Even though every writing guide strongly advises against it, I am tackling a different genre in this episode. Whereas the previous episodes were more like crime thrillers, this time it is not about catching a thief or unmasking a murderer. Instead, we are dealing with a film diva who is bitter about not being invited by the great Trampera.

The Plot

Miray and Dian find themselves in the role of siblings this time. Their mother, Amanda Brown, is a Hollywood celebrity. And she is furious. The famous Johnny Trampera is celebrating the completion of his new luxury villa in Malibu, and Amanda is not invited.

She tasks her two children with securing an invitation. But that won’t be their only task. A third stroke on the tattoo reveals that there is a third dream traveller. If they want to make it through the adventure, they have to find this third person.

The Setting

A film diva – what could be more fitting than choosing modern-day San Francisco as the setting for the episode? Amanda Brown lives with her two children in a villa in Los Angeles.

Trampera, on the other hand, naturally had his pompous luxury villa built in no lesser place than Malibu, specifically on the (fictional) Pacific Crest Drive.

The adventure offers everything that makes a spontaneous trip to the USA: sunny weather, refreshing pools, beach cafés, and drives in a classic convertible.

The Characters

Dian and Miray are siblings in this world. To their surprise, they even find evidence of this in the form of photos from their childhood.

New is the third dream traveller Felisha, called “Lish” for short. She is the opposite of Miray: acts impulsively before thinking about the consequences. Naturally, this creates tension between the two women. This constellation elegantly allows me to pass the Bechdel test. 😊

I also had fun developing the roles of the life-frustrated café owner Alfred (inspired by Al Bundy) and the incorruptible majordomo Hopkins (naturally an homage to the unique Jonathan Quayle Higgins).

And Johnny Trampera, the eponymous hero? Well, he is a MacGuffin, as is proper for a Hollywood story. Besides: Trampera… Travolta… You understand? 😂

The Dream World

For the dream worlds, this episode brought several major realisations.

Firstly: Lish. Miray was initially alone until she met Dian in Tear of the Desert. In this episode, a third dream traveller joins in.

Secondly: The childhood pictures of Dian and Miray, which actually shouldn’t exist at all, since both didn’t have a shared childhood. Their alter egos from the dream worlds thus seem to possess a past of their own.

Thirdly: Once the adventure is solved, you cannot linger in the dream world indefinitely. Whoever falls asleep there wakes up back at home.

But probably the most important (and for Dian, the most bitter) realisation is that he cannot meet Miray in his own world. She seems to be nothing more than a figment of his dreams.

Or he of hers?

What have I learnt?

Actually, not too much new about the craft of writing.

This episode served more to further consolidate my new writing style, which I developed in Deceptive Appearances.