When I was a kid, I watched a movie adaptation (1993) of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel, The Secret Garden. In it, Mary, who grew up in India, tries to explain to her cousin Colin a story about how when a boy opened his mouth, you could see the whole universe in there. Colin argued that it was impossible, because you’d have to be bigger than the whole universe, to have it in your throat. Later, when he begins to believe in a kind of magic, he tells Mary he understands. He touches his chest and says, the whole universe is in here.
I was fascinated.
When I became an adult, I explored this concept a bit through philosophy, world religions, even psychotherapy (actually, especially through psychotherapy, which was fascinating and where, guided by my therapist, I envisioned an ocean inside of me, with large creatures moving about when I felt strong emotions. Before I could really drill down the concepts, I had to leave psychotherapy because of scheduling conflicts). Now, for those who don’t know, psychotherapy isn’t really like psychology or psychiatry; a psychologist had helped me with cognitive therapy to not pull at my hair, a psychiatrist prescribed meds for Bipolar 1 and PTSD. The psychotherapist wanted to get at the heart of me and my emotions, and instead of using a shovel to dig deep, I created an ocean that the deeper you swam, the bigger the ‘danger.’
I have found comfort in this visualization technique, allegory, whatever you wish to call it, and I knew I wanted to write a book where a character was going through something quite similar, and as I wrote Olly’s story, the ocean in their mind grew. If you find the concept at all interesting, I encourage you to look up the idea of a universe existing within a person. If you open your mind, you will probably find some very intriguing articles, books, websites, etc.
And, in the words of Mr. Gump, that’s all I’ve got to say about that. (Unless you have questions. I will answer any and all questions on my Facebook page, or my email ann@annwhynot.com).
— Ann 
PS: This would be what a newsletter post from me would be like. You can sign up and I am still offering wee contests for those who sign up in October. https://www.annwhynot.com/newsletter-signup/
