Blog — The Lost In Dreams Universe

‘The Squashbuckler Diaries’ are the daily tales of Joy Shelley’s Life in the Dream. The ‘Lost in Dreams’ books will tell the story of what happens to her at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and so on. The diaries tell us what happens before, after, and between the books.

All in Told by The Red Dragon

Nov 27
Nov 27 #167: Death, Part 3: Dead Is Dead

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

I swooped down on Bonny’s Revenge, my wings spread wide and coasting on the wind that ist only there when Dragon Father ist in the Dream.

It had been a while since I had flown, and it has been less than a year since I had been freed by Dragon Father and Dragon Little and could fly on my own.

We were not yet good friends, back when Dragon Little was only 3 years old, but I loved her deeply, and in my heart I called her ‘Dragon Little’ instead of Joy Shelley.

My heart leapt at coming out of my hiding place, at meeting Dragon Little and talking to her. I could not wait to ride together when she was older.

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Nov 25
Nov 25 #166: Death, Part 2: Back from the Dead?

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

They both ran outside her cabin and onto the deck of Bonny’s Revenge.

“Ta-daaaah!” Dragon Father said, gesticulating at the mast.

But Mary wasn’t there, only the mast and an empty deck.

“Dad,” her voice was soft, “where is she?”

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Nov 24
Nov 24 #165: Death, Part 1: Surprise!

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Father appeared on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge while Dragon Little was asleep. The universe above him and around him came to life. Wind was once more in the air, and stars twinkled in the sky.

He looked around, and suddenly smiled.

He walked to Dragon Little’s cabin. She was almost three years old at the time, and it has been only a few months since her nanny, Mary, died in a battle.

Nov 22
Nov 22 #164: Ah-Choo!

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

“You know, I didn’t have to call you Joy,” Dragon Father said once.

The two were on a snow planet, full of mountains and cold as it’s ever been for them. Dragon Father and Dragon Little waited behind a snow-covered rock for the Snow Pirates to return to their lair.

The cold ist probably what caused Dragon Father to think of what he was going to say next.

Four-and-a-half-year-old Dragon Little looked at him. “No?”

“No, I didn’t,” Dragon Father said in a serious tone. “I could have called you ‘Ah-choo!’”

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Nov 21
Nov 21 #163: Cursing Like a Pirate, Part 2

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Father jumped up and down on Bonny’s Revenge’s deck. “Okay, okay! I get it. We won’t do grown-up pirate curses. I’ll teach you age-appropriate curses!”

Dragon Father’s spirit was unusually uplifted. I must say that I enjoyed it, looking from afar. And 3-year-old Dragon Little did, too, although she probably had no idea what he was talking about.

“Okay. Ready? Instead of saying... a-hem… I’ll say ‘You tooshy-faced scumbag!’”

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Nov 20
Nov 20 #162: Cursing Like a Pirate, Part 1

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“Today I’m going to teach you to curse like a pirate, Joy!”

Dragon Father had recently appeared on the deck of Bonnie’s Revenge, woken Dragon Little from her bed, helped her brush her teeth and eat, and now declared what they were going to do today.

Three-old-old Dragon Little looked up at Dragon Father. “ ‘Curse?’”

“Yeah. It’s when you feel angry at someone and you… uh… curse.”

Dragon Little did not seem to get it. “Curse?”

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Nov 17
Nov 17 #161: Holding Your Breath

Age: 5.5, Told by The Red Dragon

“Let’s do a competition! Come on, let’s try.”

Dragon Father sighed. “If you really want to…”

“Starting now!” She shouted quickly, drew in a huge breath, and shut her mouth.

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Nov 16
Nov 16 #160: Too Close to the Suns

Age: 4, Told by The Red Dragon

Four-year-old Dragon Little woke up early, and having nothing to do took the pirate ship that ist her home for a joyride in the sky.

Bonnie’s Revenge flew into and out of the clouds as she yelled, “Yee-haw!” And “Ahooooy!” and even “Beware evildoers!”

After a while, Dragon Little left the helm, allowing the ship to sail slowly forward in a straight line. She looked around, probably looking for something else to do.

Her eyes came to rest on the suns.

My ears prickled as I sensed danger.

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Nov 15
Nov 15 #159: Against the Suns

Age: 5, Told by The Red Dragon

“You look like my shadow!” Dragon Little told her father.

“Huh?” He turned around.

This was at a time when Dragon Little was only five years old. Dragon Father allowed her to pilot Bonnie’s Revenge, their pirate ship, to fly in the sky and try different tricks.

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Nov 13
Nov 13 #158: Tired

Age: 3.5, Told by The Red Dragon

“Look at me! Look at me!” Dragon Father sounded panicky. “Did you get hit in the head? Joy, talk to me! Yes or no?”

Dragon Little shook her head.

“Get up. Let me see you walk.”

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Nov 11
Nov 11 #157: Santa #5: Promises of Revenge

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

“What’s the use of putting me in prison?” Captain Badass ranted. “I’ll escape. You know I will.”

It was true. Of all the villains, it was only Captain Badass who was able to escape captivity. The prison did not keep him. He would always return.

“Yeah, yeah,” Dragon Father said. “Walk faster.”

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Nov 9
Nov 9 #156: Santa #4: The Truth Behind Santa Claus

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

My little Dragon Little fired her laser pistol at Santa Claus.

Santa Claus jumped aside and fell awkwardly on his side.

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Nov 7
Nov 7 #155: Santa #3: Joy Vs. Santa

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

Santa Claus shook his head. “You’re behaving like a bad girl, Joy. Put down the pistol.”

“Call me a bad girl again!”

“I am not calling you that. That is how you’re behaving.”

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Nov 6
Nov 6 #154: Santa #2: Santa Needs Help

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

“On, Blitzen, on Glitzen, on… whatever the hell your names are!” And with that, the sled was at the horizon, faster than even the speed of a dragon like myself.

“Look at them go,” Santa followed the sled with his eyes.

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Nov 2
Nov 2 #153: Remembering Santa

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

It was winter time in the Dream. Which means that it had been winter since Dragon Father appeared half an hour ago on the deck of Bonny’s Revenge, and suddenly gusts of wind and snow filled the air.

The ocean froze immediately, and Bonnie’s Revenge, their pirate ship, became stuck in the snow, unable to sail the oceans or rise into the air. Immediately after the ocean froze, mountains of snow appeared on top of the ice, coming up almost as high as the deck. The deck itself began to fill with snow.

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Nov 1
Nov 1 #152: The Land of Echoes

Age: 3, Told by The Red Dragon

“Why is this place called the Land of Echoes?” Dragon Little asked as the two were walking between two huge rocks. Dragon Little at the time was three years old.

“Listen to this,” Dragon Father help up his finger, then yelled. “Echo!”

The echo echoed back: “Echo! Echo! Echo! Echo!”

Dragon Little eyes popped open in excitement. “Echo!” She shouted.

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Oct 30
Oct 30 #151: The Meaning of Joy and Justin

Age: 2, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little did a little dance as part of their game, and Mary clapped for her.

Dragon Little ran to her and fell into her bosom. “Aw, my sweet pirate Joy,” Mary said warmly. “You are truly a Joy.” She caressed her head and let Dragon Little come out to look at her. “Say… Do you know what Joy means?”

Dragon Little shook her head.

“Joy means happiness. But a lot of happiness. A lot. Your father gave you your name because you make him happy, really happy. And I think also because you’re happy, lass. Aren’t you happy?”

“Yes!”

Dragon Little danced a bit more. Then she said, “What’s the meaning of ‘Dad’?”

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Oct 28
Oct 28 #150: The Death of Superman

Age: 5.5, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Father and Dragon Little were pinned down behind a huge rock on the planet of the Laser Pirates of Chinchilla. The pirates were firing lasers from atop the castle they had overtaken, and Dragon Little and Dragon had nothing to do but cower down behind the rock. They had nowhere to go.

“Dad,” my sweet Dragon Little said. “You can’t be hurt by lasers! Get up and storm them!”

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Oct 27
Oct 27 #149: Playing with the Sword, Part 5: To Save Her Life

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Father popped his head into the infinite corridor that was called the Infinite Prison and yelled, “Joy! We’re being attacked by witches! They’re your favorite! Coming to help?”

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Oct 26
Oct 26 #148: Playing with the Sword, Part 4: Super Daughter?

Age: 4.5, Told by The Red Dragon

Dragon Little was super excited: “Dad, you can do anything! You can get shot! You can get cut! The villains can’t do anything to you! We can defeat all of them without a problem!”

“No, no, no no no no!” Dragon Father was clearly regretting what he had just said.

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