StarDreaming explores a dream that shaped a 2-year relationship with science fiction author Damien Broderick

Psychotherapist Dr. Maureen B. Roberts has published StarDreaming, a nonfiction account of a prophetic dream that preceded and foreshadowed her relationship with award-winning science fiction author Damien Broderick. The book arrives as Roberts’ long-gestating fantasy novel An Era in Anddemar is also being released, underscoring the synchronicity she says has linked both works.

Why it matters: - StarDreaming turns a private relationship into a case study in dreams, fate and depth psychology. - The book will likely appeal to readers interested in science fiction, Jungian psychology, relationship dynamics, philosophy and spiritual experience. - The release also connects two long-running Roberts projects that reached publication close together after decades of development.

What happened: - Dr. Maureen B. Roberts published StarDreaming: Letters from a Mystic to a Science Fiction Author through 6th Books, an imprint of Collective Ink Books. - The nonfiction book recounts how a prophetic dream led to her relationship with Damien Broderick, an award-winning Australian science fiction author. - Roberts says the relationship began after a July 1994 Melbourne University science fiction conference, where she cited Broderick’s work without realizing he was in the front row. - After the presentation, Broderick approached Roberts, and she later had a vivid dream that night about the two of them. - Roberts says the dream foreshadowed their two-year relationship and its eventual end.

The details: - Roberts says the dream involved twin stars rapidly orbiting one another overhead, which inspired the book’s title. - Broderick was known as Australia’s “dean of science fiction” and had written works including The Judas Mandala and The Dreaming Dragons. - The Judas Mandala coined the term “virtual reality” in 1982. - The Dreaming Dragons appeared in David Pringle’s Science Fiction: The 100 Best Novels [1949-84] and was chosen as the year’s best by Kingsley Amis. - Roberts’ letters to Broderick combined personal anecdotes, scholarly discussion, psychospiritual reflections, friendly banter, scientific philosophy and personal friction. - Broderick later removed himself from the relationship after emotional tension grew, ending the correspondence on a mostly affectionate but conflicted note. - Roberts rediscovered the letters while clearing old computer files and had forgotten much of their content. - The book does not include any of Broderick’s letters. - Broderick inserted edited versions of some of the letters into his novel The White Abacus. - Roberts also discusses her epic science fantasy myth, An Era in Anddemar, in StarDreaming. - Roberts says Broderick supported that novel’s vision and made overtures to HarperCollins on her behalf. - StarDreaming and An Era in Anddemar are being published within months of each other after decades of work. - Roberts says An Era in Anddemar took three full drafts and years of revisions before she completed a version she liked. - Roberts describes the close timing of the two releases as synchronicity, or a meaningful coincidence with deeper significance.

Between the lines: - StarDreaming reads as both memoir and interpretation, using a real relationship to explore how dreams can shape meaning and memory. - The book also highlights Roberts’ dual identity as a psychotherapist and writer steeped in Jungian and shamanic thought. - The release suggests Roberts is positioning her work outside conventional publishing norms, with emphasis on descriptive detail, elevated prose and vision-driven storytelling. - Roberts says she chose to publish An Era in Anddemar through her own imprint because a traditional editor might have cut its descriptive detail and altered its style. - The inclusion of later dreams involving Ayrton Senna and Princess Diana broadens the book’s focus beyond Broderick to a wider pattern of dream imagery.

What’s next: - Roberts says readers can find further information, extracts, reviews and blog posts on her author website. - The close publication of StarDreaming and An Era in Anddemar may draw renewed attention to both books and to Roberts’ larger body of work. - The author is also promoting the books through Vandrassian Press and social media.

The bottom line: - StarDreaming is a reflective nonfiction book about how one dream, one meeting and one long correspondence became a story of creativity, tension and perceived destiny.