Spiders know things we don't.

Well, Rachelle ask can I do a little bit for your blog. I said YES! After all she is a great writer and dear friend. So here is her thoughts on Spiders. Which I like. Yes the spiders and her writing.

Spiders -- a lot of people are scared of them. A lot of people hate them. Not me. I am intrigued by their graceful dance as they spin their webs. I enjoy watching them wind their victims in silken strands. When I clean house, I cringe as I carefully remove any spider webs. When baby wolf spiders hatched in a Q-Tip box in my bathroom, I carried the box to my herb garden, where I could watch the babies learn to spin their webs.

My fascination with spiders carries over into the Dime Store Novel series. You see, the realms are connected by a weave. Until the web began to weaken, spiders were the only beings who could travel to any realm. It is the spiders' job to keep the weave  repaired -- and as it weakens, that job becomes nearly impossible.

The spiders are also messengers -- if you're willing to listen. The whispering widows are the primary messenger spider. In Rips in the Weave, an orb spider tell Sassafras Cats that her sister is in danger.  She goes to see the whispering widows to learn more. Here's an excerpt:

Sassafras kneeled in her damp flower beds, turning one rock and then another, whispering softly. “Widows, what news is there of Delilah?” No spiders answered. She walked into the woods, turning over rotten logs one by one. At last she saw the shiny black body, guarding several eggs sacs. “Where is my sister?”

Not my concern

to teach those who won’t learn

“But she is mine. The orb spider said you might know something.”

More to worry, little time

to care where humans spend their time

“I can see that. It’s unusual to have so many egg sacs, isn’t it?”

Only this one holds my litter. The spider wrapped two arms around the nearest sac, as if to hold it close. For these I am my sisters’ sitter.

The whispering widows speak in verse. Sometimes their words are puzzling. Sometimes they are prophetic.

One day will hatch protectors of the weave

Four tiny saviors, keeping gods at bay

Without them, Nightmare reigns, yet none believe

Like all prophecies, those of the spiders might come true or might have a veiled meaning. To find out, you'll have to read much further in the series than Rips in the Weave.

But one thing is certain...the spiders know things we don't. How else would they be able to create such works of beauty from a strand of thread?