Tag Archives: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga

Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, Historical Fiction, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Prehistoric Fiction

Meet Tor: The Quiet Strength Behind Dreamer Books

Throughout Tris’s life, people have told him he looks just like his father did at his age. Tris, of course, finds this difficult to imagine. To him, Tor has always seemed… old. Not feeble, never that—but weathered. Worn by a life of constant motion, danger, and responsibility.

While they may have once shared similar facial features, Tor is not tall, like his son. He stands at an average height, with a lean, powerful frame built for endurance and survival. His body is a living record of his life: scarred by the tusks of boars, the teeth of wolves, kicks from the sharp hooves of a downed elk. And yet, beneath that battered surface is a man of quiet gentleness.

A devoted mate. A loving father. A wise, patient teacher.

To Tris, Tor has always been more than just a parent—he has been mentor, protector, and companion. From Tris’s earliest memories, Tor has been at his side, teaching him how to hunt, how to read the winds, how to respect the power of fire and the stillness of the forest. Not with lectures, but with presence.

He is a man who says little and does much.

In The Dreamer – The Beginning  Tris experiences his first night-vision known as a Dream. In it, he senses the danger of an impending bear attack. He doesn’t see his father in the dream, not with his eyes—but he feels him.

Later, Tris wonders if it was the bond between them that made the Dream possible in the first place. That somehow, in that moment, through their deep connection, his father reaches out to him, even across that vast distance.

Tor may not see himself as remarkable. But through Tris’s eyes, and through the reader’s, it becomes clear: he is one of the unsung pillars of the Dreamer saga. A man shaped by the Ice Age wilderness but defined by the love and devotion he holds for his family.

In a world of survival, Tor reminds us that strength can be quiet, and that even the roughest hands can carry great tenderness.

Discover Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga on Patreon! Enjoy twice-weekly podcasts packed with exclusive extras like author insights, original book art, and fascinating deep dives into the science and history behind the story. Tune in every Saturday for Tris's engaging chapter-by-chapter narrations, and join us on Tuesdays for "Author Musings," where the author reflects on the previous chapter. Don't miss this immersive journey into the world of Dreamer Books!

 

Total Page Visits: 12207

Adventure, Black Wolf, Cro-Magnon, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Illustrations, Neanderthal, Prehistoric Fiction, The Dreamer Book Series, Tris: title character of the Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga

Meet Black Wolf (Character from Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga)

Black Wolf (Image credit: E. A, Meigs)

Black Wolf is a Cro-Magnon man of great intellect and unwavering loyalty. A survivor, he is a man whose presence alone commands both fear and respect. Tall, with piercing dark eyes that miss nothing, he is a hunter, a protector, and, to some, a dangerous predator in human form. Yet Black Wolf also has a softer side—he is a steadfast companion, a devoted father to his children, and a wise mediator. He shares a deep bond with Tris, the story’s Neanderthal protagonist, and is the lifelong best friend of Tor, Tris’s father. He is also witty and enjoys singing—though not necessarily tunefully—in his deep basso profundo. His humor and colorful personality provide a lively contrast to Tris’s quieter nature.

Towering in stature and possessing an unusually hairy physique, Black Wolf is a striking figure. A man of both strength and wisdom, he accompanies Tris and Tor on many perilous journeys. More than just a skilled hunter and adventurer, he plays a crucial role in bridging the divide between Neanderthals and the Homo sapiens encroaching upon their ancestral lands. As tensions rise and competition for resources grows, he seeks to ease hostilities, guiding both peoples toward coexistence in a rapidly changing world.

Discover Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga on Patreon! Enjoy twice-weekly podcasts packed with exclusive extras like author insights, original book art, and fascinating deep dives into the science and history behind the story. Tune in every Saturday for Tris's engaging chapter-by-chapter narrations, and join us on Tuesdays for "Author Musings," where the author reflects on the previous chapter. Don't miss this immersive journey into the world of Dreamer Books!

Total Page Visits: 11881

Adventure, Amazon, Anthropology, Audiobooks, Books, Children's Books, Climate, Cro-Magnon, Denisovan, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Early Humans, extreme climate, Glacial Period, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Mega Flora and Fauna, Nature, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Podcast, The Dreamer - The Beginning, The Dreamer Book Series, The Dreamer II ~ The Gathering, wildlife

Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga Audiobooks!

The entire Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga will eventually release, chapter by chapter on Patreon, every Saturday morning! Audiobooks 1 – 4 of the 8 -volume epic story are available on as of 2025. Audiobooks 5 – 8 will be released chapter by chapter in 2026!

Immerse yourself in this gripping prehistoric adventure with new chapters released every Saturday at 7 AM (ET)—then dive deeper into the story with my Author Musings every Tuesday at 7 AM (ET), where I unravel hidden themes, character insights, and behind-the-scenes historical and scientific details. Start listening today!

Finding audiobooks on my Patreon page

Subscribe to listen to audiobook chapters on my Patreon channel, DreamerBooksAnIceAgeSaga.

To listen to chapters in order or find a specific book:
Check out “Collections” and browse by book title and chapter number.

Audiobooks 1 - 4 are now available for purchase on Patreon, no subscription required. Audiobooks 5 - 8 will come up for sale as each one is completed.

(Background for header image credit: ChatGPT/DALL.E)

Total Page Visits: 7268

Adventure, Ancient Peoples, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Prehistoric Fiction, Tris: title character of the Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga

Meet Tris: the title character of Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga

At the outset of the story, Tris is a young Neanderthal man navigating an environment as inhospitable as the Ice Age itself. To counter a sense of “otherness” that readers may attribute to a Neanderthal character, I have purposely chosen the first-person viewpoint so readers might more easily connect with Tris’s personality and share his experiences.

The journey began for me in early 2015 when I started drafting the first installment of what would grow into an eight-book saga. Since then, the fields of paleoanthropology and genetics have transformed our understanding of Neanderthals. Back then, popular science painted them as red-haired, freckled, green-eyed folk—a concept that struck me as curious but plausible. I thought, “Well, orangutans are gingers; why not a population of humans too?” So, Tris and his family were envisioned as fiery-haired individuals. Only later did genetic studies reveal that Neanderthals likely had a range of coloring similar to modern Europeans. As a result, the new characters introduced outside of Tris’s clan reflect this update.

And then, there are the dreams. Each book in the Dreamer series opens with a dream that lays the foundation for the story’s events and closes with another that hints at what’s yet to come. According to the plot lore, Dreamers are part of their culture, with a new Dreamer born every few generations.  Yet, Tris himself is a skeptic. Are these visions meaningful? Or simply the byproduct of an overactive mind? His doubts mirror the mysteries dreams likely held for our distant ancestors, an enigma as perplexing to them as it is to us today.

Over the years, I’ve been humbled by messages from readers sharing their thoughts on Tris and his journey. Men often tell me they see themselves in Tris—his struggles to protect and provide for his family strike a familiar chord. Some have expressed gratitude for a male character who feels real and doesn’t further the “toxic male” stereotype that is so common in a lot of modern literature. (I didn’t set out to write a statement on masculinity, but hearing how much this resonated is deeply gratifying.) Women, on the other hand, frequently say they love Tris—a sentiment that never fails to make me smile.

Tris, at his core, is an “everyman”—resourceful, reflective, and imperfect, trying his best in a challenging world. Spending nearly a decade immersed in his life and times has been an adventure I’ll never forget, and knowing that at least some of my readers have been entertained by his story is the greatest reward of all.

AI-created image of Tris
Discover Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga on Patreon! Enjoy twice-weekly podcasts packed with exclusive extras like author insights, original book art, and fascinating deep dives into the science and history behind the story. Tune in every Saturday for Tris's engaging chapter-by-chapter narrations, and join us on Tuesdays for "Author Musings," where the author reflects on the previous chapter. Don't miss this immersive journey into the world of Dreamer Books!

 

Total Page Visits: 7378

Adventure, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Historical Fiction, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Paleoanthropology, Prehistoric Fiction, The Dreamer IV ~ The Cave of Bones

Excerpt from The Cave of Bones

Based around the archaeological discoveries found in a Belgium cave, The Dreamer IV – The Cave of Bones continues the eight-book prehistoric fiction series entitled Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga. It is a chronicle from the distant past, when the European continent was yet untamed, and humans fought to endure within a savage environment.

In this setting, a Neanderthal man named Tris narrates his story – often told in a manner that is thoughtful, and sometimes rather droll. His life’s journey is one filled with harrowing adventure and a relentless struggle to survive, but it is also a timeless, very human tale that tells of tested bonds of family and fellowship.

At the outset, Tris is a wide-eyed innocent who has lived a very sheltered existence. His most pressing concerns are presented by confrontations with wildlife and supporting the sustenance of the group. As time goes on and new tribes settle on lands once exclusively inhabited by the Neanderthal, he and his clan must adapt to a number of social changes and challenges. (After viewing the video, scroll down to see what happens next!)

(Video includes an AI-produced image of Tris.)

The story continues…

Total Page Visits: 2302

Adventure, Anthropology, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Early Humans, Genetic Research, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Neanderthal, Neanderthal Brain, Neanderthal Speech, Neanderthal Voice, Paleoanthropology

Giving a Voice to the Neanderthal

I had never thought about recreating the voice of a Neanderthal man until I considered recording my books into an audio format. It then became apparent that I faced some challenges.
 
  1.  My books are written as a narrative and the main character is a man. As a woman, even if I had a really bad cold, I don’t think I could pass myself off as a male speaker. And….
  2.  The main character is a Neanderthal and there have been numerous opinions on the quality of their voices. So what did they sound like? 
  3.  Can I use a software that will change my voice so I will sound something like a Neanderthal man? Hmmm….. 
This has led to many hours of research. I’m not a scientist, but I have a lot of pertinent formal and informal study under my belt as part of writing a prehistoric book series. Like many, I was amused by the Neanderthal High-Pitched Voice hypothesis, which was based on the find of a single Neanderthal hyoid bone. (Spoofed here.) Later, it was discovered that the hyoid bone doesn’t really have as much effect on the quality of the voice as thought, but rather it is the vocal tract, oral/nasal/sinus/chest cavities that give us our unique sound. The Neanderthal had ample quantities of all these things, which leads me to believe that they had full voices – and could be quite loud, if they so chose.
______________________________________________________________________
To add perspective, think of dog breeds and their various barks; a Saint Bernard, which has a large head, muzzle, throat and chest has a different voice as compared to a relatively gracile Collie. That being said, as a hunting people, silence was more apt to be desired. I would have guessed them to be a quiet, soft-spoken people in most instances. I would therefore give my character a mid-range husky voice.
__________________________________________________________________
 
Recent genetic studies has brought up the differences between modern human’s speech genes and Neanderthal speech genes. We all have/had the FoxP2 gene, but the Neanderthal (and Denisovans) had genetic variances that are thought to affect the vocal tract. However, that doesn’t concern me very much. Humans have undergone a lot of changes – genetic and otherwise – over the millennia. I’ve read (although I couldn’t find a link to the exact quote) that the Neanderthal and early Homo sapiens were much more genetically similar to one another than early Homo sapiens would have been to today’s people. And, as one of the world’s most renowned Paleoanthropologists John Hawks says in his Feb. 2024 article,
___________________________________________________________________
"Today we have a lot more information about the variation of FOXP2 but little clarity about its possible importance. The protein coding sequence of FOXP2 differs slightly between chimpanzees and humans, but the protein sequence does have some variation across humans worldwide. In fact a fraction of people today have the same coding sequence found in Neandertals, showing that the gene itself worked very much the same in ancient and living groups."
(Fascinating article!) Considering that Neanderthal have other known gene discrepancies, like the one for red hair and light skin, it shouldn’t be a surprise when Neanderthal variations come to light.
 
Prof. Hawks’ article also addresses many aspects of the Neanderthal’s brain shape and supposed organization- we can only guess at how it was organized. Here, he says,
_________________________________________________________
"Those shape differences that were so important to nineteenth-century anthropologists don't seem to make any difference to how brains work. With large studies in recent times, neuroscientists have a more detailed picture of variation of brain form. Variation in overall brain volume, cortical gray and white matter, and the relative sizes of some cortical regions all have been found to correlate with various cognitive or behavioral measures. But the variations of endocast and cranial shape once studied by anthropologists do not correlate with those internal measures of brain structure. Could Neandertal brains have worked just the same as today's people, despite their difference in shape? I think that whatever differences existed would have involved details of the internal structure of the brain, probably unmarked on the inner surface of the skull. One variable we can measure does relate to function within living human populations: brain size. In this measure, Neandertals and recent humans were more or less the same. The way the Neandertal brain worked may not have been exactly the same as ours, but I bet we will find they were not as different as many scientists once imagined."
This reinforces the idea – backed up by the evidence of their social behaviors such as care of their young, sick, and elderly, interring their dead, manufacturing of tools, 3-ply twisted twine, glues, distilling tars and oils, etc., etc., – that they were an intelligent, resourceful people who had sufficient physical and mental capacity to converse. And, it occurs to me that the Neanderthal brain shape was possibly due to its skull shape, which placed the brain in a position where it would be most protected behind the heavy brow. This would have been an important benefit for a people with an extremely active lifestyle, whose activities included a lot of close contact with very large and potentially very violent animals.
XXX
I’m still experimenting, but this is what I’ve come up with (so far). See what you think of the voice as recorded in this video. It still needs work, but it’s a start.
_________________________________________________________________________
My plan is to set up a Patreon page that will feature posts about the books, the characters, the Ice Age, and much more! This will include serial audio releases of each book, chapter by chapter, and discussions about them. 
Stay tuned for more information!
________________________________________________________________
Graphic by E. A. Meigs
Photo by Paula Krugerud Photography
 
Total Page Visits: 5868
Adventure, Ancient Peoples, Books, Cro-Magnon, Denisovan, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Early Humans, Glacial Period, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Paleoanthropology, The Dreamer II ~ The Gathering, Venus Figurine

The Dreamer II – The Gathering; the saga continues

Excerpt from The Dreamer II ~ The Gathering

Title character Tris, with his father, Puh, and longtime friend, Black Wolf have arrived at the People from the East’s annual Gathering.  Here, many traders have taken advantage of the event to hawk their wares. Black Wolf, as one of the People from the East, has brought his Neanderthal neighbors to this Gathering; it is a novel experience for the newcomers, who have lived in relative isolation. However, even Black Wolf is startled to see the offerings of one particular trader. 

Black Wolf lifted one and held it out for our inspection. 

"She has no feet," he pointed out. "She must have lost them in a sad misadventure like Fast Otter when he was attacked by a lion while sleeping in his lean-to. The lion managed to mangle Fast Otter's feet before his companions could save him."

The sculpted piece of sandstone was obviously meant to portrait a woman - a naked woman - but she was like no female I had ever seen. She was well endowed, both front and back, and decorated with many carved lines and zig-zags. And she was enormously fat, like a bear that had been feasting on salmon in preparation for winter's hibernation. The only woman I had ever known to carry any extra weight was Black Wolf's Little Fawn, but even she was positively svelte in comparison to this figure.

Puh responded incredulously to Black Wolf's remarks. 

"You look at that physique and all you notice is that she has no feet?"

Click link to read more about about The Dreamer II – The Gathering.

(Venus Figurine in header image was created by Neanderthal Joe.)

You can support your local book stores by asking them to order Dreamer Books for you!
Or you can order from the Big Boys! 
(See links below)

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books A Million

Thrift Books

Walmart 

Total Page Visits: 6049

 

Adventure, Anthropology, Denisovan, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Early Humans, Glacial Period, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Nature, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Paleoanthropology, The Dreamer - The Beginning, The Dreamer Book Series

The Dreamer ~ THE BEGINNING: the start of an epic adventure!

Photo credit: E. A. Meigs

Excerpt from The Dreamer ~ THE BEGINNING, the first volume in the prehistoric adventure series: Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga.

     The moon had risen again, still round and bright, providing just the right ambiance for the wolves to sing by. Their distant howls rent the air and made the hairs on my arms and the back of my neck stand up. The wind had come around to blow out of the south, bringing with it a warm moist air, but it was from the wrong direction to provide any telltale odors that would give any indication that we were drawing nearer to our quarry. The gusting breezes shook the tree branches making it more difficult to distinguish sounds from one another. Still, there was nothing to do except to put one foot in front of the other and hope that we would not go from being the hunters to the hunted.
     We were grateful for the night’s deep shadows. Since we suspected we were quite close to Snow Leopard and his group, we evaded the moonlight, slipping from one puddle of darkness to the next. As we came to an open spot in the path, we paused for a drink of water and to rest for a moment. We had not spoken or eaten in some time. Puh broke out his nearly empty food bag and gave Black Wolf and me a little dried meat and a few shelled nuts that he found rolling around at the bottom of the sack. As I ate, I rubbed at my burning eyes; they ached from staring so hard at the darkness and from being awake for so long, but the salt from the sweat on my hands made my eyes burn even more.
You can support your local book stores by asking them to order Dreamer Books for you!
Or you can order from the Big Boys! 
(See links below)

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Books A Million

Thrift Books

Walmart 

 

Total Page Visits: 8513

 

Adventure, Ancient Peoples, Anthropology, Cro-Magnon, Denisovan, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Early Humans, extreme climate, Fiction, Glacial Period, Holiday Gift, Hunting, Ice Age, Illustrations, Mega Flora and Fauna, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, Paleoanthropology, The Dreamer III - The People of the Wolves, wildlife

Excerpt from The Dreamer III – The People of the Wolves

Illustration from The Dreamer III ~ The People of the Wolves (2018) Image credit: E. A. Meigs

Excerpt from The Dreamer III ~ The People of the Wolves by E. A. Meigs

…I could clearly view the huge animal from my vantage point by a large tree. It was snuffling and snorting as it noisily grazed, its tail in constant motion, swishing back and forth in a fruitless attempt to keep the ever-present flies from alighting on its rump. Given that the audible signs of the rhino’s digestion process were clearly heard by all, I did not envy the flies their proximity to the creature’s hind end. Black Wolf seemed to be thinking along the same lines.

“Listen to that!” he quietly exclaimed at yet another burst of flatulence. “I will not be standing at the rear of our intended victim during this hunt! That rhino sounds as though he will be ready to let loose his bowels at any moment!”

We could not restrain small grins at the memory of last winter’s woolly mammoth kill, when poor Black Wolf had been knocked off his feet by a heavy blast of mammoth excrement. Just then, the rhino turned its head and faced in our direction, its enormous forehorn much in evidence.

“By all means, Black Wolf,” Bror whispered, “you are most welcome to the front if you so choose.”

Find Dreamer Books reader reviews here!

WHERE TO BUY THIS AND OTHER DREAMER BOOKS

Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Books A Million
Thrift Books
Walmart

 

 

Total Page Visits: 6708
Adventure, Books, Cape Cod Author, Cave Drawings, Cave Lion, Children's Books, Dreamer Books: An Ice Age Saga, E. A. Meigs, Early Humans, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Ice Age, Illustrations, KAW, Mega Flora and Fauna, Nature, Neanderthal, Paleo Fiction, The Dreamer, The Dreamer - The Beginning, The Dreamer Book Series, The Dreamer II ~ The Gathering, The Dreamer III - The People of the Wolves, The Dreamer IV ~ The Cave of Bones, The Dreamer V ~ The Blood-Red Skies, The Dreamer VI ~ The Outsiders, The Dreamer VII ~ The Challenge Circle, The Dreamer VIII ~ The Talking Stones, wildlife, Woolly mammoth

Illustrating the Past

I see myself more as a writer than an artist, so I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the interest in the illustrations in my books.

My journey began in childhood. I was eager to share the stories swirling in my head, but I didn’t know how to spell many words. This made things tricky for a budding author. To solve this, I told my stories through pictures and short captions.

As I grew, my writing improved until I could finally make a living from it. Unfortunately, that left me with little time for artwork. Now, as I try to rekindle my artistic side, I realize I’ve lost some of my practice! I hope to add more children’s books to my collection, which will give me plenty of chances to hone my skills again!

Here is a sampling, including a few of the frontispieces, pictures from the Ice Age Animal Index that appears at the back of each volume in the 8-book series, and several illustrations from the children’s book, KAW. (The Header image is also from KAW.)

To view the complete Ice Age Animal Index click HERE. 

PS: If you like Dreamer Book’s original artwork, you can find some of it on our Merch! See a selection of tees, hoodies, tote bags, mugs, and more HERE!

Illustration from KAW

 

Frontispiece from The Cave of Bones (colorized).
European cave lion (colorized, from Ice Age Animal Index)
Detail from The People of the Wolves frontispiece (colorized)
Reindeer (colorized, from Ice Age Animal Index)
Lynx (colorized, from Ice Age Animal Index)
Illustration from KAW
Roe deer (colorized, from Ice Age Animal Index)
Illustration from KAW
Eurasian wolf (colorized, from Ice Age Animal Index)
Woolly mammoth (colorized, from Ice Age Animal Index)

 

Total Page Visits: 10662