In my dreams as a child, I could shape-shift and become so small I could dance with the fairies or raise my arms and rise high above the earth to see it as eagles do.  My imagination and creativity were boundless and unselfconscious.  I loved to draw and color, create puppet shows, dance, play dress up, write little poems and make up stories in my head.  These activities brought me joy in the chaos of my home life.  Then I grew up.

Suddenly, my thoughts of becoming an artist, clothing designer, dancer, actress or writer seemed frivolous and impractical.  Because I was smart and got good grades, my dad told me I should become a research scientist, something for which I felt entirely unsuited.  Nevertheless, I chose a path that would prepare me to become exactly that, a scientist, a Microbiologist in fact.  I rationalized my decision, since by focusing on my secondary interest and choosing that as a career path, I felt I would always be able to get a job and take care of my family after I graduated.  

In reality, growing up in the 50s and 60s, I expected to marry, have children and become a home maker, only using my Microbiology degree and going to work if something happened to my husband.  I ignored the one chance I had to spend my life working at something I loved.  My college Professor for creative writing strongly urged me to change my major from Microbiology to English, but, as the daughter of an English teacher, I wanted no part of that profession.  I was too insecure to envision myself as a writer.

Fast forward more than 40 years, and I found myself totally burned out after working full-time in laboratories from the time I graduated from college.  So, without much ado or fanfare, I gave two-weeks notice and retired from my job as Microbiology Manager at a large reference lab with 100 employees under me to become a part-time caregiver for my mom.  In retrospect, my decision to become a clinical Microbiologist was not a total disaster.   I was indeed able to be the bread winner for my children and often for my husbands, was able to use my creativity in various ways, and became recognized and honored in my field.  

As a retiree I am never bored.  My days are filled with things I love to do.  During the pandemic, I discovered the Goddess Life Sisterhood and, through Dolphina’s virtual platform, met Marci Darling.  Marci is the goddess we all wish we could be.  She graduated from Harvard, has been a bellydancer in exotic places all over the world, has been onstage with Paul McCartney, the GoGo Girls and Pavarotti, published four books, teaches, travels, is a single parent, and volunteers to help babies with AIDS.  She is such a bright spirit I always imagine her dancing into a room in a cloud of bubbles and glitter dressed in pink tulle and a crazy hat.  She is also my muse and favorite fairy godmother.  It is because of her inspiration and generosity that I wrote this book.

Marci gave Zoom bellydance classes for the Sisterhood and always ended them with a writing prompt.  I took all her classes and started writing short stories, almost all with female protagonists, starting with her prompts. Her words were so magical they always sparked my imagination and the stories seemed to almost write themselves.  After I had written about 40 of them, and received many positive responses from posting them on the Sisterhood’s website, I began to think about putting them into a book.  My first thought was that not all the words were mine, since each story started with one of Marci’s writing prompts, so I gathered my courage, contacted her to ask if she would be willing to co-author a book with me, and she said, “Yes!”

Since then it has been a process.  Marci kindly agreed to write a few stories of her own using the same writing prompts to include in the book, so the reader can see how the same inspiring words can lead the imagination in completely different directions depending on the writer.  In the book, my story and Marci’s own story are side by side.    She also edited my stories, so I have been blessed with her extensive training and education in creative writing, which has definitely helped to make my own stories better.   Marci teaches writing classes on-line a couple of times a year and I can testify that they are as magical as she is.

Last but not least, I wanted the book to resemble the books of fairy tales I loved as a kid.  Fortunately, I discovered a website called Unsplash that has millions of searchable free images that I was then able to then manipulate with an App called BeCasso to make them look like paintings.   I hope you enjoy this magical journey and that it sparks your imagination as well.