical, a delightful tale
with a setting that feels real and characters that live in your heart long
after you turn the last page of the story.” – Five Star Readers’ Favorite
Ezerins offers up a contemporary fairytale spiced with a
sexy romance, family drama, and the search for a possibly extinct woodpecker.
If you're looking for a heart-warming story of self-discovery (with birds!),
this one delivers. – Pam McGaffain, author of Shade of Wings
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& Schuster * Bookbub
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from Chapter 25: Christmas
In this scene, a quiet Christmas moment between Jake and Emma becomes
something more—a gift, a memory, and an unspoken fear of what’s to come.
When Jake
and I step out onto Fifth Avenue, the cold whips through our bulky coats. The
air has that expectant heaviness that feels as if it will snow at any moment.
We hurry home and make hot chocolate. My boxes of cookies are hidden away,
ready for tomorrow.
“I
have something for you,” I say shyly as we sit in the living room, sipping our
hot chocolate. “I don’t want to give it to you at your parents'. Do you want it
now or tomorrow morning?”
Jake
looks up from his mug; he has a chocolate mustache. “Now, please,” he blurts.
I
go into Vee’s room, where I hid Jake’s present, and pull it out from under her
bed. I carry it back to the couch and hand him the wrapped gift, and he grins,
“I love surprises.”
He
tears open the wrapping, revealing the framed collage inside. There is a Snowy
Owl in the center and then in seven smaller pictures around the edge: there is
a yellow-rumped warbler, a palm warbler, a northern cardinal, a white-throated
sparrow, a black-capped chickadee and a dark-eyed junco. The last one is a
lovely wood thrush to commemorate the job he got me.
“These
are the birds we’ve seen when we were together in the park, not the actual
picture as I don’t have a camera, but pictures of the birds plus, of course,
the wood thrush,” I babble. “I know you hate John Foster, but you seem to like
birds, and I thought this could be something for you to remember me by―you
know, for when this whole thing is over.” I wave my hands nervously then clasp
them at my chest, waiting.
Jake
tilts his head and replies, “I love it. You are right. I do like seeing birds
with you.” His expression shifts. “But let’s not talk about this whole thing
being over. That will just make me sad.”
My
heart swells, “Deal.”
We
sit sipping our cocoa and talk about each of the birds. I made myself the exact
same collage, something to brighten my room when I’m back at my parents’, alone
again. I’ll remember each bird sighting. This moment, too. I’m already storing
it away, something to take out and examine when the days grow long.
Continue
the story in When the Forest Dreams
After spending three decades in the insurance
industry, Andrea Ezerins traded risk assessments for plot twists.
Andrea lives in Hebron, Connecticut, with her husband and is the proud mom of
two daughters and identical twin sons. When she’s not writing, she’s raising
bluebirds and monarch butterflies, running, or flowing through yoga—often while
plotting her next book.
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