The Frog, the Wizard, and the Shrew (Admirable Women) - Softcover

Myers, MaryAnn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0966878035 ISBN 13: 9780966878035

Publisher: Sunrise Horse Farm, 2001

Synopsis

With a combination of insight and magical realism, author MaryAnn Myers propels her readers into the mysterious and provocative world of Anne Marie Light. The young woman's purchase of a second-hand prom dress initiates a chain of events during which strange, unfamiliar memories surface; a recurring song of longing, a teen pregnancy, and a dearly loved, but perhaps abandoned baby. When Anne Marie sets out to discover the source of these haunting thoughts, her journey leads to the streets of New Orleans for answers. Unforgettable characters along the way include the eccentric ex-circus performer, Miss Colorado, an intriguing telephone installer named Danny, a voodoo queen called Rosalee, and Anne Marie's caustic mother, with whom a reconciliation must be made if there is to be a true resolution.

About this title

About the Author:

MaryAnn Myers is an equestrian, horse trainer, and environmentalist. She lives on an organic farm in Northeast Ohio with her family and is currently working on her tenth novel, Odds on Favorite, the sequel to Favored to Win.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Anne Marie climbed the last flight of stairs to her apartment on the fourth floor, trudged all the way down the hall, unlocked the door, and crumpled into a heap, devastated. She stared at her private world. The overstuffed couch, the oriental rug, the CD player with surround-sound speakers, (ninety days same as cash) her bean-bag chair and the no-smoking sign; all that was left of Jimmie, her bed, (Victorian) he called it, and the cactus.

By most standards, it wasn't much. But it was everything she had. And she liked it here. It was home.

Why me, she thought, and read the eviction notice over and over. She had a week.

"I don't think they can do that," Judy said later, when visiting. "I think you should get a lawyer."

It had taken Anne Marie so very long to find this place.

"What did they give for a reason?"

"They're tearing the building down and putting up a strip mall."

"You're kidding."

"No." Anne Marie shook her head. She'd never kid about something like that.

"So what are you going to do?"

"Move. What else?"

Judy sighed. She could suggest Anne Marie stay with her and Phil for a while in the event she didn't find anything right away. But the two of them would be at each other's throats in a day. "The man hunts down animals for fun," she could hear Anne Marie saying at the the sight of his camouflage. "Who does he pick on when he's in a bad mood?" Which in Anne Marie's opinion was all the time.

"What about your mom?"

Anne Marie looked at her.

"Sorry."

Anne Marie's mom was the last person she'd turn to. "Let's go down to Vince's and get a paper." Vince's was the corner drug store. That's the kind of neighborhood this was, moms and pops, no touble, and only one felon. Phil. Until lately.

Anne Marie grabbed her purse, winced and said something about her shoulder being sore, and off they went.

"What did you do to it?"

"I don't know," she said. "But it's been hurting for about a week. I must have strained something."

Six days later, practically down to the wire, Anne Marie found another apartment and moved. Phil, to his credit, helped, but damaged the cactus, and Judy hustled him out fast. "Call me when you get your phone in," she yelled from the car window.

Anne Marie nodded, debating what to do. If she were back home at her old place, she could ask Mr. Murphy's advice. A cactus is a delicate thing. She sat down on the worn linoleum floor and stared in agony. When she'd bought it, it wasn't but a foot high, and had grown over the years to stand as tall as she. It was bent at the waist now. She carefully lifted the end, surveyed the damage and brought it back down gently. How could it live like this? Traumatized.

A knock on the door startled her, enough so that for a split second all she did was sit there, frozen in time, so to speak. "Who is it?" she finally said.

"Your neighbor," a thready, elderly-sounding female voice responded. "Miss Colorado."

"Miss Colorado?" Anne Marie frowned, gave the cactus another helpless glance, and got up and opened the door.

"Hello there," a little woman standing no more than four-foot or considerably less said. "Welcome." She extended her tiny hand, all smiles, and introduced herself again. "Miss Colorado, Daisy Colorado."

"Hi," Anne Marie said, trying to mask her amusement. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Anne Marie. Anne Marie Light."

"Wonderful. What a lovely name. I'm from across the hall, I used to be in the circus."

Anne Marie smiled. She could picture her there.

"Is this your first apartment alone?" Miss Colorado asked, donning thick glasses and looking Anne Marie up and down.

Anne Marie shook her head. The woman's eyes were now magnified ten times over. "My second."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-six," Anne Marie said.

Miss Colorado peered closer into Anne Marie's face, nodded, and took off her glasses and turned to leave. "Well, like I said, welcome. I'm right across the hall."

Anne Marie watched as the little woman made her way back, watched how she felt for the door and then the handle, and marveled as she disappeared.

"Hey there," a casual voice to her right said.

She leaned out.

It was a middle-aged man, checking his mailbox.

"How's it going?" he asked, glancing at her.

"Okay," she said. "How about you?"

He shrugged, and with that, disappeared behing the next door. Anne Marie retreated as well and spent the next few hours unpacking. This apartment was basically smaller than her other one, but had a separate bedroom and a bathroom with an old clawfoot tub. The tub in her opinion was a major drawback. She was a shower person. Showers were quick and to the point. Eventually she found herself back on the floor in front of the cactus, wondering what to do, and knew sooner or later, that whatever it was, it was going to hurt.

About this edition

• Publisher: Sunrise Horse Farm
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0966878035
• ISBN 13: 9780966878035
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 228