I found this image on the net and saved it some time ago. When I looked at it today I got the feeling that the world may really be run by a frog who sits on the North Pole and rules with a steady hand.

Frogs understand transformation. They are born fishes, and after a while their tails are absorbed by their little fishy bodies and they turn into frogs. Frogs look wise, you know it? Those big eyes look to me as if they see everything that is going on. They have big, capable hands, hands that can handle any emergency.

The trouble with frogs these days is that we have messed up their world. No, I am not a tree hugger, but I would hate to think that the world is going down because people think they have to have everything they see.

My heritage is an odd mix of country girl and twenty-first century princess. I must be a pricess. I have more clothing than I need. I have a nice house in a pretty good neighborhood. I have all the food I need, and more books than I can read. I don't have a car, but I pretty much have all the transportation I need. I have my health, even though I have some chronic conditions that need to be monitored.

What I don't have is a frog - or a toad, which might be more to the point. When I grew up, every garden had toads. As kids, we picked them up. Mine always wet on me, but that didn't prevent me from enjoying the cool, dry heft of a big old toad in my hand.

As a princess, I look out for frogs. My television tells me there are hundreds of varieties of frogs, and I am glad. I hope we can save them all. And I hope I run across a frog soon. I always wanted to try kissing one just to see if it could turn into a handsome prince.

I know. Some days I am just a little bit teched.

Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com

Hello there,

I have been busy editing my latest novel, Drama Queen Rules, the story of a young woman who has her eyes on the prize, no matter what friends and family might have to say about it.

Lainey Cook wants to go to college and ditch her cocktail waitress job at Paradox's bowline alley. People say she doesn't have the equipment to get a degree, but she refuses to believe their put-downs. She knows she is worth more than she is getting out of life.

Lainey's boyfriend, Skip Boyer, is not quite as ambitious. When he want the cash to buy her a ring, Skip hooks up with a group of outlaws. Too bad he didn't get to the market in time to get them out of there. So he's more or less wanted. Even Lainey wonders if she shouldn't look in another direction to find her bliss. When Skip takes her for a joy ride, she is more convinced than ever, but he keeps coming back like the proverbial bad penny.

Someone once said we write our own stories over and over again, and I will admit some of the elements in this story are pretty close to my personal journey. I did, however, change the names to protect the innocent.

If you like a light read, I will send you the first chapter of Drama Queen in return for your comments.

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

Thanks for reading my blog.

Terry

Beach Glass Jewels

Whenever I meet someone new they seem to be astounded by the number of things I do.

Ok. I write. I make dolls. I fashion jewelry out of various materials - this year's focus is on beach glass.

Beach (or sea) glass is hard to find. Some beaches seem to have lots of glass scattered along the shoreline along with shells, seaweed, and a few other, less savory, articles. Flotsam and jetsam? Perhaps.

All I know is that beach glass looks like gemstones to me. It comes in a variety of colors: brown, amber, white, green (pale and dark), and lavender. The pale purples are more rare, possibly because the glass contained lead, which turned purple under the light of the sun. I pretty much think the lavender color is safe, unless one were to lick it - but we are not talking about jewelry for the under-five set here.

I love the random shapes of beach glass, which is the product of someone's garbage that has been rolled in the surf by the constant motion of the water until the surface is smooth and frosted, silky to the touch.

Latelly, I have been experimenting with wire and beads, working pieces of beach glass into pendents that can be worn on a cord or chain. I displayed the resulting jewelry on a driftwood 'tree', which seemed appropriate.

The Main Street Gallery on Muir Street in Cambridge will feature a display of my beach glass pendents starting Saturday. I hope to be there Saturday evening, and I hope my friends will be there as well.

Oh yes, if you can't look up, take a walk on the beach and look down - you may find a beach glass jewel of your own.

Terry

Terry L White -Author of the Chesapeake Heritage Series
"Travel Through Time With Terry"
http://www.terrylwhitesblog.blogspot.com/

'Tis the Season

This morning I realized that I am right in the throes of gallery season with the Wednesday Morning Artists. This Saturday evening we will be stopping by the Dorchester Arts Center to support the arts in Cambridge and the surrounding county.

At about the same time, Second Saturday will be underway on Race Street, with businesses open during the evening for holiday shopping.

Holiday shopping? No!

Yep. Thanksgiving is three weeks away. I sure hope you are ready, because I sure ain't.

I haven't even finished with this weekend yet. The Main Street Gallery will be showing work by many of the WMA, so do stop by if you are in town. The theme is Art-cess-ories, and I have submitted a dozen sea glass pendents and a very special doll to the show.

As you can see from today's photo, the Marsh Maiden is a bit different from the mermaids of fairy tale, although they go hand in hand with sailors and their dreams. So, I have sculpted this doll in a camoflage tail and bustier. Even her hair helps her to hide in the marsh grasses. I have an idea she is truly one of a kind.

I nearly forgot. Saturday will be a book day for those of you who love the written word. The Dorchester County Public Library will host its Second Saturday book sale until noon and I will be signing my Chesapeake Heritage books at Bay Country Shop from 1-3 pm with friend Arline Chase.

And then there is Christmas!

Judging Books By Their Covers

If you have been following the process of publishing a four-book series, you will know that it is not something you do overnight.

One of the most interesting things I encountered during the process was commissioning the covers for the four novels by Snow Hill artist Dawn M. Tarr. Now, this may sound like a fairly straightforward process, but it isn't at all.

In the first place, Dawn is busy making a living and while she did her best to keep up with the theme each book represented, I think it was a true labor of love for her to do these covers.

This is what happened: I emailed Dawn and asked if she would be interested in doing the cover for the first book. At the time, one book seemed to satisfy my writing itch, but it spread.

When Dawn said she would do the cover for the first book, I was over the moon. We have been friends for ages, and it meant a lot to me that she would do the art for Chesapeake Harvest. I shot her a brief synopsis of the story and she shot back the cover art.

Same thing with the second book, and the third, and the fourth. Dawn 'got' each story from the brief descriptions I sent, keeping the art in the same colors, but varying costume and hairstyles to echo the differing eras in which the stories took place.

The cover for Chesapeake Destiny was definitely difficult. Jane Elliott marries badly and lives to regret it. She might have given up and become a faceless woman like the one in the unfinished painting in her attic if not for the wandering artist who returned to give her his heart. This novel is set during the Revolutionary War and spotlights the Eastern Shore of Maryland as the breadbasket for both the rebel and British armies.

Dawn caught the story perfectly, and read it a year later! Our telepathy seems to work pretty well, at least I think so.

I will be in Snow Hill signing books at the Adcock Gallery for First Friday this week and at the Bay Country Shop on US 50 in Cambridge from 1-3 p.m. on Nov. 14. See you there! Terry