Night Sea Journey: A Tale of the Supernatural

Night Sea Journey: A Tale of the Supernatural is a horror-thriller novel by Paula Cappa. The novel follows main character Kip Livingston, an artist who paints her dreams. All is going well in Kip's life until she starts having nightmares that begin to plague her daily life. Unable to find help in her Jungian analyst and therapist, Kip finds solace and romance in the arms of Raymond Kera, a wayward priest who helps Kip follow the source of her nightmares, a creature called the Firehawk, to its horrifying roots in hell.

Kip Livingston is a talented and charismatic artist who paints her own dreams. Inspired by dreams, she sees a Jungian analyst, Laz Merlyn, about the contents of her dreams and their symbolic meanings.

Dr. Merlyn believes, as many Jungian's do, that a dream is the manifestation of an alternative kind of psychic energy, which manifests in our lives while we sleep. As such, dreams carry significance and aren't merely images to occupy us during the night hours. Kip believes this, too, but becomes troubled when her vivid dreams are transformed into horrifying nightmares that never seem to end.



The primary figure in Kip's nightmares is a creature called the Firehawk. Much like a phoenix, the Firehawk, is a burning bird, but this bird is violent and cruel. Each night, Kip dreams that the Firehawk's burning chest wraps around her, shedding ash that chokes her and covers the sky. Enormous, the Firehawk picks her up in its talons and drags her down to the bottom of a dark, icy sea.

Kip, a semi-famous artist who lives a life of seclusion on Horn Island in the Atlantic, isn't sure what to make of these nightmares. As she becomes increasingly desperate for closure, the Firehawk begins making appearances in her daily life, and she begins to wonder if the dreamscape can truly follow her during the light of day. Dr. Merlyn is no help, only spouting off his knowledge about phoenixes and their indication that someone, or some disease or illness or outside force, might be preparing to attack. Keeping his ominous analysis close to her chest, Kip seeks out help from those around her to stop the nightmares so she can get back to her life and work.

Seeking help elsewhere leads Kip to a romantic partner, Raymond Kera. A charming and handsome man, Raymond has lost his way in many aspects of his life. A trained priest, he immediately falls for Kip's charms; the romantic tension between them is clear. Raymond agrees to help Kip find the source of the Firehawk, to end its plague of her life once and for all.



Soon drawn into the night sea journeys, as Kip calls them, Raymond is equally entranced by the figure of the Firehawk. Finally, after much speculation, Raymond helps Kip uncover that the Firehawk is, in fact, a manifestation of hell – it is what Jungian analysts call descensus ad inferos, or a descent into Hades. Realizing that traveling to the underworld means almost certain danger and possible death, Raymond begins to wonder what he is willing to put on the line for Kip. Meanwhile, Kip begins to worry that she won't be able to make it out of the icy clutches of the Firehawk alive.

The book explores a number of supernatural elements beyond the monstrous Firehawk, including angels and demons, murder, and many spiritual and romantic twists and turns.

Paula Cappa writes mystery, horror, and supernatural thrillers. Some of her titles include Greylock, Hildie at the Ghost Shore, Abasteron House, and Magic of the Loons. She is the recipient of many awards for her work, including an Eric Hoffer Book Award for Night Sea Journey. She has also received a Gothic Readers Book Club Award, a Chanticleer Book Award, and was a finalist for the American Book Fest’s Best Books Award. She chairs the Pound Ridge Author's Society in Pound Ridge, NY.