March Creative Corner

As with books, this has been a pretty slow month for create things. I've been working hard at trying to edit, and completely re-write the ending, of Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog, plus re-outline Return to Wonderland. Since I don't have a lot to show, I'll share a few excerpts from my novel. I've never done that before, so I'm a little nervous. Anyway, here we go. (And sorry about the picture quality. My camera batteries died just when I went to take the pictures. I had to use my phone instead.)

First we have a drawing I started several months ago. I forgot about it until recently, when I pulled it out again to finish. My idea was to draw a girl wearing the armor of God. I wanted the armor to be modest and practical, which is why she's wearing a long sleeved top and leggings with her leather and metal armor. I love how this one came out. I've been working on shading with colored pencils, which I think looks pretty good in this picture.

Next are these key earrings I made. My mom had some key charms lying around and she asked me to make them into earrings. These are what I came up with.

Monday we went to see the cherry blossoms that survived in DC. Here's a few of the pictures I took.

My last actually piece of art are the maps I created to go with Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog. The first one is a map of the whole continent. The second is a map of the specific country the story takes place in, called Zilmannio. I decided not to ink the second one yet, since I want to be able to change and/or add things easily.

Oops, this one came out blurry. Sorry.

Okay, so excerpts. Before I show you a few, allow me to explain a little. This story is sort of a Frog Prince re-telling. In my story, a boy gets turned into a frog by a cursed charm, and his best friend goes to Zilmannio to find a way to save him. It's changed a lot since my first concept, but I think it's really starting to come together.

Excerpt #1: Jeremiah transforms

“Kay, look at this,” Jeremiah said.
I rolled over to see what he had found. Maybe an animal. He was pointing into the creek water. I peered in, then spotted what he had seen.
It was a silver charm about an inch tall, bumping up against a rock. The charm was shaped like a frog, inlaid with emeralds to make it green, and with two topazes for it’s eyes.
“That’s gorgeous,” I said. “How did that get in the creek?”
“No idea.” He reached out to pick it up.
As he did, my gut twisted. I reached out to stop him from touching it. As I touched his arm, he pulled it from the water. That’s when it happened.
His whole body shrank, turning green and mottled. His hands grew webbing between them. His face become flat and his eyes black. In less time than it takes to read this, Jeremiah had transformed into a bullfrog.
He instantly croaked and began hopping around. I screamed, scrabbling away from him. Both of us were freaking out. Then he jumped in the creek.
“No,” I yelped, going after him. I was not about to let my friend hop away, no matter how scared I was. I pounced, my hands closing around his slick body.

Wet, and holding my best friend turned frog, I sat on the side of the creek trying to figure out what to do. Things like this just didn’t happen. Maybe I had fallen asleep and was dreaming this. Except it’s hard to say that when you're holding a slimy creature that was staring at you.

Excerpt #2: The witch's house

As I sat there flipping pages, an old woman came and sat down beside me. I pretended not to notice her. "Hello, boy," she said, forcing me into looking at her. She was quite a character. Half her hair was black and the other side was white, and all of it cut short. Her dress was also black and white, as was her makeup. There were no wrinkles on her face, although something in her demeanor told me she was older than she looked. I tried not to stare at her but it was difficult. Seriously, she looked like Cruella De Vil. 
"You are looking for Zilmannio, hmm, boy?" she said in a very young sounding voice. 
"Uh, yeah. Do you know something about it?" I asked cautiously.
"Yes. Very good. Come with me," she said, jumping right up. 
The old lady yanked me up off the bench. With much more strength than she should have had, she pushed me onto my bike. Leaping on the handle bars like a school girl she ordered, "Go to 123 Lark Lane." 
Not having any other choice, except dumping her off my bike, which wasn't gentlemanly, I obeyed. Following the directions she gave me I soon found myself facing a house that was painted light peach and seemed to be like all the others in the neighborhood. Until I entered.
Inside it was totally crazy. Everything, and I truly mean everything, was pink and squishy. The carpet that covered all the floors was pink and when you walked it squished and oozed around your foot and made sucking noises, like what a tongue would feel like if you could walk on it. The walls were also pink. Losing my balance on the floor I put my hand on the wall and it seemed to swallow my hand. All the furniture was similar. The whole place felt like a mouth waiting to eat me alive.
"How do you like my house? Isn't it lovely?" the old lady asked as she led me to the living room.
"Uh," I said, trying to think of a polite way to ask if her house was hungry.

"Please sit. I'll get you a snack," she said and disappeared into the kitchen. I eyed the couch and chairs. No way was I sitting in them. I had a feeling I'd never get out of it again. 

Excerpt #3: Leaving Draziw

A rustling sound came from by the door. We spun to face it. It was Draziw’s peacock. “Quick, get downstairs,” said the painting girl. “He’ll tell Draziw where you are. You can’t be caught here.”
We sprinted down to the second floor. Sleeno dashed inside the bathroom, while I leaned against the wall, trying to slow my breathing. A few seconds later, Draziw charged up the stairs. He stopped short when he saw us.
“I though you might have gotten lost or wandered off, you were taking so long,” he said.
Sleeno came out. “Sorry, you know how long girls need.”
“Of course.” We smiled at each other, suspicion in everyone’s eyes. “Your friends are ready to leave when you are.”
He kept a close eye on us as we headed down. By the front door, he grabbed my shoulder. “I warn you against trying to return the boy to normal,” he said softly. “It will not end well.”

I pulled myself away. “Thanks for the warning, but I think I’ll make my own decisions, thanks.”

Sorry if these excerpts aren't very good. I've never tried to pick out good parts of my novel before. I hope you enjoyed them anyway. If you'd like to learn more about Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog, you can go here or here.

Let's talk! How have you been creative this month? Has it been a slow month or a quick one? Tell me in the comments.