Book Talk: ‘Dream On’ is imaginative romance novel
What if you awoke from a coma, asked to see the man you’d been dating for three months, and found that he didn’t exist? And then, after you were finally convinced, you learned that he did? That’s the twist in “Dream On,” an imaginative romance by Angie Hockman — and there are more twists to come.
Cass Walker learns that she had a car accident on her way home from taking the bar exam in Columbus. She’s been in the hospital for six days. Her mother and her best friend Brie are at her bedside, and she asks where Devin is. They’ve never heard of him. She tells them the details of his life, even draws pictures, but while she is in rehab for her injuries she scours her online history and finds no trace of him. She finally concedes that he isn’t real.
Wanting to celebrate surviving her first day as a summer associate at a prestigious Cleveland law firm, Cass stops on her way home to buy some flowers. The handsome, funny owner makes her a bouquet and asks her out. She’s thinking about it when his brother Devin walks in.
Book Talk: ‘Hello Cleveland’ is heartfelt portrait
Book Talk: Former Cleveland forensic scientist launches new crime series
After Cass wakes up from her faint (not a coma this time, at least) and after she tells Devin that he’s her imaginary boyfriend but that she’s really not a stalker, they meet to compare their stories and start to think maybe it’s kismet.
Late in the book, Cass asks “Is it chemical, the feeling of attraction we experience for another person? Is it emotional? A combination of pheromones and the brain recognizing an inner compatibility with another person on a subconscious level?” Though the focus is on romance, the nature of fate and connection is explored with sincerity.
Cass maneuvers around another summer associate at the law firm, who’s her main competitor for a permanent job. Oh, and Devin’s brother Perry, owner of the florist shop? Maybe he’s the man of her dreams.
Hockman provides an ingenious, noncontrived solution to the puzzle of Cass and Devin having never met. There is father-and-son conflict as well as some brotherly friction, and an enviable relationship with friend Brie.
Book Talk: Life was a circus for Barnum & Bailey partner
Hockman’s 2021 novel “Shipped" is about a cruise line marketing manager vying for a promotion with a colleague she’s never met. Like Cass, Angie Hockman is an alumna of Case Western Reserve University School of Law. “The Hustler” won a 2019 Golden Heart Award for Romantic Suspense from the Romance Writers of America.
“Dream On" (352 pages, softcover) costs $16.99 from Gallery Books, a division of Simon & Schuster.
‘Southern Ohio Legends & Lore’
What do a headless ghost and Roy Rogers have in common? They’re both part of "Southern Ohio Legends & Lore," a hodgepodge of history and hearsay by James A. Willis of Galena.
There are a couple of ghastly murders, a UFO sighting, haunted cemeteries and a few benign eccentrics like John Symmes, who was sure “the earth is hollow and habitable within."
Entire books have been written on some of the other entries, like George Remus, the "king of the bootleggers," whose domestic life was even juicier than his criminal record, and the USS Shenandoah, a Navy airship that crashed in Noble County in 1925, killing 14 men.
"Southern Ohio Legends & Lore (143 pages, softcover) costs $21.99 from History Press. James A. Willis also is the author of "Central Ohio Legends & Lore."
Book Talk: ‘Akron Family Recipes’ offers a taste of tradition, a taste of home
Events
Akron-Summit County Public Library (60 S. High St.): Judy Orr James signs “Akron Family Recipes: History and Traditions from Sauerkraut Balls to Sweet Potato Pie,” featured July 24 in Book Talk, 2 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Shaw JCC (750 White Pond Drive): Irv Korman talks about his eight books, including “I Was Jerry Lewis’ Bodyguard for 10 Minutes and Other Celebrity Encounters” and his children’s holiday-themed books like “The Legend of Hanukkah Harry” and “A Citytown Christmas Conundrum,” 6:15 p.m. Tuesday. Registration required at shawjcc.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (Berea branch, 7 Berea Commons): Deanna Adams, author of “Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Venues,” gives an interactive presentation from 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Tuscarawas County Center for the Arts (461 Robinson Drive NE, New Philadelphia): Nancy Christie talks about achieving writing goals and signs her books, including “Rut-Busting Book for Authors” and “Traveling Left of Center and Other Stories,” 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Book Talk: ‘The Hidden One’ is exciting new novel from Linda Castillo
Hudson Library & Historical Society: Kate White, whose “Such a Perfect Wife,” eighth in the Bradley Weggins series, was nominated for an International Thriller Writers Award, talks about “The Second Husband” in a Zoom event at 7 p.m. Thursday. Register at hudsonlibrary.org.
Cuyahoga County Public Library (North Royalton branch, 5071 Wallings Road): Laura DeMarco presents her marvelous pictorial “Lost Cleveland” in recognition of the library’s centennial, 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday. Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Loganberry Books (13015 Larchmere Blvd., Shaker Heights): The last Author Alley events, beginning at noon Saturday, features nonfiction books, including memoir and self-help, plus art books, graphic novels and children’s books.
Pekar Park (corner of Coventry and Euclid Heights boulevards, Cleveland): The Pekar Park Comic Book festival features authors Ron Hill (“One Bird Two Birds Red Bird BluesBird”), 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday, Derf (“Kent State”), 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., Brad Ricca and Courtney Sieh (“Ten Days in a Mad-House,” a graphic novel based on 19th-century reporter Nellie Bly’s expos of the same name), and Jake Kelly (“Death, Destruction, Vice, and Sleaze” comic series), 4 to 5 p.m.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): Jan Litterst signs “Set This Butterfly Free: Transforming Your Relationship with Energy, Money and Life,” 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. Barbara McIntyre tweets at @BarbaraMcI.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Author Angie Hockman returns with ‘Dream On’
