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My Mind Is A Wishing Well

May 28, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Here’s another poem that’s being set to music for Tiffany Prochera’s upcoming song collection.

MY MIND IS A WISHING WELL

My mind is a wishing well

Every day I deposit wishes and dreams like coins of copper

Nickel or silver for added consideration

As the metals disintegrate, mingle

Percolating in the joyfully burdened waters

The dreams discuss amongst themselves how they shall appear

How they may join forces

To kill two or three birds with one proverbial stone

Though that would never be a wish of mine

My wishes are for beautiful things

I dream in roses and music

And the well is happy to bring those dreams into the waking hours

They will become manifest in their time

When they are ready

When it will best serve all concerned

For there is a reason my wishes and dreams have come to me

My mind is a collaborator with the cosmos

And every dream I dream keeps a planet spinning in its orbit, a star shining in the heavens

Oh woe would be the hour should those dreams ever fade!

A little poetry anyone?

May 16, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Hi all!

Here is a poem that is being set to music for Tiffany Prochera’s upcoming collection of songs for intermediate vocalists. Enjoy!

I SHALL NOT IMPOSE A DESTINATION UPON THIS SONG

I will not impose a destination upon this song

Upon its creation or its presentation

Each word shall find a home

No melody is in vain

This song shall reach its own conclusion

A conclusion I may not and need not comprehend

I need only sing with abandon

I need only feel without restraint

I need only share and strive

That is the journey. That is the intention

That is the beauty, to evolve in one’s own time

of one’s own volition

Those who receive are those who are meant to receive

It may be heard once, perhaps many times

It is not for me to decide

I need only release that which desires to be free

Then it is so simple

Then the song becomes that which is wants to be

Joy unhampered by expectation

Thought unimpeded by desired results

Then the truth is revealed

I can be at peace with mystery

– Tiffany Prochera

Tabitha’s Magical Voice – Part 5

May 4, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Welcome to Tabitha’s Magical Voice – Part 5!

When last we saw Tabitha, she agreed to help the Grenigots if they would set her free and let her go home to retrieve an old tape recorder. But she’s taken the wrong path out of the woods so now she’s lost and has no idea how to get home. Will she find her way and return to Grenotia before Marticus and the Grenigots come looking for her and trap her forever?

While she was looking up and down the street, searching for the friendliest home to approach, Tabitha noticed a familiar sign a few doors down. A bus stop. The routes listed on the sign were the 81 and the 60.

“Hey,” Tabitha thought. “I take the 60 to get home from school. I can wait for the bus here. But how long will I have to wait? If I have to wait too long it could be too late.”

But no sooner did Tabitha finish that thought than a bus turned the corner further down the street and headed straight for her. Thank goodness. It was a 60.

The bus stopped in front of Tabitha and the doors opened.

“Excuse me,” Tabitha began, “but you go down Chatham Street, don’t you?”

“You bet.” answered the driver, a smiley, tall man with white hair.

Tabitha then remembered she didn’t have her bus pass or any money for bus fare at all. She hoped the driver would still let her on the bus. She clasped her hands together, almost like she was praying, and braced herself for disappointment.

“Now, I do have a bus pass but it’s not with me right now. I went for a walk and got lost and I have to get back home. Is that okay?”

The driver rubbed his chin, squinted his eyes and stared at Tabitha for a moment.

“Well, I don’t know.” he said with a twinkle in his eye, “They don’t like me letting people on the bus when they haven’t paid.”

“Oh, okay. I understand.” Tabitha thought the driver meant what he had said and she could feel tears coming but she managed to hold them back.

She turned and was about to step off the bus when the driver tapped her on the shoulder. “But in this case I am willing to make an exception.”

And when Tabitha turned around, he gave her a big smile. She was so glad he was just joking because she really didn’t want to have to go into a stranger’s house. She took a seat and kept her eye on the street so she would know when to get off.

When she arrived home, Tabitha dashed into the house, hoping no one would see her. But as she started up the stairs to her room, her sister, Caitlyn, came out of the kitchen with a piece of licorice sticking out of her mouth and screamed.

“Tabby! You’re back!”

Caitlyn skipped over to Tabitha to give her a hug but Tabitha put a finger to her lips. “Shhh! Don’t let Mommy and Daddy know I’m here. I just have to get something from my room and then I’m leaving again for a while.”

Tabitha and Caitlyn’s mother came out of the kitchen holding a cup of coffee. The cup shook a little when she saw Tabitha but she didn’t want to let Tabitha know she had been worried.

“Ah, you’re back.” she said calmly. “Did you have a nice walk?”

“Can’t talk about it now.” replied Tabitha as she ran up the stairs. “I have to get something from my room and go back.”

“Go back where? It’s going to be dark soon.”

“Mom, I can’t take the time to explain. The Grenigots will kidnap me if I’m not back in their village soon.” Tabitha opened her drawer to the little table by her bed and took out the recorder and an extra set of batteries.

“Grenigots? Kidnapping?” her mother asked. “What are you talking about?”

Tabitha started back down the stairs with her mother close behind.

“Not now, Mom. Please. I have to go.”

“Well, I should come with you. I don’t want you out there alone in the dark.” Tabitha’s mother started to put on her shoes. Tabitha looked down at her mother’s feet, which were a surprisingly large size 11 considering she was rather petite, and shook her head.

“No, you can’t. Your feet are too big. You could wipe out an entire family with one step.”

And with that, Tabitha shot out the door. Her mother stood in the doorway, trying not to cry though her chin did quiver a little. She was very sensitive about the size of her feet and didn’t like the idea that they could cause harm to someone, let alone an entire family of someones, whoever they were. Then, it occurred to her that Tabitha must just be joking. She was probably over at her friend Nadia’s house playing a game where they were creating an imaginary world full of fun and adventure. “What imaginations these children have.” she thought, and she laughed to herself.

The light was beginning to fade as Tabitha rushed through the woods and the trees were casting eerie shadows on the ground. She was afraid to think of how dark it would be on the journey home but she hadn’t had time to find a flashlight to guide her way.

When she finally arrived back at the clearing, the whole village of Grenotia was waiting there for her.

“Well, it’s about time.” Marticus hissed, his hands on his hips. “What took you so long?”

“I’m sorry everyone. I got lost on my way back to the house. Then, my mother saw me going up the stairs to my room and tried to stop me from leaving. But I got the voice recorder.” She held up the recorder in her hand. The villagers marvelled at the sight and wondered how it worked.

“Is your singing on it?” asked Bornoden.

“Not yet,” replied Tabitha. “but I’ll do it right now.”

She hit the record button and sang Happy Birthday three times into the recorder because it was a rather short song.

Tabitha could hear the villagers commenting as she sang. “Oh, she has a lovely voice!” “I wish I could sing like that.” “It truly is magical, isn’t it?” She was very pleased.

When she was done, Tabitha brought the recorder down to Marticus and started to explain what they had to do.

“Now see, you press this button here to rewind to the beginning.” She pointed out the reverse arrow. Marticus had to press hard with his whole body to push the button in. The machine whirled and then stopped with a click, which scared some of the villagers a little. “Then, you press the play button here with the big triangle to make it start.”

When Marticus pressed the button the villagers oohed and awed. As “Happy Birthday” played they would look at the recorder, then at Tabitha, then back at the recorder, amazed that they were hearing Tabitha’s voice when her mouth was closed.

“Gosh and golly! This is wonderful!” Bornoden exclaimed, slapping his leg with his hand. “You have saved us!”

The villagers cheered. Tabitha clasped her hands together.

“Oh, I am so happy I could help!” She looked into the forest and remembered the long walk home, “But now I have to go back. My mother will be worried.”

“Thank you so much for all you have done for us.” Marticus stretched out his hand and Tabitha bent down to shake it. “You know, I never did get your name.”

Tabitha smiled a big smile. She was flattered that Marticus was now asking her name, when he didn’t care who she was before.

“It’s Tabitha.” she answered.

“Well, thank you, Miss Tabitha. We right appreciate it.”

“My pleasure.”

The twilight was descending on the forest and Tabitha could see the blue twilight taking over the clearing.

“Well, I should get home before it gets completely dark.” she said. “It has been delightful meeting you all and I wish you the best of luck with the nados. And have fun at the Fronkernic Festival.” She looked down at Kishinae. “I’m sure you’ll be great in the play.”

Tabitha waved at the villagers as she walked into the trees and they waved back and blew her kisses of gratitude.

As she walked through the woods, Tabitha was beside herself with wonder. She had no idea that her singing had any worth at all, let alone that it could save an entire village. Did that mean she should start singing again? Were there other villages she could save from the nados? Did she have any other powers she didn’t know about? 6

By the time Tabitha reached the edge of the wood, big dark clouds were taking over the sky. The wind, which was barely noticeable before, was becoming quite strong, blowing the skirt of her green dress in all directions. It certainly looked like a storm was approaching.

As Tabitha came closer to her house, she could see her father watching through the screen door with a concerned look on his face. When he saw her in the distance, he sighed with relief.

“Tabitha!” he called out, “Get inside the house! The storm is coming!”

Tabitha ran through the yard straight into her father’s arms. He gave her a big hug, covering her in his bright red jacket.

“I’m so glad you’re okay. Your mother thought you had gone to Nadia’s but we called and you weren’t there so we didn’t know where to look for you.”

Tabitha went over the conversation with her mother in her mind and didn’t recall mentioning anything about Nadia.

“But I never said I was at Nadia’s.” she explained. “I was in Grenotia saving the Grenigots from the nados.”

Tabitha’s father didn’t understand a word of what his daughter had just said. “Well, you can tell us all about it but we have to go down to the basement.”

Tabitha and her father went into the basement where her mother and sister were waiting.

“Tabitha! You’re safe!” cried her mother as she saw Tabitha come down the stairs. She grabbed her in her arms and hugged her so tightly she could hardly breathe. “Don’t you ever take off like that again, okay?” she whispered in her ear with a tear coming down her cheek. “Don’t you ever do that again.”

“I’m sorry, Mom.” said Tabitha.

In a corner of the basement, Caitlyn was playing with the big purple teddy bear she had received as a birthday present from her Aunt Tracy. She was mad at Tabitha for leaving and didn’t want her to know how much she had missed her and how scared she had been.

Tabitha walked over to her and kneeled down on the carpet, picking up one of Caitlyn’s dolls and began stroking its long black hair.

“So, did you have fun at your birthday party?”

Caitlyn didn’t look up at her sister. “Yeah.”

“I’m sorry for leaving like that.”

Caitlyn was quiet for a moment. Then her eyes met Tabitha’s with a most serious gaze. “You didn’t sing for me, Tabby. Then you made me get scared when you ran away.”

“I know I did, Caty. Do you forgive me?”

“No. Not yet.”

“What do I have to do to get you to forgive me?” asked Tabitha.

Caitlyn raised an eyebrow. “You know what.”

Just then, the wind started to howl and the rain started to pour, making a terrible racket. Just as quickly, the sound of rain became even louder and heavier. They could see the trees swaying and bending through the tiny basement window as hail the size of grapes, then plums began to hit the ground. A crack of lightning, followed immediately by a deafening rumble of thunder made Caityln jump. She started to cry.

“I’m scared, Tabby.” She confessed as she grabbed Tabitha’s hand.

“That doesn’t sound good.” Tabitha’s father whispered in her mother’s ear.

Then, Tabitha picked up Caitlyn and sat her on her lap. She wrapped her arms around her little sister and began singing the song Caitlyn had been waiting for all day. She started off softly at first but her voice got stronger as she continued. And when she finished the ‘How old are you now?’ part of “Happy Birthday”, she didn’t stop.

As the wind howled and the hail fell on the roof, she kept on singing almost every song she knew, from lullabies to Christmas carols to songs she had heard on the radio. Caitlyn would join in when she knew the words and they laughed and clapped and had a wonderful time.

Tabitha’s mother and father looked on, very pleased, wondering what had happened to make Tabitha want to sing again but afraid to ask in case she would stop. She seemed so happy and it was so lovely to hear her.

Well, the story’s almost done but we can’t give it all away! To find out how Tabitha’s journey ends, download your copy of the Tabitha e-book at www.tiffanyprochera.com or listen to the audiobook on the Swimming Tigress Music YouTube Channel!

Stay tuned more for more stories, poems and more!

Tabitha’s Magical Voice – Part 4

April 30, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Welcome back to Tabitha’s Magical Voice!

In Part 3 – Tabitha discovered that her voice can stop the dreaded nados from distroying the tiny village of Grenotia. Now, to keep themselves protected, the Grenigots want to hold her captive forever! How is Tabitha going to get home?

Marticus gave Tabitha a little smile. “We cannot let you go. Our people have been dying for as long as we can remember and, if you can stop it, we will do whatever it takes to keep you here. You’ll have to keep singing so the nados don’t come back.”

The villagers were gathering around. “Alright people,” Marticus ordered, “Tie her up.”

The villagers hooted and hollered and started throwing ropes around Tabitha’s ankles, using the sticks to anchor them. Others started crawling up her legs and tried to tie up her arms. Even Kishinae pitched in. Tabitha could hear some of them apologizing as they threw ropes around her wrist, explaining that they didn’t want to hurt her but they had no other choice. Tabitha tried to pick them off and place them on the ground again but there were too many.

Tabitha started crying uncontrollably. Marticus looked at her with disgust.

“Oh, stop that business right now.” he demanded. “It is such an awful sound, worse than the meowing squibbers, and you’re going to get us soaking wet.”

But the tears were pouring down her face like it was raining.

“I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to stop it.”

Tabitha felt for the Grenigots and didn’t want any harm to come to them but she certainly didn’t want to be tied up and forced to stay in the woods forever. She thought of her family and how much she would miss them even if she was angry with them right now. She pictured her home, the swing set in the yard she used to play on, the big oak tree she loved to climb. She pictured the comfy chair she loved to read in that sat by the window in the living room. She pictured her treasured doll collection on top of her dresser in her bedroom. Hmmm… her bedroom.

Suddenly, in a flash of inspiration, Tabitha came up with an idea. She suddenly stopped crying. As her tears started to dry, her eyes became bright and big again. She was sure her plan would work.

“Wait! You don’t have to keep me here. I know what we can do!”

“What?” asked Marticus suspiciously.

“Yes, what?” echoed the villagers.

“Well,” Tabitha began, clearing her throat. “I think you are a fine people, even if you are trying to kidnap me, and I don’t want the nados to come back any more than you do. If it really is my voice that’s keeping them away, I have a voice recorder in my bedroom. I can record my voice and then bring the recorder here so you can play it over and over again whenever the nados come and I can go back home. My parents can always buy me another one.”

Bornoden looked shocked. “So, we can hear your voice even when you are nowhere in sight?

“Of course!” Tabitha replied, still surprised at some of the things the Grenigots didn’t know about.

“Gosh and golly, that’s amazing!” Kishnae thought it was like magic.

One of the other villagers didn’t think it was such a good plan. “But what if we let you go and you don’t come back?”

“He’s right.” Tabitha thought to herself. She knew she would return but how could she prove it to the Grenigots?

While Tabitha scratched her head with her one free arm, trying to think of a way to show she would be true to her word, her fingers touched the perfect solution. She was wearing a lovely hair clip, a butterfly with stones that looked like emeralds and diamonds on it. It was her absolute favourite. So, she took the out the clip, with strands of hair falling to the sides of her face, and held it up for all to see.

“This is my absolute favourite hair clip.” she announced. She handed the clip to Marticus, who had to hold it with both hands it was so big. “If you promise not to let anything happen to it, I will leave it with you until I return with the voice recorder. That way you’ll know I’m sure to come back.”

The villagers were awed by the hair clip and could only assume that it was incredibly valuable because of all the sparkle. Kishinae couldn’t stop staring at it and wished she were big enough to wear it in her own hair. They all nodded to each other that this was an acceptable agreement.

“Alright. We’ll let you go.” said Marticus. Then, his eyes got squinty and he pursed his lips. He shook his finger at Tabitha. “But if you don’t come back with this recorder thing by the time the sun goes down we will come and find you and we won’t let you go.”

Tabitha knew her footsteps would look big enough to the Grenigots that they would easily be able to follow her.

“Don’t worry. I will come back.” she promised.

Marticus called out to the villagers. “Okay. Untie her!”

Tabitha breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!” With her arm and legs freed, she turned around and started running in the direction she thought was home. “I’ll be back as soon as I can!”

“Before the sun goes down.” Marticus warned. “Or we’ll find you.”

Tabitha made her way through the woods, seeing the world around her in a new light. She thought, if there were all those Grenigots in one clearing, how many other people, perhaps even smaller that the Grenigots, might there be lurking around in the woods that she couldn’t see? She had never considered it before but she was beginning to realize there was so much she wasn’t aware of. Could there be entire families of Winigoes or Hibogineets, whatever they were, right underneath her feet at that very moment? But Tabitha couldn’t think about that. She couldn’t slow down to check under her feet at every step or she would never make it back to Grenotia in time.

Tabitha could see the light at the edge of the wood and ran faster than she had ever run before. But when she reached the end of the trees, she was greeted by nothing she recognized. None of the houses were her house. None of the swing sets were her swing set. None of the trees in the yards were the big oak tree that she loved to climb.

What was she going to do? How was she going to get to her house? Should she make her way back to the clearing and try again? Perhaps if she went up to the front of the houses, where the street was, she might recognize another house or building and find home that way. That seemed like the best idea.

Through the windows of the houses, Tabitha could see families around the dinner table or watching TV. She hoped nobody would mind her walking through their yard or there were no vicious dogs to attack her. She had had enough adventure for one day. Thankfully, the only animal she saw

was a white cat that was actually quite cute and fluffy. It started rubbing up against her leg, wanting to be friends with her, but she had no time for such things. Besides, she remembered Bornoden’s story about what cats would do to the Grenigots and it didn’t seem so friendly.

“Go away, you mean old thing!” she hissed at the cat. And it took off.

When she got to the road, Tabitha found that none of the houses were familiar and there were no other landmarks. It was just one big line of garages and driveways. She was completely lost.

“Where am I?” she wondered out loud.

No one was outside to ask. The sign at the end of the street indicated she was on Billings Street but she had never heard of it before so that wasn’t much help.

Tabitha was trying to muster up the courage to go knock on someone’s door and ask for assistance. Knocking on doors made her nervous because she couldn’t tell if the people would be nice or not from just looking at their house.

She also didn’t know exactly what she would ask for. Tabitha wasn’t supposed to accept rides from strangers so asking someone to drive her home wasn’t smart. If she asked to use the phone to call her parents to come and pick her up they might not let her leave the house again. Then the Grenigots would come in the middle of the night and carry her away and lock her up on the outskirts of the clearing to do nothing but sing for the rest of her life. But she had to do something. She needed help.

Stay tuned for Part 5! And don’t forget to download your copy of the Tabitha e-book at www.tiffanyprochera.com or listen to the audiobook on the Swimming Tigress Music YouTube Channel!

Tabitha’s Magical Voice – Part 3

April 24, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Welcome back to Tabitha’s Magical Voice – Part 3

When last we saw Tabitha, she had found herself in the land of the Grenigots – a group of bright-haired little people who had made a home in a clearing in the woods behind her house. She has met Marticus, Bornoden and his daughter, Kishinae, and learned about how the Grenigots came to the area. Now, there is some unknown danger approaching that threatens to destroy the village. Can Tabitha save it?

All of a sudden, an even littler little person with peacock blue hair dashed by, arms flailing wildly in panic. “They’re coming! They’re coming! Save yourself! Find shelter now!” he screamed.

“What’s coming?” Tabitha asked. “The cats, I mean, the squibbers?”

Bornoden looked towards the western sky, worried.

“No. Worse. The nados. They show up when the weather gets hot. We have lost so many of our people because of them, my dear wife, Kishinae’s mother included. She was swept up and never heard from again.” He held his daughter close to him but didn’t want to make her anymore afraid than she already was.

“That would be awful to lose your mother.” Tabitha thought. She didn’t even want to think of what that would be like. She could see white, black and red funnel clouds, about ten of them, appearing out of the trees, blowing into the clearing and heading towards the village. They were spinning with tremendous speed and, while they didn’t reach any higher than Tabitha’s waist, she could see how dangerous they would be for the tiny Grenigots.

“We get things like that where I’m from but not a whole bunch at a time.” she remarked.

Marticus gasped and leaped straight up in the air without any warning. “Merrylynn! I have to reach Merrylynn!”

He turned to run but Bornoden grabbed his arm. “It’s too far and too dangerous to go all the way across the village. The nados are already here. We have to find a safe place and hope for the best for our families.”

Tabitha thought for a moment, then realized she was wearing the perfect hiding spot. “I’m big enough so the nados can’t hurt me. You can hide in my pockets. You should be safe there.”

Tabitha picked up Marticus, Bornoden and Kishinae and placed them in the front pocket of her green dress. The two men poked their heads out just above the fabric so they could still tell what was happening.

Tabitha could see little people of the village being sucked up into the nados and their little cries for help terrified her. She picked up a few more people close by her and she wished there were more she could save. But she couldn’t fit the entire village in her dress pocket and moving any further into the clearing could be just as dangerous.

“This is terrible.” Tabitha said. “I feel just awful. Now I wish I was still at Caitlyn’s birthday party.”

Kishinae poked her head of out of Tabitha’s pocket and looked up at her with a curious expression. “What’s a birthday?”

“It’s the time when you celebrate the day you were born. My birthday is March 7^th.”

Marticus searched his brain for a moment while he scratched his head but he didn’t understand. “Hmmm… March. Never heard of it. I don’t think any of us remember when we were born. We don’t really keep track of the days here. So, is that what you were doing all your thinking about? Is that what got you all flustered and made you step on Shamabus’s house?”

Kishinae gasped. “Gosh and golly! You stepped on Uncle Shamabus’s house?” She looked down at the ground and noticed bits of broken twigs and crumpled leaves peaking out from under Tabitha’s feet. “I thought something was missing.”

Bornoden loved a good party. “Why wouldn’t you want to be at a party?”

Tabitha lowered her head a little. “My little sister wanted me to sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to her.” she answered shyly, embarrassed to admit her petty little problem while such terror was befalling the Grenigot people.

Bornoden still couldn’t make sense of it. “But we sing here all the time.”

“Singing is my favourite thing!” Kishinae exclaimed.

“Yeah, what’s the problem with this ‘Happy Birthday’ song?” Marticus asked. “Does it conjure up some nasty monsters or something? How does it go?”

‘Well, you know.” and Tabitha started to sing. “Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday dear – ”

She stopped suddenly and put her hand in front of her mouth when she heard the sound of her voice, remembering that she had not wanted to sing.

Marticus gazed up at the sky and shouted at Tabitha, “No, don’t stop! Do that again!”

Tabitha shook her head in resistance. “No. I’m not singing.”

“Just do it again and watch the sky.”

Tabitha’s head was swimming again. Should she remain silent? She did promise herself she wouldn’t sing anymore. But she was curious as to what Marticus was talking about. What was he seeing in the sky?

“Well, do it!” Marticus commanded again impatiently, stomping his foot. “Hurry, before more people die!”

“What?” Tabitha thought. “I can’t be responsible for people dying. What is going on?” As much as Tabitha wanted to keep her mouth shut, her compassion and curiosity got the better of her and she started the song again.

Marticus, Bornoden, Kishinae and the other villagers in Tabitha’s pocket stood there with their mouths gaping open. Tabitha was dumbfounded, too. After the second ‘Happy birthday to you’, the nados had already stopped spinning and started moving further towards the trees, away from the village. Tabitha kept singing while the distance between them and the nados got bigger and bigger until they disappeared.

Marticus pointed a finger up at Tabitha. “Your singing. It chased them away.”

She had seen it but she didn’t believe it. “No, it didn’t. How is that possible?”

“I don’t know but your voice is like magic.”

For the longest time, Tabitha had thought her voice was awful and here was Marticus telling her it was somehow magical. How could that be?

“Gosh and golly! You must stay with us forever and protect us from the nados.” Bornoden declared, as though that were a perfectly reasonable solution to their problem.

Now that the threat was gone, Tabitha took the Grenigots out of her pocket and placed them back on the ground.

“But I can’t stay here.” she explained, feeling bad that she had to let them down. “I have my own home outside of the woods.” She pointed in the direction she thought her house would be in, though she wasn’t quite sure anymore. “I should really be getting back there now, as a matter of fact.”

Just then, Marticus picked a leaf off the ground and shaped it into a cone. He faced the large end towards the village and spoke into the small end.

“Attention, villagers!” he called. The sound echoed throughout the clearing, “This girl here has saved us from the nados but now she wants to abandon us. We must make sure she can not leave Grenotia.”

“What?” cried Tabitha, who was starting to get scared. “You have to let me go back.”

The villagers of Grenotia started to come out of their houses, carrying ropes and sticks and whatever they could find. As they moved closer, Tabitha didn’t know what she could do without hurting anyone.

The villagers were gathering around. “Alright people,” Marticus ordered, “Tie her up.”

Keep posted for Part 4 and don’t forget to download your copy of Tabitha at www.tiffanyprochera.com

Tabitha Part 2!

April 20, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Welcome back to Notalotabull Press Storytime!

As promised, here is the second installation of Tabitha’s Magical Voice. We left off with Tabitha running away from her sister, Caitlyn’s, birthday party because she was bugged about not singing Happy Birthday. She has run off into the woods behind her house and has discovered she is lost…

Tabitha’s Magical Voice – Part 2

Tabitha noticed a ray of light coming down through the trees in the distance and kept walking until she reached a clearing littered with leaves and sticks of all shapes and sizes. It was quite pretty actually.

“This could be a good place to rest for a bit.” she thought to herself. She was tired and her legs were sore from all the running she had done.

Tabitha took a step into the clearing and felt a crunch underneath her feet.

“Hey!” she heard a small voice cry, “You’re lucky Shamabus isn’t home. But he’s not going to be happy having to build it all over again.”

Tabitha looked to the right, to the left and behind her, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. “Who said that? Where are you?” she asked.

“Down here, ya big oaf!”

Tabitha looked down at the ground and noticed that all of the branches and leaves that she assumed had just been scattered across the clearing were, in fact, arranged into cute little homes. Then, right next to her left foot, this little man, smaller than her foot was wide, was scowling up at her. His neon yellow hair and long beard to match seemed to glow in the sunlight.

“What don’t you watch where you’re going? Somebody could get hurt.” the man said.

Tabitha bent down to get a closer look and her mouth opened in wonder.

“Amazing!” she remarked. “What a funny little thing you are!”

The man huffed. “Better a funny little thing than a funny big thing, I’d say. What kind of a hair colour is that? Brown. Branches are brown, The earth is brown. But brown hair? Ridiculous!”

Tabitha was too awed by the little man to realize she was being insulted.

“I didn’t know there were people as small as you. Sure, I’ve heard stories about fairies but I know they aren’t real. And besides, you don’t have any wings so you couldn’t be a fairy anyway.”

The little man thought for a moment then shook his head. “Never heard of those fairy things but I assure you we Grenigots are very real.”

“Grenigots? Is that what you’re called?”

“Yesiree. Name’s Marticus.”

“Hi. My name is – ”

“Don’t care. Now, what are you going around stepping on people’s houses for?”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I was just thinking and wasn’t paying attention to where I was going.”

“A dangerous activity, that thinking. I’d advise against it. It can get you into a lot of trouble.”

Just then, this other little man with vibrant purple hair and a cherry red jacket came up to Marticus and tapped him on the shoulder.

“Hey, Marticus, why are you talking to a tree?” he wondered.

Tabitha looked down, realized she was wearing a green dress that might indeed cause her to be mistaken for a tree by a being of his size, and laughed. As she lifted her head back in the middle of a chuckle, her eyes glanced further into the clearing and she could see many more little people like this Marticus and his friend doing all sorts of things – playing, working. Some young people at the far end of the clearing were even dancing and making music. She was stunned.

Marticus flung his arm at the other man in annoyance. “It’s not a tree, Bornoden. It’s one of them girl things. We’ve had them around here before. This one stepped on Shamabus’s house.”

“Gosh and golly, he’s going to be steamed.” Bornoden declared, shaking his head. “I guess we’ll be spending tomorrow helping him put it back together. He can stay at my place for the night. Well, anyway, I’m supposed to tell you that Merrylynn has been looking for you. Your supper’s on the table and it’s getting cold.”

Marticus looked up at the sun and, from its position in the sky, agreed it was probably dinnertime. “I guess it’s about that time. I did do a lot of work today and I do have the grumblies. Do you know what she’s cooking?”

“Looked like a couple of beetles and a mushroom.”

Tabitha scrunched up her nose. “Ewww! Beetles! Gross!”

Marticus put his hands on his hips. “They just so happen to be my favourite, I’ll have you know. And it’s not like you’re invited to dinner so you don’t have to eat them. Not that there would be enough to fill your enormous gut anyway.”

Now, Tabitha knew she was being insulted. “Well, I just had a big dinner anyway so I couldn’t eat another thing. Certainly not a beetle.”

Bornoden patted his stomach and licked his lips. “I can always eat more. If I had anything to say about it I would never stop.”

Tabitha giggled. Her father loved to eat too and, in some ways, Bornoden reminded her of him. Her father even had a bright red jacket himself that he loved to wear. In fact, he had been wearing it at Caitlyn’s party.

Catilyn’s party. Tabitha wondered what they were doing at that moment. Had they finished the cake? Were they playing more games? Were they talking about her and how selfish she had been? Had she really been selfish for simply choosing not to do something she didn’t want to do?

Just as Tabitha was beginning to get sad and angry again, thinking about what she should have done and whether she was right or wrong, the music from across the clearing grew louder and the dancers began to hoot and holler. It grabbed her attention.

‘Why are those people dancing over there?” she asked with her mind back on the situation at hand. “We don’t usually dance in the middle of the streets where I’m from.”

A young girl about Tabitha’s age with neon pink hair and wearing a purple polka dot dress skipped up to them. She stopped and smiled up at Tabitha.

“Oh, they’re practicing for our annual Fronkernic festival. There’s always a big show.” She tugged on Bornoden’s sleeve. “Daddy, I got all my lines right today for the first time!”

Bornoden patted the girl on her head. “My daughter, Kishinae. She’s performing in a play for the festival.” He gave Kishinae a big grin. ‘That’s great, honey.”

Tabitha reached out a finger for the little girl to shake. “Nice to meet you, Kishinae. So, what’s this Fronkernic festival?”

Bornoden began to get excited. He loved telling stories. “Fronkernic is the time when we celebrate our ancestors first arriving in Grenotia.” His eyes grew as big as saucers and his hands began to act out the tale. “They had been wandering for generations, facing incredible dangers in their search for a place to call home. Many lost their lives being crushed by falling tree branches or attacked by vicious animals like the squibbers with their long sharp claws and those horrible meowing sounds.”

Kishinae gasped in fear. She had only seen one squibber in her life and it was terrifying.

But Tabitha wasn’t scared at all. “Oh, you mean cats.” she corrected. “I think they’re cute. I want one but my dad is allergic to them.” But then she imagined herself the size of a Grenigot and felt bad. “I suppose they would seem much bigger and scarier to you though.”

Marticus glared at Tabitha, furious. “The squibbers were far from cute! My family line was almost erased by them. I am lucky to be alive. Why you -”

“Anyway,” interrupted Bornoden, “after years of travelling they came upon this clearing and they knew it was the perfect spot. They could build a community and the space was wide open so they could easily spot the squibbers and anything else that came along.”

All of a sudden, an even littler little person with peacock blue hair dashed by, arms flailing wildly in panic. “They’re coming! They’re coming! Save yourself! Find shelter now!” he screamed.

“What’s coming?” Tabitha asked. “The cats, I mean, the squibbers?”

Bornoden looked towards the western sky, worried.

Keep posted for Part 3….

And visit www.tiffanyprochera.com to download your entire copy of the Tabitha e-book.

Ciao all!

Where to Start…. How About A Little Tabitha!

April 16, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Welcome to the first installment of Notalotabull Press Storytime!

We thought we’d begin with Tabitha’s Magical Voice by Tiffany Prochera – a story about a young girl who hates her voice but discovers it, in fact, has magical powers that can save a village from destruction… if she’s willing to use it.

Here’s Part I

Tabitha didn’t like her voice. In fact, she more than didn’t like it. She hated it with a passion. Sure, people told her she could sing just fine but she assumed they were just being polite and didn’t believe them.

No, whenever Tabitha opened her mouth she could hear all the little squeaks and the going off tunes and they drove her crazy. She wanted to like her voice because she secretly loved singing but she thought she was so bad that she couldn’t even bring herself to sing Happy Birthday in a crowd. She thought that she shouldn’t sing at all, ever.

But Tabitha’s little sister, Caitlyn, loved her voice. She kept asking Tabitha to sing to her but Tabitha had come to dislike her voice so much she started saying “No.” Caitlyn would beg her and beg her, even to the point of tears, but she would still refuse.

On Caitlyn’s fifth birthday, friends and family came to the house for a big party. After games had been played, food had been eaten and presents had been opened, everyone gathered around the dining room table for cake.

Tabitha’s mother stepped out of the kitchen carrying a huge cake with pink and white frosting, multi-coloured balloons drawn on top and a big candle in the shape of a five standing up in the middle. Caitlyn’s eyes grew bigger than her head when she saw it and she clapped her hands with delight.

“Happy birthday to meeee!” she squealed.

“Alright everybody,” Tabitha’s mother said excitedly, “On the count of three. One, two three.”

Then the whole room full of people – grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends from her pre-school class – started singing “Happy Birthday” to Caitlyn. Everyone except Tabitha, who kept her lips tight together in case a note decided to try and escape. Caitlyn noticed Tabitha’s mouth wasn’t moving and her excited grin turned into a sad little frown. She stared at Tabitha with disappointment in her eyes.

“Tabby, why aren’t you singing for me?” she asked. She looked at her mother, “Mommy, Tabby isn’t singing for me.”

The party guests became quiet, wondering what the big deal was. Tabitha’s mother didn’t want to attract attention but she couldn’t just ignore the birthday girl’s concern.

“Tabitha, please.” she pleaded softly.

“Mom,” Tabitha protested in a whisper, “you know I don’t like -”

“I know it makes you nervous, honey, but it’s her birthday.”

Then everybody else joined in, trying to be encouraging but making Tabitha feel even worse.

“C’mon Tab, show us what ya got!” said her grandpa Joe.

“Why on earth wouldn’t you sing “Happy Birthday” to your own sister?” asked her Aunt Cathy.

“Really, you don’t sound that bad.” said her cousin Brad.

Tabitha’s head was swimming with fear and confusion, all of those people staring at her. Why couldn’t they just leave her alone? Then she got mad, at her sister for caring whether she sang or not and at her mother for making a fuss about it.

“NO!” she screamed, “I don’t want to sing! I am twelve years old! I am not a baby and I don’t have to do it if I don’t want to! Leave me alone!”

The guests gasped, surprised at the outburst. Tabitha slammed her fist down, sending a fork flying off the dining room table and onto the floor with a little bit of frosting landing on her dress. She ran out of the house with only thin slippers on her feet instead of real shoes. As she raced towards the wooded area behind the house she could hear her mother calling after her and her father saying, “She just needs time to cool off. She’ll be back soon.”

Tabitha didn’t want to go back, at least not until everyone had left the house. She was angry at them all and was so embarrassed for making such a scene. Tears ran down her face until she could hardly see through them. She was getting warm running in the summer heat with the sun still shining very brightly in the late afternoon. She kept running and running and the woods became darker and darker until she had gone further into the woods than she had ever gone before. She slowed down to a walk, worried now that she might not be able to find her way back to the house.

Stay tuned for Part 2….

And if you want to download your copy of the Tabitha ebook, head to www.tiffanyprochera.com.

New Look, New NP Blog

April 16, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Hi all!

We’ve been busy working on a new site and we’re pretty pleased with the results! The new www.tiffanyprochera.com is sleeker, easily navigatable and, well, it’s Purple! It still has all of the great STM and NP stuff and it’s easier to find everything.

We’ve also launched a new blog called Notalotabull Press Storytime where you can read excerpts from Tiffany’s books, poetry and up-and-coming works that haven’t yet been officially released!

So check out the new site, let us know what you think and enjoy reading at Storytime.

In other news, Tiffany has been asked to be a featured soloist at the Joie De Vivre Singers spring concert on April 28th in Winnipeg. It was an honour to be asked and she’s looking forward to rocking the performance!

Well, that’s all for now. Have a great day and we’ll see you next time!

Happy New Year! Here’s to a fabulous 2012

January 2, 2012 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Swimming Tigress Music and Notalotabull Press would like to wish you a Happy New Year and a prosperous and healthy 2012!

At STM, we’ve been busy getting the word out about Bad Moods And Seven Other Super Reasons to Sing a Silly Song, the new collection of songs for young singers by Manitoba composer and singing teacher, Tiffany Prochera.

Tiffany has put together some YouTube videos of songs from the collection so you can have a chance to hear them in their entirety. You can order the book in hard copy or digital download online at www.swimmingtigress.com or at Tredwell’s Music Centre in Winnipeg.

Here are a couple of videos! This first one is for Mr. Duckworth and Mrs. Bunnington, two little fuzzy friends that Tiffany uses to help her students learn to perform in front of an audience

This one is about a crazy science teacher named Mr. Willywallywolowitz. Enjoy!

You can watch more videos at the Swimming Tigress Music YouTube channel at
http://www.youtube.com/user/SwimmingTigressMusic
Have a fabulous day everyone!

Our first Ebook for Children – Introducing Tabitha!

November 16, 2009 by tprochera Leave a Comment

Notalotabull Press announces the release of its first ebook for children, Tabitha’s Magical Voice, by Tiffany Prochera.

“Tabitha didn’t like her voice. In fact, she more than didn’t like it. She hated it with a passion.”

But when a frustrated 12-year-old Tabitha runs off into the woods behind her house during her little sister’s birthday party, she encounters a village of little people who call themselves Grenigots and discovers that her voice just might be magical. But will she sing to save the Grenigots from danger?

Tabitha’s Magical Voice is a funny and inspiring story about a little girl who overcomes her fear when it matters most.
Check out the book now!