This week on the Indie Author Showcase, we’re talking about one of storytelling’s most dangerous tropes:

“It was all a dream.”

Star Trek: Strange New Worlds recently went all-in on puppets—and that wasn’t necessarily the problem. Star Trek has done weird before. The problem was revealing that none of it actually happened.

So what makes a dream episode work? Why do some dream stories have real stakes while others leave the audience wondering why they just wasted an hour? We look at examples from Star Trek: The Next Generation and break down how the Strange New Worlds puppet episode could have kept the insanity while making the dream actually matter.

Then it’s time for this week’s indie book showcase:

📚 Otto Normal’s Monsterton: The Disappearance of White Pine Beach by Danielle Michaelson, illustrated by Simon Estrada.

Eleven-year-old Otto Normal and his mother have moved to the mysterious island of Monsterton. There’s just one problem:

They’re not monsters.

Otto and his misfit monster friends set out in search of the legendary White Pine Beach—a mysterious beach rumored to change locations. But when one of their own disappears, their adventure becomes something much darker.

The book delivers a beautifully illustrated world, memorable characters, rich lore, and an A-plot that really works. But does its nonlinear storytelling, extensive use of flashbacks, and late introduction of supporting characters hurt the pacing?

We get into what worked, what didn’t, and why character development matters when you expect your audience to care about what happens to someone.

And yes: there’s a reason nobody cries over a redshirt.

Plus, I explain why I disappeared for a week—and why I came back earlier than expected.

What do you think? Can the “it was all a dream” trope ever work as a surprise ending?

Let me know in the comments!

Indie Author Showcase — the podcast by indie authors, for indie authors.