When I Dream
I Dream of Rain
A Novel by Julie Akerson Chicos
They crossed an ocean to escape the past. Fate tore them apart. History would shape what came next.
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In 1826, Ireland teeters on the brink of upheaval, plagued by poverty, violence, and rebellion. The Highland family finds themselves ensnared in a web of rumors, accused of a crime that could cost them everything—the murder of a member of a notorious local gang.
Forced to flee for their lives, they board a ship, hoping to find safety across the Atlantic.
However, fate is a cruel navigator.
A devastating shipwreck off the coast of Newfoundland rips the two Highland sisters, Annie and Lissy, from each other's arms and from everything they have ever known. Orphaned and alone, each sister must learn to navigate a world that is as beautiful as it is unforgiving.
Their stories, shaped by love, loss, and the unyielding pull of the past, span decades and continents. From the windswept cliffs of Ireland to the rugged coastline of Canada and the uncertain promise of America, they become part of the great tides of history—drawn into cries for freedom and the rising voices of women who refuse to be silenced.
"When I Dream, I Dream of Rain" is a sweeping family saga about survival, resilience, and the unexpected paths that life forces us to take. It is a tale about the families we lose, the love we find, and the belief that we can endure and find our way home.
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It challenges us to ask:
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When all seems lost, what keeps us moving forward, and what awaits us on the other side of the storm?
Review- Cecily Blench, Editor and Author of The Long Road Home, and the 2019 winner of the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Award
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A sweeping family saga, based on a true story, that follows two sisters from their childhood in Ireland to their lives in Canada and the US many years later after a shipwreck. The sense of place is impressive, and the settings in Ireland, Newfoundland, and Maine are carefully depicted, with evident affection for and familiarity with the wild beauty of these rural locations.
The characters are similarly well thought out, and their development as they age and move geographically – particularly Annie’s – is convincing. The story follows the highs and lows of their lives, with some moments of tragedy, but never becoming overly melodramatic or sentimental. This is a moving story with an appealing heroine that should find an appreciative audience.
Bio
Julie Akerson Chicos is an artist and storyteller. After receiving her degree and working in the legal field for years, she decided she needed to let her creative side loose, and returned to college to study art. During that time she took several writing courses and it was then that her passion for writing was rekindled.
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She has always written short stories, memoirs, and reflections. So when she "met" an ancestor through a genealogy report, she knew she had to tell her story and embarked on a journey of extensive research and writing to bring it to life. When I Dream, I Dream of Rain is her literary debut.
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Julie resides in the Boston area. When she is not writing or painting, her heart will always be by the sea enjoying a nice glass of Sancerre with her feet in the sand watching the sunset, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, laughing with her hysterically funny boys, walking their scruffy rescue dog Ripley, at barre or pilates, experimenting with her chef's hat, and reading anything that makes her laugh or cry (sometimes at the same time.)
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From the writer:
"This has been a passionate years-long undertaking, and I am excited to finally be able to tell Annie's story.
As an artist and writer, I aim to take people on an emotional and physical journey, immersing all of their senses into each story or piece."
Current favorite reads: The English Patient, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry, When in Rome, The Forgotten Garden, The Invention of Wings, The Giver of Stars, All the Light We Cannot See, Gone Girl, and any quick beach read by Elin Hilderbrand.
Julie is a member of the Historical Novel Society and The History Quill and follows many writing blogs such as; The Creative Penn, Jane Friedman, This Itch of Writing, The History Girls, and The Copperfield Review.
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As an artist her work can be found at one of the Artists Association of Nantucket's galleries or online at
Coming Soon:
She was born in the shadows of scandal and rose
to legend on the edge of a blade.
From the moment Ruby first drew breath, her life was marked by defiance. As the illegitimate daughter of an Irish maid and a powerful man, Ruby's family fled in disgrace, crossing the Atlantic to Charleston, South Carolina, in search of a fresh start in the colonies. However, Ruby was never meant to live quietly in the shadows of expectation.
Charleston is a city filled with intrigue, affluence, and risk. Will her family's secret be uncovered? A chance encounter with Calico Jack, a notorious pirate whose charm is as dangerous as his blade, compels her to choose between an arranged marriage to restore her family's name or seizing the one thing she's always craved: freedom.
As Ruby sees her future fading behind corsets and pretense, she chooses the open sea and a life filled with passion, peril, and piracy.
Together with Jack, she raids merchant ships, defies empires, and writes their names in salt and blood across the Caribbean. But freedom comes at a cost—and the noose tightens when they are finally captured.
Jack is sentenced to hang, and Ruby's fate lies in the hands
of the same world she defied.
But legends aren't so easily silenced.