A Sneak Peek

I've stated before that I normally never do a full rewrite. I work too hard the first time around to scrap everything. But this time I couldn't stand anything that I had written in Finding Prince Charming. So I started over...completely. Back to "Chapter one, page one," as Auntie Mame so beautifully said it.

Since June I have been working on the rewrite and it is coming along pretty well. I'm still hoping to be finished with the writing by the end of summer so that during the beginning of the school year I can get the edits and revisions taken care that need done and then hopefully Finding Prince Charming will be available in time for holiday shopping. But in the meantime, here's a little sneak peek at what's happening in Finding Prince Charming. It's not going to be beautifully formatted since it's in a blog post and this part is not at the very beginning of the story, but it gives you an idea of where things will go...


It was mid-morning when a small frog awoke surrounded by mud. Panicked, the creature flailed his arms and legs, fighting to be free of the slime until finally he came up to the surface. He felt dazed and confused as he turned yellowish-green eyes about to get some idea as to where he was. Gigantic flowers surrounded him and tall blades of grass, which didn’t help him much with his location. Nothing looked familiar and so he decided to figure out what he was doing there. He tried to think, but everything was fuzzy as though he’d been hit in the head a little too hard. The frog closed his eyes. His name was Adrian, he knew that much, but where was he? He tried to remember the last thing he had done before falling asleep. There was music, dancing, and a beautiful girl with auburn hair. “Allegra,” he remembered.
A giant nearby turned on hearing a sound. “Hi there, little fella,” he said, picking Adrian up gently in his hands. “You’re awfully far from the pond, my friend. You don’t want to be out this way, there are snakes sometimes.”
Adrian looked up at the giant’s face. “Oh, King Lysander, it’s me! It’s me, Adrian. It’s Adrian, King Lysander. Where’s Allegra?”
Lysander chuckled as the frog croaked and chirped excitedly. “Calm down, little fella, I’m going to set you down soon. I promise.”
“No, King Lysander, you don’t understand. It’s me, Adrian. No, no, no, no, no! Don’t put me down!”
“There you are, safe and sound,” Lysander said as he stood up. He rinsed his hands in the pond water and wiped them on the grubby trousers he was wearing and then turned and returned to the garden Adrian had just emerged from.
“No, King Lysander, please don’t leave me here!” Adrian croaked but to no avail. “He didn’t understand a single word I said,” he muttered as he watched King Lysander crouch down near his flowerbeds again. “Great, no human being can understand me. Just how am I going to get Allegra to realize that I’m a prince, not a frog?” He sighed and then looked about the pond he was going to be living near. He knew that if there were snakes, he should probably stay close to the water where he would be safer. He should also set himself up with a burrow of sorts away from where any other frogs might be. Some frogs were territorial and he didn’t want to get himself on the wrong side of any current inhabitants. Since he didn’t see any other frogs around, he picked a spot near the pond’s edge with a large rock near it. Boy, I wish I had a shovel right now, Adrian thought as he started trying to dig through the dirt.
After what seemed forever, he had finally managed to dig out a fairly comfortable burrow under the rock. He crawled out of the burrow and looked out over the pond. The smell of salty sea air filled his nostrils and he could hear the crashing waves in the distance. He suddenly got the impression that he was being watched and looked about the pond. A splash in a far corner grabbed his attention. “Is someone there?” he asked. There was no answer. He could see ripples in the water and a strange, purple seaweed floating near the surface. Just as he thought how strange it was that the seaweed was purple, it disappeared. He considered following whatever had been there, but thought better of it. Allegra would never find him if he became some fish’s midmorning snack.
Adrian sighed and went back down into his burrow. To his surprise, there was a rolled piece of parchment in the corner. “Where did this come from?” he wondered. He looked at the parchment for a moment and as though it sensed his presence, it suddenly unrolled itself. Startled, he jumped away from it for a moment, but noticed that the handwriting on it looked familiar to him. In fact, he was sure it was the same handwriting he had seen every year. Calista! How had she sent him a letter? Perhaps fairy magic wasn’t as weak as Calypso made it seem. She was the witch who had taught him spell breaking while he had still been in school. He moved back towards the letter so that he could read it.
Dear Adrian,
As you rightly guessed during your fifth year, you are not the person with a quest. Nevertheless I have some counsel for you as you await Princess Allegra.
First, become aware of your surroundings. I think you will find that the more you know about the area, the more you will be able to help Allegra. Explore, discover and learn. And please be careful doing it, some animals are not at all put off by slimy frogs and would find you quite the treat.
“Gee thanks, Calista,” Adrian interrupted himself before continuing to read the letter.
Second, no matter what happens, have faith in Allegra. This is a challenging position for you to be in, but rest assured in the knowledge that your princess loves you very much. She is a much stronger individual than she gives herself credit for being. You will probably need to remind her of her own strength before you can both reach happily ever after. Do not lose hope, even when things seem impossible. Even the most desperate of fairy tales still end happily.
Third, be careful in associating with other animal life. They may or may not recognize that you have been cursed. This could put you in a dangerous situation. Be sure that you stay on your own. Don’t be tempted to join any other groups and be very careful which creatures you put your trust in. Better to rely on yourself and your own strengths than to rely on false friends.
And now Adrian I will close by informing you that your friends have all graduated today. You will now only have to await the graduation of your princess before the quest truly begins. There will be some magical protection around you in the meantime, but do not become complacent in your own guard. Keep a wary eye and be alert. Congratulations on completing your schooling. Your diploma will be awarded to you upon your triumphant return with Princess Allegra.
Good Luck and Best Wishes!
Calista Periwinkle
Confused, Adrian reread the letter. His friends had graduated? How? He remembered vaguely making a deal with the witches in exchange for one last night as a human with Allegra. Then at midnight, he’d told her that he loved her and then…ugh! Why couldn’t he remember? He closed his eyes and strained his memory, trying to remember what had happened. He saw vague images of flashing light and felt the sensation of wind whipping around him. Then nothing, it was like he had gone to sleep. “I did go to sleep,” he realized. “I’ve been asleep for over a year!”
He left the burrow once again, mostly so that he could think without the large letter distracting him. What was he going to do? It would still be another year before Allegra graduated. He hopped about the pond, looking around to see what could possibly be of use to him in helping Allegra find him. He would never think to look in his own home province for her if he were the one on a quest. Why should Allegra look for him here? Would she even be allowed in Maltisten? He thought graduates weren’t allowed to go home until their quest was completed. His mind began to feel numb and the more he thought, the worse it got. There just didn’t seem to be any way for things to end happily. Even the most desperate of fairy tales end happily, he remembered, almost hearing Calista’s voice is his mind. “I hope you’re right Calista,” he sighed. “I hope you’re right.”

It was several days before Adrian managed to pull himself out of his bout of melancholy. On those days he worked hard to make his burrow more comfortable. He thought about a conversation he had once had with Nana, his grandmother, before he had disappeared. She had told him that she had spent every day waiting for Grandpa in cleaning her little room and making sure that she was ready to be rescued at any time. “You never know when they’ll show up,” she’d said cheerfully. Though Adrian despised cleaning, he realized his grandmother was right. It also gave him something to do. So each day he would get up and work on digging a little more out in his burrow. Then he would try to clean it as best he knew how. How did a frog keep his burrow clean? As he tried over and over to keep some semblance of neatness in his burrow, he determined that normal frogs must not care if their burrows are clean. The walls often dripped or slid down as the mud gave way. He decided that he would just try to keep things in good repair because there was no good way to get rid of the mud or make it stay where he wanted it.
As he worked, he wanted to put the letter in a place where it would be safe and where he could still see it and read it whenever he wanted. He tried rather awkwardly to move the letter someplace it wouldn’t be in the way. It wasn’t easy to do. The parchment seemed huge compared to Adrian’s small burrow, but he was able to at least get it set up against one of the muddy walls. He was slightly surprised to find that it never seemed to get dirty, despite occasional mudslides. He remembered that Calypso had taught him that fairy magic could offer protection to objects that they blessed. Calista must have known her letter would need some protection since as a frog he wouldn’t be living anywhere clean and well-kept. He often read and reread the letter until soon he had it memorized. He almost wished he had a letter from Allegra as well, but knew that there was little hope of receiving one while he was a frog. He would just have to enjoy the dim memories he had of her. As the days passed, his memory became clearer. He could remember the soft waves of her hair and the way her brown eyes crinkled at the edges when she laughed. Often during the day he would sit up on his rock, look over the pond and just smile to himself as he remembered her. She was so very beautiful and so full of life. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
His wish wasn’t so long in the waiting as he might have thought. One day just before noon, he heard voices moving away from the castle. He looked and saw King Lysander and Queen Alexandra walking out of the castle, Lysander carrying a large wicker basket. Alexandra had a checked blanket draped over her arm. They must be going on a picnic, Adrian thought. Then he saw Allegra coming out of the castle. The sunlight played on her hair, pulling out the golden-red color. She was tossing a shiny ball in the air and catching it. As she did so, she was moving closer to the pond. Maybe he’d get to see her close-up before she left. Suddenly she frowned. “Oh no,” she cried as she missed the ball she was tossing and it rolled away on the ground. It rolled right next to the rock Adrian was sitting on. Adrian hopped down closer to it. It was a glass ball with blue and gold swirled through it. Allegra must have made it in one of her classes. He seemed to remember her saying she enjoyed glassblowing.
His attention returned to Allegra as she bent over to pick it up. “Oh please say it’s not cracked,” she worried. “Please say it didn’t crack.”
As she reached down for it, Adrian tried to get her attention. “Allegra!”
She stood straight for a moment looking around her. Seeing no one, she turned to where her parents were walking. “Daddy, did you call me?”
“No, dear, but if you don’t come this way soon, we’re going to eat without you,” Lysander returned, a teasing tone in his voice. As they were talking, Adrian moved out in front of the glass ball that Allegra had been reaching for before he had said her name.
“I’ll be right there,” she called back and reached once more for the ball. This time, her eyes fell on Adrian.
As he was about to try saying something to her, Allegra let out the most bloodcurdling scream he’d ever heard. Startled, he hopped backwards, landing awkwardly on the glass ball and rolling off of it. Allegra screamed again and began running towards her parents, unable to hear Adrian try to tell her that it was okay. “Daddy! Daddy! There’s a frog over there!”
Adrian watched her panicked flight and felt his heart fall so low he was sure it was sinking into the damp ground around him. The precious glass ball had been left behind as his princess ran away from him in sheer terror. “She doesn’t just not like frogs,” Adrian realized sadly. “She’s terrified of them.” He remembered his best friend, and Allegra’s brother, Lucian, telling him that if anyone could make Allegra fall in love with a frog, it would be Adrian. “Oh, Lucian, if I ever see you again I am going to kill you!”