Every book begins with an idea. Dreambound began with a simple question: What if two people could only meet while they dream? 

What I never imagined was just how far that question would take me. 

Over many months, Dreambound stopped being just a novel and gradually became an entire world. Little by little, Eidolon emerged, along with its streets, bridges, canals, the station at 3:17, the mysterious girl who waits beside the clock, The Custodian, the Dreambound, and countless small details that eventually came together to form a universe of their own. 

Nothing appeared by chance. Every setting was created and recreated until it conveyed exactly the atmosphere I was searching for. Every character evolved throughout the writing process. Many scenes changed completely because, once I reached them, the characters themselves seemed determined to tell the story in a different way. Twists that had never existed in the original outline appeared naturally, conversations emerged unexpectedly, and mysteries grew chapter by chapter until they became an essential part of the novel. 

But writing Dreambound was about far more than writing a story. 

It was also about editing, rewriting, starting over whenever necessary, designing the visual identity of the world, creating the covers, choosing the right typography, finding the perfect title, translating the novel into English, and building every aspect of Eidolon so that each detail would convey the same sense of mystery, beauty and wonder. 

There is one particular night that I will never forget. After spending hours writing, I dreamed that I was walking through Eidolon. Inside that dream, I woke up… only to discover that I was still there. For a few moments, I genuinely could not tell whether I had returned to the real world or whether I was still inside Dreambound. It was a strange experience, almost impossible to describe, but it made me realise that the city no longer existed only in my imagination. Somehow, it had begun to inhabit my own dreams as well. 

I believe that is one of the greatest rewards any writer can experience: reaching a point where the world they have created feels alive, even to themselves. 

Now there is only one final part of the journey. 

For you to open the book. 

I sincerely hope that you enjoy reading Dreambound as much as I have enjoyed writing it. It has been months of work, uncertainty, discovery and countless nights during which Eidolon felt more real than the world outside my window. If, by the time you reach the final page, you feel as though you have visited a place that has always existed somewhere in the depths of your memory, then every moment spent creating this novel will have been worthwhile. 

And who knows… perhaps one night, when you close your eyes, you too will find yourself crossing the gates of Eidolon. 

Close your eyes. We'll meet tonight.