The Frog

It has been a long time since the last time I did a Fairy Tale Commentary, mostly because I haven't had a computer or the time. However, today I will rectify the situation with one that is a variant of the Frog Prince. This there are actually three branches of this fairy tale, the other two being called "The Frog Princess" and the other "Puddocky." "The Frog Princess" will be the one I retell in Bookania, and if you want a good retelling of "Puddocky," Gail Carson Levine's "For Biddle's Sake" is amazing. I wish I owned it ... sigh ... but I only have "The Princess Test" and "Cinderellis and the Glass Hill" both of which are really good too. 

Anyway, without further ado ...

Once upon a time there was a woman who had three sons. Though they were peasants they were well off, for the soil on which they lived was fruitful, and yielded rich crops. One day they all three told their mother they meant to get married. To which their mother replied: 'Do as you like, but see that you choose good housewives, who will look carefully after your affairs; and, to make certain of this, take with you these three skeins of flax, and give it to them to spin. Whoever spins the best will be my favourite daughter-in-law.'

And that's how women got daughter-in-laws in those days - they turned it into contests! Frankly though, who can spin the best thread isn't exactly the best measuring stick for who will be your favorite. I mean, what if the girl turns out to be conceited and proud, and you just can't stand her? Just thought I'd point that out.

Now the two eldest sons had already chosen their wives; so they took the flax from their mother, and carried it off with them, to have it spun as she had said. But the youngest son was puzzled what to do with his skein, as he knew no girl (never having spoken to any) to whom he could give it to be spun. He wandered hither and thither, asking the girls that he met if they would undertake the task for him, but at the sight of the flax they laughed in his face and mocked at him. Then in despair he left their villages, and went out into the country, and, seating himself on the bank of a pond began to cry bitterly.

Wait ... I thought he had told his mother that he meant to marry. Hmm ... maybe it had just been peer pressure. My brothers mean to marry, I ought to too. Never mind the fact that no girl has looked at me twice in my life ... 

Suddenly there was a noise close beside him, and a frog jumped out of the water on to the bank and asked him why he was crying. The youth told her of his trouble, and how his brothers would bring home linen spun for them by their promised wives, but that no one would spin his thread.

And of course, since this is a fairy tale, he doesn't turn running when he finds a talking frog. Animals talk freely and commonly, and no one gives it a second glance.

Then the frog answered: 'Do not weep on that account; give me the thread, and I will spin it for you.' And, having said this, she took it out of his hand, and flopped back into the water, and the youth went back, not knowing what would happen next.

And since this is a fairy tale, he knows that he has nothing to worry about.

In a short time the two elder brothers came home, and their mother asked to see the linen which had been woven out of the skeins of flax she had given them. They all three left the room; and in a few minutes the two eldest returned, bringing with them the linen that had been spun by their chosen wives. But the youngest brother was greatly troubled, for he had nothing to show for the skein of flax that had been given to him. Sadly he betook himself to the pond, and sitting down on the bank, began to weep.

Because the frog wasn't there and he was expecting her to be. After all, she did promise to save his skin for him.

Flop! and the frog appeared out of the water close beside him.

And all of his troubles are at an end.

'Take this,' she said; 'here is the linen that I have spun for you.'

See? Always trust Fairy Tales to make all come out right in the end! Even if it takes a frog to do it.

You may imagine how delighted the youth was. She put the linen into his hands, and he took it straight back to his mother, who was so pleased with it that she declared she had never seen linen so beautifully spun, and that it was far finer and whiter than the webs that the two elder brothers had brought home.

Frogs spin better than human girls can. It's just a fact of life.

Then she turned to her sons and said: 'But this is not enough, my sons, I must have another proof as to what sort of wives you have chosen. In the house there are three puppies. Each of you take one, and give it to the woman whom you mean to bring home as your wife. She must train it and bring it up. Whichever dog turns out the best, its mistress will be my favourite daughter-in-law.'

Hey ... wait here woman. You've already made the poor girls spin flax. Now you want them to train puppies too! That involves - gasp! - responsibility!

So the young men set out on their different ways, each taking a puppy with him. The youngest, not knowing where to go, returned to the pond, sat down once more on the bank, and began to weep.

Because, honestly, a frog can't train a dog. The dog would eat the frog!

Flop! and close beside him, he saw the frog. 'Why are you weeping?' she said. Then he told her his difficulty, and that he did not know to whom he should take the puppy.

Because he's too grateful to her to let the dog eat her.

'Give it to me,' she said, 'and I will bring it up for you.' And, seeing that the youth hesitated, she took the little creature out of his arms, and disappeared with it into the pond.

And now my mental image fails me. The frog takes the puppy from the boy (who I've named Joe, by the way). Either that is a VERY small dog, or that is a very BIG frog.

The weeks and months passed, till one day the mother said she would like to see how the dogs had been trained by her future daughters-in-law. The two eldest sons departed, and returned shortly, leading with them two great mastiffs, who growled so fiercely, and looked so savage, that the mere sight of them made the mother tremble with fear.

So apparently, the other two's (Tom and Jerry) chosen brides like to train vicious hunting dogs.

The youngest son, as was his custom, went to the pond, and called on the frog to come to his rescue.

In a minute she was at his side, bringing with her the most lovely little dog, which she put into his arms. It sat up and begged with its paws, and went through the prettiest tricks, and was almost human in the way it understood and did what it was told.

Okay ... here's another instance of failed mental image. Dogs one and two grow up to be BIG dogs. Dog three is a SMALL dog. Either the mother got them from two different litters ... or the frog was starving her puppy. Though when you consider that there's nothing but flies to eat in the pond ...

In high spirits the youth carried it off to his mother. As soon as she saw it, she exclaimed: 'This is the most beautiful little dog I have ever seen. You are indeed fortunate, my son; you have won a pearl of a wife.'

Because she starves dogs.

Then, turning to the others, she said: 'Here are three shirts; take them to your chosen wives. Whoever sews the best will be my favourite daughter-in-law.'

Mom is still not satisfied. Now she wants them to decorate shirts.

So the young men set out once more; and again, this time, the work of the frog was much the best and the neatest.

He's learned his lesson. Do not doubt talking frogs. Especially when you're in a fairy tale.

This time the mother said: 'Now that I am content with the tests I gave, I want you to go and fetch home your brides, and I will prepare the wedding-feast.'

And now the mother finally decides that she wants to meet the girls. Judge them for who they are, not just what they can do. Too bad Joe only has that frog ...

You may imagine what the youngest brother felt on hearing these words. Whence was he to fetch a bride? Would the frog be able to help him in this new difficulty? With bowed head, and feeling very sad, he sat down on the edge of the pond.

It's scientifically proven that ponds are good for relieving sadness. Unless you're one of those Whovians, apparently. I'm not quite sure why, but the word pond seems to upset them.

Flop! and once more the faithful frog was beside him.

She must be a very compassionate frog.

'What is troubling you so much?' she asked him, and then the youth told her everything.

I wonder if he bothered to mention to her before that it was supposed to be his future wife that was doing all the tasks she was doing for him.

'Will you take me for a wife?' she asked.

You see, she's really an enchanted princess and she'll only regain her proper form if someone will agree to marry her!

'What should I do with you as a wife,' he replied, wondering at her strange proposal.

Because you see, in most cases, the guy is supposed to do the proposing ... not her!

'Once more, will you have me or will you not?' she said.

She's not allowed to reveal that she's enchanted. As though it isn't obvious ...

'I will neither have you, nor will I refuse you,' said he.

Because he's not sure he wants to marry a frog, but there aren't any nice human girls willing to marry him ...

At this the frog disappeared; and the next minute the youth beheld a lovely little chariot, drawn by two tiny ponies, standing on the road. The frog was holding the carriage door open for him to step in.

My mental image broke. Again. The text says that it's a little chariot ... but either it's REALLY small (in which case Joe is too big to fit in it) or, again, she's a very big frog. 

'Come with me,' she said. And he got up and followed her into the chariot.

She must be a very big frog.

As they drove along the road they met three witches; the first of them was blind, the second was hunchbacked, and the third had a large thorn in her throat.

Ah ha! The witches that cursed her! Now Joe will have to fight them, and thus the spell will be broken!

 When the three witches beheld the chariot, with the frog seated pompously among the cushions, they broke into such fits of laughter that the eyelids of the blind one burst open, and she recovered her sight; the hunchback rolled about on the ground in merriment till her back became straight, and in a roar of laughter the thorn fell out of the throat of the third witch. Their first thought was to reward the frog, who had unconsciously been the means of curing them of their misfortunes.

Um ... okay ... maybe not ... 

Well, I must admit that a frog driving a chariot with a human squeezed into the seat beside her must be awfully funny.

The first witch waved her magic wand over the frog, and changed her into the loveliest girl that had ever been seen. The second witch waved the wand over the tiny chariot and ponies, and they were turned into a beautiful large carriage with prancing horses, and a coachman on the seat. The third witch gave the girl a magic purse, filled with money.

And that's the unique thing about this version of this fairy tale. The froggish heroine was born that way! And it's only because she looked funny that was turned human! On second thought ... it's kinda weird ...

Having done this, the witches disappeared, and the youth with his lovely bride drove to his mother's home. Great was the delight of the mother at her youngest son's good fortune. A beautiful house was built for them; she was the favourite daughter-in-law; everything went well with them, and they lived happily ever after.

And the moral of the story, be very talented so that you won't be outdone by a frog.

Interview with Eowyn

Via Pinterest. Eowyn's inspiration collage for the main character
of the book.

No, I'm not talking about Eowyn from Middle earth (though that would be epicly awesome), but Eowyn of Inklings Press.

You see, back in June, I took part in Anne-Girl's June Crusade, and was pared up with Eowyn. We were supposed to each guest post on the other's blog at least twice ... but both of us got busy, neglected email, so on and so forth ... and we're only just now getting around to interviewing. We haven't figured out what the second guest posts will be yet. Hopefully, we'll figure it out before next June.

She has not yet published anything, but her book, which thanks to the Crusade, I've had the pleasure of beta reading, is really good. Possibly the best Christian Contemporary Teen book I've ever read.

1. Hello and welcome to Knitted to God's Plan! Please tell a bit about yourself.

    Well, I’m just an all-around strange person.  C :  I share a room with my baby sister, and I have a sign taped to my door that says, “A sweet, cutie-pie baby and an insane, nerdy fangirl live here.  Enter if you dare.”  Me in a nutshell.  : D  (I also like to use smiley faces in my interviews.  In case you haven’t noticed.)

    I was homeschooled for eleven years, and am currently getting my degree with CollegePlus.  Not sure what I’ll major in yet, but I know it will have something to do with writing because that’s my favorite thing to do EVAH.  Besides that, though, I enjoy watching movies with my family (and my myself), reading books, listening to Broadway musicals, and climbing trees.

 

2. How long have you been writing and why did you begin?

    I’ve been writing for about eight years now (wow....).  Well, I guess I’ve been writing for forever, but it all started when I heard about a short story competition that the American Girl Magazine was holding.  I entered (pleeeeeease don’t ask to read my submission!!!!), and, needless to say, at age ten, it wasn’t very good, so I didn’t win.  My little heart was crushed for about a week, then I was knee-deep in a full length novel about a family with eight kids whose parents go missing after going on a cruise.  (It involved the CIA and kidnapping and fires and all that.  It was intense.)  I also started writing a sequel to the AG Mag submission.  I’ve been writing practically nonstop ever since then!

 

3. From your username, Eowyn, I gather that you're a fan of Tolkien. When did you fall in love with Middle Earth and what's your favorite part?

    Heehee....  Yes.  I’m a huuuuuuge Tolkien fan.  : )  I fell in love with Middle Earth, hobbits, dwarves, and The One Ring (my preciousssss....) when I was about ten or eleven years old.  I really wanted to watch the movies, but my dad said that I couldn’t until I’d read the book.  It took me about five months, but I finally finished it (with a five hour long marathon one Sunday after a friend told me about how amazing the movies were).  My sister and I watched The Fellowship of the Ring one Halloween night with some friends, The Two Towers with my aunt and uncle, and Return of the King during a summer camp with my dad and another friend.  From the moment Galadriel started whispering in the beginning of Fellowship, I was addicted.  (Well, not addicted, per se.... but.... ya know.)  Since then, I’ve enjoyed learning more about Tolkien’s world and sharing my love of Lord of the Rings with all of my friends!

    I think the part I like most about Lord of the Rings is the story.  I mean, that’s an obvious answer, but it’s such a thrilling story!  Good versus evil on a huge scale, plus some pretty amazing characters and scenery?  Come on!  It’s the best.  : )

    Go Team Faramir!

 

4. What inspired your WIP, Becoming Nikki?

    That’s a great question!  Let me think....  Well, a few years ago, I had an idea for a story about a girl whose younger sister dies in a tragic swimming accident.  I think the younger sister either wanted to be an ice skater or the older sister did...?  I don’t remember.  Anyway.  I wrote the idea down in my handy-dandy notebook and promptly forgot about it.  Then, about a year later, I was watching the 2010 Winter Olympics and remembered the story during a figure skating competition.  I thought about it for a while, messed with it, wrote it down again, and started writing it in June of last year, finally finishing it in January!

 

5. What first sparked your interest in ice dancing?

    Well, I’ve always liked ice skating.  (I once wanted to be a professional ice skater in the Olympics.  LOL.)  It looks so graceful and beautiful, and I’ve always been amazed at the things two people can do on frozen water.  I discovered ice dancing during the 2010 Olympics and have been truly, madly, and deeply in love with it since then.

 

6. What is your goal as an author? (i.e. what would you like readers to take home from your books?)

    I want my readers to be encouraged.  For instance, the theme behind Becoming Nikki is that there’s no greater friendship than that between family members.  Once you’ve lost that, you’re like a ship without a rudder!  I’ve learned this lesson the hard way.  I think it’s a lesson everyone needs to learn, and if just one person reads Becoming Nikki and realizes that for themselves, my life will be complete.  Okay, maybe not complete, but I’ll be on cloud ninety-nine for months.  : )  I also want God to get all the glory, and I want to further His kingdom with it.

 

7. Besides Tolkien, who are some of your other favorite authors?

    Robert Whitlow and Wayne Thomas Batson, without a doubt.  I discovered them both about five years ago and have faithfully followed them both since then.  A few others are Andrew Clements, Elizabeth Enright, Donna VanLiere, and C.S. Lewis.  I just finished The Mysterious Benedict Society, and I think Trenton Lee Stewart might be added to that list pretty soon, too.  And Amy Dashwood, of course.  : )

 

8. What is your favorite fairy tale?

    Confession Time.  I really don’t like fairy tales.  *ducks flying tomatoes*  You can sue me all you like, but I just have never really liked them.  Seriously – have you ever read some of the original Grimm fairy tales?  They’re a little creepy!  Not exactly Disney-worthy, if you get my meaning.  The Disney versions are a lot better.  Mixed-up fairy tales, on the other hand, are pretty good.  I read Ella Enchanted a few years ago and liked it.

 

9. When you publish, do you plan to go the traditional route, or lone it with self-publication?

    Ya know....  I have no idea yet.  I was writing another novel while writing Becoming Nikki, and I was going to try out both with those two, but the second novel kinda tanked around the seventh chapter and I haven’t picked it back up since this past May.  I’ll probably try the traditional route for a while, then, if I don’t get any bites, try to self-publish.  We’ll see.  : )

 

10. What's the strangest thing you've ever done for your writing?

    Heehee.....  I’ve done many a strange thing for my writing, but the strangest thing would have to be to act out my scenes.  I love acting, especially when it’s something I’ve written.  I’ll go through a scene several times, sometimes from different characters’ points of view, tweaking it a little more each time, decide which way I like it best, then run to my laptop and write it down.  Yes, I’m crazy.  But you guys already knew that.  : )

 

Thanks so much for interviewing me, Kendra!!

Sometimes I wonder ...

Two weeks ago, I published my fourth book. I was on top of the world and nothing could stop me. I had received wonderful feedback from all of my beta readers, be they family, friends, or near-strangers. Even my mom admitted that it was a good book ...

But then only four people showed up for the blog party.

I wasn't too upset, there were plenty of people who had expressed interest in the weeks leading up ... so I still had potential readers, didn't I? I couldn't always have a smashing success of a book party ... maybe I just chose a bad day.

But two weeks passed ... and I'll let ya'll in on a little secret ... not a single copy of the book has sold. No one has bought a paperback, or snagged it on kindle. The giveaways of my first three books were a smashing success, not my best giveaways, but the number wasn't puny, either. I've even sold two kindle copies of Take since then ...

But no one has bought The Ankulen.

Maybe I spend too much time watching my KDP ... but I try to only pull it up once a day.

I've never dreamed of becoming rich off my writing, I've never even dreamed of becoming famous (though that would be really cool). I write because I like to go on adventures, and I publish because I'm presumptuous enough to think that others would like to go on my adventures with me. But I like to see sales, too. I'm a people person, which is a rare thing for authors, I've learned, so I like to hear feedback from my readers.

I suppose that sales of Take should be high, the fact that it's a sequel is a built-in promotion ...

But there are days when I wonder ...

Am I doing this right?
What am I doing wrong?
Should I even be doing this at all?
Maybe I should give up this whole authoring business and focus on my knitting business. At least I know I'm good at knitting.

And then, to make maters worse, I start comparing myself to other authors. Sew has only three reviews on Amazon ... and Annabeth's War, by Jessica Greyson has 25 ... and Sew's been out way longer. People ship (reader talk for pairing up fictional characters, often romatically, somtimes not) Jack's characters, but the only time I've had anyone do that for me, they were trying to pair up Arthur and Madeleine ... (And as the readers of that book know, not only is she already betrothed, but A and M are very closely related)

When I published Sew, it was only my second book to reach the words "the end." The only other book I'd ever finished was book two of my Rizkaland Legends. Why was I so presumptuous as to think that I was ready to publish? And why that book? The first in a series that I had (and still have) no end in sight for? What made me think that I could keep it up? Sure, I had stuck with Rizkaland for five years, rewriting book two in play format three times and I had just finished the prose format, but I could never get through that book without making a HUGE change half-way through and deciding that I needed to rewrite it again.

Maybe I should have made myself rewrite Sew. I've rewritten every single other book I've written at least once, preferably twice. (Or four times) Okay, so I haven't rewritten Infiltration yet, but I plan to.

Maybe I did something wrong in the promotion. Before I published Sew, I did talk about my writing, but this was more of a blog for my school work. I even wrote and published some poetry. I didn't try to build a readership.

But I've published Sew, it's selling pretty well, and receiving good ratings on both Amazon and Goodreads ...  and Take is selling REALLY well and is receiving even better ratings.

I AM an author, an indie author, but an author all the same. I write books, I finish them eventually, I rewrite them, and then I publish them.

And I do hear feedback from my readers. They like what I write. They're begging me to finish and publish Kingdom. Currently, it's sitting next to me and I'm writing the scene where Eric discovers the depth of Robin's childhood hatred of him. I also have Worth of a King up on the computer and I just introduced a character who will be very important. I need to pull up and work on my short stories ... maybe once I finish writing this blog post.

I may have my doubts some days, but they don't change anything. They don't change the fact that I love my characters. They don't change my love of the written word, the scratch of my pencil against paper, the tapping of my fingers on my keyboard (And BlackViolet has the loveliest tappy keyboard). It doesn't change the fact that I DO have readers who DO tell me that they like my books.

I'm an author. Nothing will change that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I'm done being sappy and inspirational, and ready to be serious. I do need more reviews, since they are what sells books. If you are willing to read and review any of my books, particularly the short story collection and The Ankulen, email me (See my FAQ page or the "Contact Me" page on my Official Website) and I'll send you the PDF file that went into the print version, or the word file if you want to read on your kindle. If you are a "physical books only" person, I can give you a 20% discount. (For Take and Ankulen. The other two I already have their prices lowered as far as they'll go).

Please note, I'll only send you one book at a time (as incentive to make you read my book), and I would prefer it if you post your review at least two places, and three would be wonderful (Amazon, your blog, goodreads, shelfari, there are many places to review my books)

So ... bon appetite, and feel free to share the fact that I'm giving away books for review. The more reviews I get, the more readers I can attract!

Oh, and speaking of free books, "The Prior Quest" is currently free for kindle. If you're wondering if you should read this lovely little story or not, here's a review to convince you that you should.

Also, I'm looking for interviews. If you are interested in having my face on your blog. I might be able to put together a guest post, but you'll have to give me a topic. Otherwise it'll just be gibberish. If you'd like, we can do an interview swap and I'll interview you here on my blog. If you have a book, I could also review it on the O.Scarlett blog ... but we do have a backlog there (thank-you life for becoming fun) so it may be a while before I get to your book.

Characters In Costume - Fiona and Pearis

Characters in Costume is hosted by Gillian Adams. Head over to her blog to find more characters in Costume!

This month's theme is obstacle characters. Characters who aren't necessary villains, but they get in the way of the main character's goals and dreams. Sometimes their conflicting aspiration is just as worthy as the MC's but since the two goals come into conflict, there's a bit of friction. Or a lot of friction.

When Mrs. Adams issued this challenge, I was stumped. I couldn't think of a single obstacle character other than Derek ... and while her own character is a boy, I really cannot pull off a boyish look. Maybe if it was just my face ... but that would defeat the "Costume" part.

So I thunk, and I thunk, and I thunk ... and low and behold four (female) characters came up to me and demanded that they be the one. And all four were in position to get their way, one being a queen, the second a princess, the third a very high-ranking noblelady, and the fourth a Dizalay (which is something like a queen, but different.)

The Dizalay was a elderly elfla, however, and while I can pull off the old woman look, I didn't feel like dumping an entire thing of baby powder in my hair, and I haven't figured out pointed ears.

But the other three were quite doable, so I couldn't decide which. And I kept putting it off ... and putting it off ... and rejoicing when she moved the day ... and putting it off ... and putting it off ... until I received word on Tuesday that my aunt for whom I babysitted, wanted me for three days this week. So I stuffed my dress in my dufflebag (I was to spend two nights rather than my usual one) and headed to their house.

I had nearly determined to just do Fiona, since she was the character I associated with that particular dress, but my aunt has a few more dress-up clothes for her girls, a few of which I can still squeeze into with very little restriction on my breathing.

So while Liya the Dizalay was still out of the question, I could now do both Pearis and Lady Roxanne.

And no, this Fiona and Lady Roxanne are in no wise related to the Fiona and Roxanne of HaV Academy. I like to reuse names I like, especially if the character I originally gave it to is not the nicest character I ever wrote. (And no, there is not a Lucy playing obstacle character anywhere. I wouldn't taint that lovely name like that.)

Fiona is the Fairy Queen and the twin sister of Keely, the female main character of my WIP Unforgiven. 

Now the fairies do not have a true monarchy, because being queen is not a matter of birth. When the old fairy queen dies, a new one is selected by the counsel. She's usually quite young, because they want her to last a while, thirty to forty moons at least. Her lack of wisdom is compensated by the Leprechaun King who is similarly chosen. The two are supposed to marry, the only marriage that is allowed between the fairies and leprechauns. When he dies, she is now the older and wiser one, and compensates for the inexperience of his successor.

However, Fiona was young even by Fairy Queen standards, and King Eamon, her intended, was a bit old. She overheard a conversation between him and someone where he called her "A very young thing." She, with a temper typical of characters named Fiona, retaliated by calling him an "Old Graybeard" in public ... and it escalated from there. Needless to say, the two did not marry.

Instead, the alliance between Leprechaun and Fairy dissolved, which is not a good thing.

You see, fairies are makers of potions. A few high-ranking ones have wands, but all make potions. Thing is, most of the really important potions require some sort of metallic dust ... which can only be gained by the Leprechauns.

So with the two not talking to each other, there are several potions that cannot be made ... such as the weasel-away potion, which requires gold dust.

Since the tallest of these wee folk is no more than seven inches tall (and he was a giant) weasels are quite a problem for them. Fiona and Keely's own parents were killed by weasels, as was the former queen (who they died defending). 

The only two willing and able to hold the two warring peoples together are Keely and Carlin. 

Yes, these fair folk have wings and can fly. Leprechauns travel by rainbow, but that's a topic for another post.

That's the other great thing about dressing up at my cousins' house. They have fairy wings that I can borrow.

I'm really looking forward to writing this story ... but I'm having issues getting it started.

Readers of Do You Take This Quest? have already met Pearis. (Ack! Why do I keep trying to call her Joan? That's her aunt's name!) I'm by no means a perfect representation of her, because her hair is black and mine is that awkward color between blond and brown that neither side wants to claim. (Honestly! If I'm talking to a true brunette, she'll tell me I'm blonde. If I'm talking to a blond, I'm a brunette. very annnoying)

She's the princess of Fronce, which is a very powerful country in Bookania, and an only child. Since she's the sole heir, she's a bit spoiled. Because of her great-great aunt Joan, Fronce is the source of woman's fashion, so anything she wears becomes newest fad.

Such power can go to a girl's head.

(I really don't look like me when my glasses are off.)

She doesn't like Robin for various reasons. First, Robin doesn't act like a proper princess. Second, Robin doesn't emulate her perfect styles. Third, Robin has a better hairdresser than she does.

She doesn't like any of Robin's new 100+ year old friends, either, since they don't bow to her styles, but to the inferior fashion sense of that Joan (who she refuses to believe is her aunt.)

And when one of them "curses" her with gray hair, well she doesn't like that.

In the opening chapter of My Kingdom for a Quest Leo hints that she liked him, so she is human ... she's just a very spoiled human. And she's going to be very important in the second half of that book. May even have a chapter from her Point of View. She was almost mentioned in Sew, It's a Quest, so she's an older character ... she just hasn't received very much screen-time. 

Unfortunately, just as I was about to take pictures of Lady Roxanne ... my camera batteries died ... so ... maybe next time? (I honestly wanted to introduce you to her, since she's a great character. She and Clara just have some clashes of wills)

Oh, and while I was dressed up as Fiona, I decided to pose for the cover of their book. This is actually supposed to be Keely, but they're identical twins, and often dress identically, so it works. This is a working cover that I did up this morning. Like it?

(Twins among fairies and leprechauns are always identical.)

Oh, and I just learned that yesterday was national talk like a pirate ... and I meant to do up another treasure hunt with a PDF of any of my published books (or something like that) as prize ... but I was babysitting, and had no internet, and therefore missed it. Ah, well ... if you want me to, I'll post one on Monday. If I don't get any votes for that, you'll have to wait until next year.

What's Next?

The Ankulen is published. I can no longer pull up the document and make a small tweak or change. I'm done ...

Which means I must find a new project.

Considering my very long WIP list, this shouldn't be a problem.

And yet it is. So ... I'm going to sit back and do a run through of all of my books/ideas, tell you where I am with each, and the pros and cons of each book. BTW, this'll be a rather long post, so I won't blame you if you bail halfway through ... but virtual cookies to anyone who gets to the end.

First on my WIP list (see the link two paragraphs up) is The Ankulen. I really need to remove it from the list, but ... oh well. While I am finished with the book itself, I do have a list of spin-offs that I can talk about. First, Jen has a bunch of adventures she had as a kid, and I've decided to write them up and ad them to my short story collections. I'm about a quarter of the way through writing the first, "The Sun Jewel Adventure," and those of you who have read The Ankulen may guess what it's about. Second, Jen wants to write some original stuff that would occur after she got her imagination back. She says she's going to write her first book (which has yet to be titled, but will be about Princess Mynna of the Mermaids - which I think will make all of you very happy since she seems to be a favorite among my readers) during NaNo. I'm not sure how that's going to play out since I'll be writing my own book at the same time. Third, I am planning an official sequel, which will be entitled Anka Jenifer, and it will explain almost everything that I left hazy, and a certain character's sisters will make their appearance. But since this book takes place five years after The Ankulen I'm not in a hurry to get it written. Sorry, folks.

Second on my WIP list is Cayra. MY mermaid book. These mermaids are very different from the ones in Jen's imagination, even to their clothing. Cayra (what these mermaids call themselves) cannot breath air unless they use a special magic pill, which is available only to the royalty. The don't believe that humans (who they call Eamals) actually exist. Their clothing is more like what L. Frank Baum gave his mermaids in his book The Sea Fairies, (a book I highly recommend if you've read the whole Oz series and want to know the backstory of Trot and Cap'n Bill.) This is actually my only fantasy that is set 100% in the real world. I'm not sure where it is, but it's along a seashore - perhaps on an island. I like the logistics of this book, but while I've written the first chapter, bits and pieces of the middle, and most of the ending ... I can get the book to string together. Sigh ... maybe someday.

Ah, The New Division! Now that's a book that's making progress. It barely had any writing at the beginning of this year, but on whim, I decided to write it for 100-for-100 and I added a good 12,000 or so words to it. (Don't remember the official count, though I could probably look it up.) During July, I pulled it up and wrote another thousand words, and right now, a second 100-for-100 is going. What do you think I'm writing? Why The New Division of course! (Or at least I will until NaNo starts, and then I'll be allowed to switch it for my official NaNo novel. I'll get there later. I'm really liking this book, and I don't think I've ever really seen a book like it. I love all four of the main characters, even Alistaar (who really needs to be taken down a few notches, but that will come later.) It's a slow story, though, and it must be written slowly. I don't know when I'll finish it, but I've already decided that it'll probably need rewritten. I'd like to publish it before my Rizkaland legends, but if WP,FP gets out first, I really won't mind.

Speaking of rewriting, here's Infiltration, which DEMANDS a rewrite. Now, I love this story, especially since its set in my oldest world, but I'm actually not in a hurry to get it published. You see, it takes place after the Rizkaland legends in much the same way as The New Division takes place before. It also is one of the last of my sister's Mikada Chronicles, technically, so while it functions quite all right as a standalone, it will be much better if I wait and let all the history be written. Also, I'm not sure how I want to rewrite it. I really liked the journal/memoir format I used ... but I want to know the stories of more than just Tiger and Snap. Let me think on this quandary for another year or so, and maybe I'll figure something out. The book also has a sequel planned ... but while I've written an introduction for it, I'm not at all sure how the events should play out.

The Land of Numbers ... Truth be known, I haven't touched that book since I copied it off of facebook and into a word document. It's a delightful story about a pair of twins and a fairy girl who are trying to save an oz-like land of numbers ... but I'm stuck. Maybe I'll finish it someday ... but I'm not sure.

And now we come to Half-Hidden. "Wait" cry those of you who are reading through the WIP list with me, "This says 300 Dragons!" Yup. I know. You see, when I attempted the book for Camp NaNo back in July, I realized that 300 Dragons was the wrong name, despite how eye-catching and exciting it sounded. You see, I discovered that only the good dragons were called "dragons." The fallen dragons, which were the 300 that Jyson was supposed to hunt, are actually called Wyrmen. Not only that, but the official hunt only takes place in the first half of the book. So, why Half-Hidden? Well, you see, the people who hunt the Wyrmen are called the Hidden. They aren't human, but they are trapped in human form. Analyssa Stardrana, my leading lady, is half-Hidden, but she doesn't know what, exactly, the true form of the Hidden is. It's an exciting book, and I'd like to get back to it ... but I have a few facts wrong about Stardrana's mom, and I don't like the opening scene ... so I'd debating whether or not I need to restart it or just keep plowing through.

To Perfect a Fairy Tale ... this book has a started word document and about a page and a half of writing ... but I'm not quite sure where all I'm going with this book. I know what it's about ... but it's going to be a very haphazard book ... and truth be known, haphazard books kinda scare me. I like Anthea, she's a great main character ... so I'll keep chipping away at the story ... but I don't see it picking me up by the ears and making me write it any time soon.

I haven't really talked about Jessica's Summer, even though I think about it a lot. The problem with this book is that, while I know how it begins and have a vague idea how it ends ... I have no idea how to get from point B to point Z. I love the opening chapters, though, and I've written them several times. I love the banter between the Season sisters, especially since Jessica (aka Summer) thinks she's a mortal human. She and Winter are ALWAYS arguing. Maybe I should restart it for the fifth time and maybe I can get somewhere this time ... I'm actually thinking about turning it into a series, called the Cycle of Seasons. We'll see about that if I actually ever get the book written.

Unforgiven is actually a longish short story. I have the outline for this book in play format ... but I'm not sure how to get it started. I can see it progressing beautifully once I get it started ... but opening scenes are the bane of author's existences. But I do like this story, and all of its characters. I just need to get it written.

HaV Academy is probably my most unique book. I'm not really into superheros, or books about boarding schools, but this is a book about both. But I really like it, and the idea simply won't go away. I'm only on the second chapter of Roxanne's story, but I'm considering going ahead and writing Fiona's, since her's is technically first. (There is a reason I'm putting them in out of order, but I won't get into that here.) Lucy's story is last ... but I have written bits and pieces of hers and I might like her best as a main character. Not sure though ... Rox is fun too. And Fiona.

I'm not sure why I never talk about Part of the Family. It was a huge chapter in my writing journey. I have the basic outline in the form of four plays that I wrote for our church to perform ... but I'm not completely sure how to translate them into prose. I do plan to release them as plays as well for other small churches like my own to use for their own kids ... but I need to chase down the original scripts for two of the plays. I'll get back to all of you on this one.

Stolen Ideas probably won't be written for at least, oh ... five or six years, since I want a good supply of writing published. Can't say anything more.

I was considering writing The Nutcracker's Son for NaNo this year, since I've finally settled on a reason that the still-unnamed titular character was turned into a nutcracker like his father. However, since I've decided to write a new, shiny idea instead, I don't know when I'll write it. I do know that I want a Christmas publication ... whenever that happens.

RPS was another book that I was considering for NaNo. Unfortunately, not all of the plot is well thought out. I've decided on an ending, and I KNOW how it'll begin ... but there's a lot of uncharted middle territory that I haven't decided on yet, so I suppose it's just as well that I'm not going to write it yet.

The Faerie Realm was another huge chapter in my writing journey that I really haven't talked about. It's a very broad story with lots of plot. It may end up being a series, I'm not sure. I need to figure out how to twist together all of the plots. I really like my Fairies, so I really am looking forward to writing this.

I have talked some about Silivock, and have even introduced some of the characters. This is one of the early Mikada Chronicles, so it is high on the I'd-like-to-publish list. However I need to do some research into the workings of the computer. The main characters are inventing a computer, so I'd like to at least sound like I know what I'm talking about.

How to Grow a Tulip in Fifty Thousand Words can't be written until after it's first mention in my sister's book. I'll probably write it for a NaNo seven or so years from now.

League of Royals is a fun book that I'm really looking forward to writing. I've slowly been pulling pieces together for it, but I'm not quite ready to start writing it. I love it though, so the day when I can start it may come soon.

The Worth of a King, my co-write with Miss Jack, is currently in my court. I need to finish chapter five and give it back to her. We've been having lots of fun with this book.

I have started No Refuge for a Princess in a notebook, but I didn't get more than a paragraph in. I really like the idea so ... maybe I'll give it a word document soon. I need to do some world building .... though maybe I can slide it in as a different page of Bookania ...

And now we come to the end of my standalones. Technically, the tentatively titled Eternal Queen may end up being a series, or it may only have one book. I don't know yet. I've started writing it, but like No Refuge, I didn't get very far. I'm still open to World Building, so if you want to head over here and ad something new, I'd be much obliged to ye.

And now for my series.

First we have The Bookania Quests. I believe I've mentioned this series a few times, because the first two books are actually published, as is a short story. At the moment, I trying to stumble through My Kingdom For a Quest ... but it's not going too good at the moment. I'm also writing two short stories for my next collection. At the moment, I'd rather write books six or nine ... but I suppose I ought to take what I get ...

Now I know I've talked about The Rizkaland Legends. I've been working on this series for the last ... oh ... seven or eight years. I've completed book two four times, and it still needs a fifth rewrite. At the moment, I'm focusing on finishing writing the first book, Water Princess, Fire Prince, in notebook form. I'm very close to the end, just a few battle scenes perhaps. (Yay!!!! ... or not... I still don't like battle scenes.) When I finish, I'll start rewriting it on the computer for the fourth time. Fun.

The Tales of Ooladada are coming nicely ... except for the fact that I'm stuck at the moment. My sister isn't pleading for the book to be written at the moment, so I suppose I can be forgiven. Bookania's about to show up, so I'm looking forward to that. I have finally convinced my sister that this world doesn't have to be in the Andromeda Galaxy, and that it can be beneath our feet, so I'm happy again!

Dreams of History hasn't been touched or even thought about in a very long time. Sigh. I love Historical Fiction, and I've always wanted to write a Christian version of The Magic Treehouse, but I don't know when it's going to happen. Maybe I should try doing a different book in the series ... like the one where she's a Jewish Girl in WWII ... or the one where she's a Christian girl who becomes a Roman Slave ... Much thought will have to go to this subject.

I have decided that I need to start over with The Trilogy of Secrets. I'm not expecting brilliant word counts out of these books ... so maybe I'll write them all in one fell swoop for a NaNo at some point, then publish them boom, boom, boom. I'm not looking forward to the second book because it takes place in the real world, and I don't like the real world.

And now we come to the Trilogy of One, which I stole from my mom as we all know. She doesn't like all of my added ideas ... but she's the one who dropped the book. She should have had it completed before I got to it. Problem is, I'm having trouble getting into the characters ... but I think I've finally come up with a solution to the problem. I shall email the file to my kindle, and then I shall retype it into a new document and she shall keep the old one for her to finish with if she ever decides to and I shall finish mine.

Of course there's my top-secret, multi-genre series. At the moment I'm planning on writing the first book, which is Sci-Fi, for NaNo this year. I'm looking forward to it! I don't plan to release any of these books until I have the first five ready, which I will then publish in one month increments.

But what book is next on my publication list? The short answer is a Short Story Collection. It will contain two Bookanias, "The Woodcutter Quince" (which is Doranna and Casperl's Backstory) and "Gift Exchange", (which is sandwiched between Sew, and Take) as well as the Jenny Adventure that I mentioned earlier, and a Saffron Adventure entitled "Saffron's Even Bigger Plan." The first three have been started, and I've even made good progress ... but I'm not sure yet where I'm going to start with the Bigger Plan.

But after that ... well, what would you like to see? You've read the pros and cons from each. Which ones do you want me to crack down on and get written?

CE Work - Clara and Jasmine

Via Pinterest

(Names have been changed to protect the innocent)

I have, perhaps, the best job an author could ask for: babysitting my biggest fan and her younger siblings. Anna is my 8 year old cousin, and while she hasn't read any of my books for herself, she has had me read almost everything I've written. Sew, It's a Quest, Check. The Ankulen, she was my first beta reader. Do You Take This Quest? well ... we haven't got past the first few chapters, but as everyone agrees, The Ankulen is a very distracting book.

Right now the book she's having me read is Water Princess, Fire Prince. The notebook version in all its embarrassing choppiness. Ah, well ... it's not like I have a corrected computer version yet ...

I suppose I have only myself to blame. Maybe if I hadn't taken her to Rizkaland and let her sleep with a mistletoe muffin under her pillow and meet Edward and hear all about the Water Princess and Fire Prince from Bookdaughter Tnika, we'd be happily reading Do You Take This Quest? ... but then again ... maybe not.

"Hey, why don't we go outside!" I announce, deciding my throat is sore. "Anyone want to ride a bike?"

Via Pinterest

Both of the younger two cry "MEEEE!!!" but Mimsy and Anna are reluctant. However since Sadie and Mary are already putting on their shoes and will soon be running out the door, they have no choice and accompany us outside.

Of course even outside I can't escape from Rizkaland. Now we're taking a lovely stroll along the shore of one of the Rivs ... the yellow one ... I've forgotten it's name.

"Can we go swimming in it?" Anna asks, looking up at me hopefully.

I shake my head. "I don't recommend it unless you want to get sticky. Yellow water has a high concentration of sugar ..."

"Kendra ... who's that?" Mimsy suddenly asks, interrupting my train of though.

I look up to see a blonde-haired young lady with oriental eyes who only looks a few years younger than me and a black-haired younger girl a few years older than Anna. Both are wearing Rizkan garments and I know who they are at once. "Clara! Jasmine! You came!"

Having reached us, Clara, the blonde, gives a mock-bow. "Oh yes, high and mighty author of ours, we have obeyed your summons."

Jasmine wrinkles her nose as she looks up at me. "You're our author?"

"I am," I confirm. "And I've been your author for the last ... I don't know ... how long has it been Clara?"

Clara folds her arms over her chest. "It's been way too long."

I mirror her position. "You're right. It has been way too long. I should have published your book years ago, despite the writing being horrid and the book incomplete."

"Well, maybe if you didn't spend so much time on other books like your stupid Bookanias and Jen's book, maybe you'd have finished mine by now."

"Maybe, or maybe I'd have knitted a scarf long enough for the Statue of Liberty. There's just no way to rush the perfect book." Before Clara can protest further, I turn to Anna. "Anyways, I invited the two of you over so that you can meet my cousins. This is Anna - she's your biggest fan. Anna, this is Clara, the Water Princess and her maid, Jasmine."

"Really!" Anna exclaims. "You mean Edward's mother!"

Clara gives me a look of disbelief. "Edward's mother! Who's Edward?"

I shrug. "Your son, obviously. Now that I've gotten you over your hump of not liking the Fire Prince ..."

"I don't want to think about kids right now!" She whirls around and refuses to look at me.

I shrug and turn to Anna. "Clair doesn't like me very much. Hey, why don't you show Jasmine how to ride a bike ... or maybe she can do your hair. She's very good with hair!"

"Yes I am!" Jasmine exclaimed. "See Water Princess? I did her hair!" And off the two scamper, leaving Clara and I alone.

I stand in awkward silence for a few moments, until Clara suddenly whirls around. "Just how many kids am I going to have?"

"At least six."

"At least ... you mean you don't know? You know how many most of your Bookanians have ..."

"True, but you get two lives. Six kids while you're ruling Klarand, and I don't know how many you'll have in earth - if any."

"I see." Clara is silent for a moment. "So I hear you published The Ankulen today."

"Technically it was last night, but today's the official release," I confirm. "Everyone who's read it says it's good - even my mom."

"I suppose you want me to read it."

"If you want to. You know, Jen likes you a lot. It's a sad thing when two of my favorite characters don't like each other."

"I don't like Maryanne or Robin, either."

"Well at least Robin and Maryanne like each other, and Jen likes all three of you."

"Jen likes us as characters - doesn't realize that she's one of us."

"No, she doesn't. I don't know if I'll ever reveal to her that she's actually a character ... but I really don't think it matters. She's a cooperative character, she doesn't need me to point her in the right direction."

Clara gives me the Look. "And you're saying that I'm not a cooperative character."

I grin and shake my head. "You are most definitely not. Why don't we go see what Anna and Jasmine are up to. Maybe we could paint Jasmine's fingernails."

Clara laughs. "She'd like that."

Character Encounters - September 2013

And it is the ninth of September and I've only JUST gotten around to the Character Encounters. Hey! Give me a break - I've been busy releasing The Ankulen!

But now that's all over and done with so I can finally post the encounter.

So where are we going today???

Work

Now, I understand it if you don't have an official workplace, but I'm sure that everyone does something at least once in a while to earn an extra dollar or three (babysitting, yard-work, garage sales ...)

And I just looked at my calender and realized that this is my TWELFTH CE. This means a whole year of encountering characters, and that calls for something special ...

So this time, instead of encountering just ONE character, you are required to meet at least two, and at least one of them cannot be a main character. (Major is allowed, but it can't be someone who ever holds a POV).

Fun right? Now go forth and encounter!

Oh, and before I forget, the winners of the PDF files of The Ankulen from the blog party are ...

1. Miss Melody Muffin
2. TomWildRose

I'll go ahead and send Miss Melody her file, but Tom was also the winner of the Memorable worlds giveaway, so instead she may either ask for the PDF of Sew, or go to my WIP page and ask for either Infiltration or two of anything that has progressed beyond the "plotting" stage and is on the computer. (Worth of a King is not eligable however, because it's not completely MY book, and I don't have full rights to give it away. You can ask for Nine Gems or Behind the Rainbow because while they are both co-writes, my co-writers are family and that's different.)

Christmas with the Tittletons Tag

One of my fellow bloggers released her first book the day before The Ankulen, and in celebration, she has done up a tag and has invited all of us to participate.

The Book is called Christmas at the Tittletons, and like The Ankulen, it also began as a play - but I believe that it was actually performed! You can get the paperback version here, but I don't know if she plans to release it for kindle or not. I hope that she does.

What started out as an enjoyable Christmastime house party at Sir John Tittleton's luxurious London home has turned into a veritable nightmare. A stranger has been found in the back alley, stabbed to death, and everyone in the house is a suspect. As Jessamine Warbling, a fashionable young lady, decides to give Scotland Yard a helping hand, she discovers that almost all of her friends had a motive to kill this man. But which one is the murderer, and is he, or she, desperate enough to strike again?
As Jessamine Warbling, Inspector Fionn, and the Tittletons dig into the case, they take a gruesome look at human nature and learn just how far a person will go to save his own skin.

1.  What is your favorite Historical Mystery book?

Detecives in Togas ... don't remember who wrote it, but it was really good. Our library didn't have it, so I had to ILL it back when I was studying Rome. My favorite part about it explained a bit of graphiti on a temple wall - that actually exists! It's a real mystery that the author decided to put a plausible answer down for.

2.  Would you rather read a Classic or a Mystery?

I used to prefer mysteries ... but since I grew out of the Boxcar Children, I haven't found a series I love as much, but I've discovered how good the classics are, so now I prefer them. 

3.  How do you think Christmas at the Tittletons will compare to your favorite Mystery?

I really don't have a favorite mystery, but as long as it doesn't involve characters meddling and putting their noses where they don't belong and kids being better detectives than the adults who are trained professionals ... (my big pet peeve when it comes to mystery) I'll probably quite enjoy it.

4.  How do you think Christmas at the Tittletons will compare to your favorite Classic?

Hush Clara, indie authors can write good books too!

Sorry about that, I have a character who thinks that if a book isn't at least forty to fifty years old, it shouldn't have been written at all. No, she doesn't like me.

Anyways, I think CatT will be very good, but on a different level than the classics. The classics were the contemporaries of their day, so they have a very different flavor than our own historical fiction. I don't think they can really compare. But my opinion might change after I read the book!

5.  Do you think you would like to write a Historical Mystery sometime?

Actually, I have an idea that's been boiling around in the back of my mind for some time about four siblings (two girls, two boys) who are homeschooled and have an inventor father. Whenever they encounter a history mystery, they go back in time with their dad's time machine and solve it. Don't know if I'll ever write it or not, but I'm liking the idea ... 

See!  Only five questions, and you get five points for the giveaway.  Now for the rules!

1.  Please post ALL the rules.

2. Please answer ALL the questions.

3. Comment on this post when you have completed the tag and include a link to your tag post.

4. Tag five other people.

5. Let the people know that you tagged them.

6. Include a link back to this post.

And I tag ...

TomWildRose of The Rambling Rose (because she loves tags!)
Miss Melody Muffin of The Splendor Falls on Castle Walls
Sarah Holman of The Destiny of One
Katie of Whisperings of the Pen
Rhoswen Faerie Wrose of The World of a Rhoswen White Rose

Also, you can continue to earn points for my own book giveaway by commenting/world building/doing my tag/ect. until Monday when I will post then winner and September's Character Encounter. Thanks!

Hall of Ankulens!!

Here's the great, much-anticipated hall of Ankulens!

Jenifer Marie Brown, creator of Findwan, "The Rubix Cube World"

Miss Jack Lewis Baillot blogs over at However Improbable and is the author of Haphazardly Implausible and A Stretch of Loyalty. She is the creator of the Steampunk world of Haphazardly Implausible, and Nightshade, a country without a king. She is the co-creator of Dialcia, a world within a sphere.

Kiri Liz blogs over at Lianne Taimenlore. She is the creator of Findenland  "12 Dancing Princesses meets Charles Dickens," Dron "Dragons are just legends ... aren't they?" Pennin "Where grudges, betrayal, and treasures abound," Kesia "A kingdom divided in too many ways," and Moyena "Conmen rule the streets ... and the royals."

(Pictured also are the Ankulens of Anka Teddy, Anka KT Bugs, Anka Jessa Bri, Anka Tora, Anka Beth Grace, and Anka Em, Kiri's cousins and Siblings)

Miss Melody Muffin Blogs over at The Splendor Falls on Castle Walls, and is the creator of  Quara

"A medieval fantasy world where cats talk, squirrels ride on people's shoulders and royal messengers ride giant eagles," Brythonia "My version of Camelot.  Elves, guardian lions, female knights, Arabian-type equines hidden in a secret valley…" and Quivira "A world with great diversity.  Many countries and peoples.  Unusual flora and fauna.  Legendary creatures such as dragons and unicorns."

V. Kathie Ardnek blogs at Singin' My Own Song, and is the creator of Mikada, "a fantasy in the stars," and the co-creator of The Rowa, "where the Hedge is real," and Ooladada, "where knowledge is stored beneath our feet."

She's my little sis, by the way, if you couldn't tell already.

Rachel Lamb blogs at Eagle Nest Mom and is the creator of The Land of the Fallen Rainbow and her future earth.

She's my mom, by the way.

Tom Wild Rose, or R. R. Goodman blogs over at The Rambling Rose, and is creator of The Young World "Where myth and legend are reality," The Mirach System "Humans, androids, aliens...and Living Crystal forests," and Land Behind the Door "Where your imagination comes to life...and makes you run for it."

Joel Lamb is my little brother and he doesn't have a blog yet. He does, however, makes up stories about and draws pictures of Prince Sam.

And I am Kendra E. Ardnek (surprise, surprise, right?) I blog here, and I am the creator of Rizkaland "Where the Rainbow flows like water," Bookania "Where Fairy Tales have adventures," Colluna "Two Moons, Two Peoples, a New Division," The Land of Magic, HaV Academy "Where Superheros and Villains are trained," and The Faerie Realm. I am also the co-creator of Ooladada, The Rowa, Dilacia, and I've stolen mom's Land of the Fallen Rainbow after she abandoned it.