Dream the Deep by Clara Ward

Sneak Peek: The Academy, from Clara Ward
4 months ago – Tue, Apr 21, 2026 at 11:57:26 AM

[Thanks to everyone for sharing this Kickstarter out, we're getting really close to our first stretch goal heading into the final week! If you have a place you can share out the campaign or otherwise let folks know, we'd greatly appreciate it! --Chris]

Hello again! It’s Clara. 

First, thank you for supporting this Kickstarter! In appreciation, I’m offering you all a sneak peek at the Academy! 

The Academy in Dream the Deep is part university and part experimental off-the-grid habitat, built to hide powerful billionaires’ secrets. I’m not much of a visual artist, but today I’m sharing sketches of the Academy that I made while writing.

For the most part, I don’t consider myself a visual thinker. The exception to that would be maps and architectural drawings. By the time I was three or four years old, I thought it was natural to picture places as they might appear from above, as I saw them in my flying dreams. People told me those dreams weren’t real, and I spent years trying to figure out other explanations for how clearly I pictured a bird’s eye view of my neighborhood and other places.

Regardless of the real explanation, it came in handy when I studied drafting and needed to draw “side-top-front” views!

In many dreams, I was also insubstantial, which meant I could fly through walls. There were several large (dream) buildings that I explored this way over the years (schools, castles, dungeons, the usual). I swooped through, viewing them in slices, or what I would later learn to call “cross sections.”

Now I offer you a side view of the Academy, with a cross section showing the eighteenth floor:

Okay, I hid a few parts to avoid spoilers. But now you know where Ryn lives and works and spends an entire decade before the story starts. To find out more about Akira’s Lair (or the hydrolift), you’ll just have to read Dream the Deep!

Clara

Cover Design Process, from Mathew Spencer
4 months ago – Fri, Apr 17, 2026 at 10:38:06 AM

Hey there, Matt here! 

For those who may not know, I designed and illustrated the cover for Dream the Deep and Be the Sea, and I’m currently working on illustrating the cover for Dream the Light!

Here’s a little behind-the-scenes peek at the cover design process.

Every project of mine begins with a set of thumbnails. Even if I have a fairly clear picture in my head of what I want an illustration to look like, I usually try to feel out other angles of approach, just so that I don’t miss out on any cool alternate possibilities. With Dream the Deep, because I knew that 3 elements were going to be included no matter what: 

• the rover on the ocean floor with a light source
• a giant, many-armed cephalopod
• and a cloud of dust being kicked up by the rover

Exploring variations mostly looked like changing the distance and angle at which we see the rover, and how revealed the tentacles were/ what direction they were coming from. No matter what the composition, I wanted the tentacles and the billowing cloud of dust to give a similar sense of motion as the swimming creatures and flow of the waves in the Be the Sea cover.

After some discussion, these thumbnails left us combining some elements, and I saw two different options for handling the tentacles with the chosen composition. So I drew them out for comparison.

I also mocked up color studies for each potential composition, so we could collectively get a better idea of how they might work, while also picking out a color scheme that felt properly harmonious with Be the Sea, while standing alone and accurately representing the vibe of Dream the Deep.

These color studies helped us make the decision of going with Composition A, so I proceeded to do a cleaner pencil drawing, and yet more (narrowed down) color studies.

That second round of color studies really got me into the nitty-gritty of deciding on details like tentacle colors (reddish-purple, or a rainbow gradient?) and rover color (black with colored lines or yellow?) and background color (sickly aqua or richer deeper blue?).  I’m always happy that illustration is such a collaborative process, because it means I can leave decisions up to others when I’m stuck in a place of liking aspects of many options all at once haha.  

Once we decided upon the deeper blue with a yellow rover and slightly rainbow-y tentacles, I proceeded to my final drawing (in ink) and flat colors (in photoshop).
At this point I also mocked up the title so that I could start figuring out where I wanted the cloud of dust to flow over or behind the letters.

Once the flats were in, I cleared my desk of my drawing tablet and took out my watercolors, to create some textures to bring a bit of life to each section of the cover. This might be my favorite part (after thumbnails). 

I do most of my illustration work purely in watercolor, most of the time. But to keep the style of the Be the Sea cover, and to accomplish the look I wanted (with the colored linework), keeping to the methods from Be the Sea (with the combination of texture from physical media with the flexibility of photoshop) was the best choice.
After laying in the textures, and making plenty of tweaks, this is where we landed (minus the title and author attribution of course).

As for Dream the Light, I think maybe we can fit that into another update ;D

Path Not Taken, by Clara Ward
4 months ago – Tue, Apr 14, 2026 at 09:27:42 AM

Welcome everyone! Clara here. 

I want to thank all of you for backing this Kickstarter, sharing this post, or following a link if someone shared it with you. I’m happy to offer some photos and fun facts about the beautiful coastline I chose as the future setting for Dream the Deep.

My transplanted Canadian protagonist, Ryn, has never heard of the Lost Coast. Have you?

The Lost Coast is an isolated section of California coast, too rugged for even the scenic Pacific Coast Highway, CA-1, to trace the coastline here. Instead, Mattole Road—named for the indigenous people who originally hunted and fished nearby (and remain uncompensated)—runs along the northernmost section by Cape Mendocino. What was once the site of the Mendocino Lighthouse also marks the westernmost point in California—and in the world of Dream the Deep, the future location of the Academy. 

By 2139, the Cali-Coastal Corporate Zone doesn’t bother with most of the place names we know today. Even now, the names and locations involved are frequently confusing. While I personally love the town of Mendocino, it is not considered part of the Lost Coast and lies over 100 miles south of Cape Mendocino, seated at the north-western tip of the Lost Coast. 

The Cape Mendocino Lighthouse, which still carries that name, was relocated in 1998 to Shelter Cove, about two-thirds of the way down the Lost Coast, to prevent it from falling into the ocean. Unlike most lighthouses on the East Coast of the United States or elsewhere in the world, this lighthouse is basically a three-story building. It didn’t need to be tall, because it originally perched atop a cliff that was over 400 feet high. That cliff is where Ryn’s story begins, but in the 38-story tall Academy.

I can’t replicate Ryn’s view from their favorite window on the 18th floor of the Academy. But I can offer you photos from my most recent trip down the Lost Coast. At the top of this page is a view of the northern Lost Coast, looking south from Cape Mendocino. Next, I offer two possible paths to escape that future Academy. Path One is currently a cow pasture with barely a hint of the road that once led to the lighthouse. Path Two, involves a 400-foot drop to the ocean. On the day I visited, the steep slope was barely an outline in the fog, but perhaps some things are best left to the imagination!

Stopping over in Shelter Cove (on the Lost Coast), I photographed the relocated lighthouse and a cozy herd of harbor seals.

The volcanic rocks that make up much of the Lost Coast also provide numerous black sand beaches and tidepools to explore:

Heading south from the Lost Coast, I stopped by Fort Bragg’s glass beach (which is much more sparkly than I can capture in photos). 

If, like me, you also need some chocolate by this point, Mendocino Chocolate Company is just down the street from glass beach, and behind it I found one of my favorite murals.  (Fort Bragg has plenty of public art you can enjoy while walking and eating chocolate!)

Spending the night in the Mendocino (the town not the cape, south of the Lost Coast), I visited Gallery Bookshop, with its amazing books, people, and location, and I continued to enjoy breathtaking views along the Mendocino Coast (not to be confused with the Lost Coast, by Cape Mendocino above).

Finally, on my drive back to the Bay Area, I stopped by the cozy co-op Four-Eyed Frog Books in Gualala, and I picked up a delicious muffin and hot chocolate at PikNik in Guerneville. 

If you know someone who might like to visit the Lost Coast, or someone who might enjoy an imaginary visit via this post or by reading Dream the Deep, please share this update with them!  

Clara

First Stretch Goal Announced!
4 months ago – Fri, Apr 10, 2026 at 12:31:13 PM

WOW — that was fast. We've passed $2400 which means it is time to announce our first stretch goal!

If the Kickstarter reaches $3600 in funding (and I'm feeling good it will), we will be able to print the paperback copies of both Dream the Deep and Dream the Light using a traditional printer located in the Detroit / Ann Arbor area. These copies will be higher quality than the print-on-demand editions that will be available post-release from most retailers. Doing a traditional print run requires a higher quantity of books to be printed at once, and reaching this stretch goal will allow us to do just that!

We'll also include, for all backers, a downloadable coloring page of the Dream the Deep Explorer Bot, drawn by illustrator Matthew Spencer.

For those of you telling others about the project, it's working! Thank you and keep sharing the love for neuroqueer joy!

Thanks!
Chris

On nonbinary resonance. And more celebration.
4 months ago – Thu, Apr 09, 2026 at 05:59:00 AM

Hello, this is Emily!

You won't be hearing from me much on this campaign because the team has got this covered, while I'm off writing, editing, and organizing against censorship. You'll be hearing more soon from author Clara Ward and also illustrator Matthew Spencer. I am also looking forward to their posts, as anything either of them take the time to share is always delightful.

I do just want to say, thank you for funding our base so quickly. And also, please do tell people about the campaign. Gender-inclusive and ace-inclusive art is so important, and we could do so much with bigger support to our work. And again, whether you're a backer or considering it, thank you. From my heart.

I have a couple of fun things for you today!

First, the wonderful (and howling) Joyce Chng, author and Hugo winning editor for Strange Horizons, has read Dream the Deep, and I thought you'd enjoy hearing their thoughts, especially with the resonance with their own work. (A little excitement for backers and further thoughts for those considering whether to back.)

Here's Joyce:Reading Dream The Deep was a revelation. A vivid, powerful and deeply-felt revelation that spoke to me core-wise. The protagonist is Ryn: nonbinary and linked to an alien intelligence that is both octopus and otherworldly. Indeed the deep sea is another universe of its own. We do not need to go to Mars to find alien life: it’s right here on Earth.

The story has hints of Seaquest: DSV (Gen Xers, remember this series?) and indeed, it contains nods to Star Trek (Deep Space Nine!), another winner in my books. Like Deep Space Nine, the story speaks of resistance by community. This is a vital message we should all heed. We act by collective, the community protects us and we protect the community. At the same time, we protect the vulnerable, our children/littles.

I also resonate with the fact that Ryn is nonbinary and is linked to Ceph. Is this a thing for nonbinary folk? To identify/link/connect with/to sea-creatures? (For me, it’s wolf, not exactly sea-based – but there are coastal/sea wolves).

And indeed the sea, the ocean, resonates with me. I live in a region that is determined by the sea, surrounded by the sea, and where histories are shaped by the sea. I have also written stories about the sea, stories set in ocean/sea environments. Sailing The Golden Chersonese (pub date 9 April) is set in a fantastic maritime Southeast Asia replete with pirates, Nagas, and mythologies. Southeast Asia has been – and is still – shaped by the sea and shipping lanes and trade. But this fantastic maritime Southeast Asia is fully of my own imagination and re-envisioning. The lives of Neo and Maria, of Halim and the sea-tanned men, are of my own creation. Neo is nonbinary, trans, and transmasc. You could say it is a sapphic relationship. It is. Neo and Maria define their own relationship and carve out their joy, their sorrow, and their eventual union.

Here's to dreaming and dreaming the best world possible.

- Joyce Chng, SingaporeAnd - that's right, today's the birthday for their new book: Sailing the Golden Chersonese, queer and trans pirate stories from the breezes and waves of Southeast Asia (SEA). I have not read it yet, but I have my copy on order, and you will likely hear my cheering and dancing wherever you are, because I am that excited, and will drop everything else immediately. To sail the seas! Gaily!

You can get your copy from our friends at Minnesota-based Queen of Swords Press: https://queenofswordspress.com/product/sailing-the-golden-chersonese/

And look at this cover by Dhiyanah Hassan. I could stare at it for days. I probably already have. (You can also book Dhiyanah for commissions!)

And here it is!