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Dolls Are 'Eloquent Inspiration' For Holiday Writer

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By MEGAN HUSSEY

Tribune correspondent

Published: June 7, 2008

HOLIDAY - The latest issue of Contemporary Doll Collector Magazine features an article from a local writer who has more than 100 nationally published magazine articles and two romantic novellas to her credit.

A resident of Holiday, Linda White-Francis has been a magazine writer since 1993. Many of her articles revolve around dolls and their artists. She has profiled the famous writer/illustrator Holly Hobbie (inspiration for the Holly Hobbie doll) and Brooksville-based artist Linda Valentino-Michel.

Now her six-page story about children's writer/illustrator and dollmaker Tasha Tudor and her daughter-in-law, doll maker Marjorie Tudor, "Eloquent Inspiration: Tudor Dolls," appears in the pages of the July 2008 Contemporary Doll Collector Magazine.

"The ... text offers insight into the importance and history of dolls within the Tasha Tudor family," reads a description at www.tashatudorandfamily.com.

A doll collector herself, White-Francis admired the intricate artistry and fanciful themes of the Tudor dolls, and of the other dolls and collectibles (ranging from Barbie to Alvin and the Chipmunks) she has researched.

"I feel that doll making is a true art, with all the work that it takes to make the molds of the dolls and their clothing," said White-Francis. "A lot of people don't realize this, and that's why I write about dolls."

Writing is an art form that White-Francis first practiced as a young mother, when she wrote books to share with children Laura, Matthew, James and Michele.

"They still talk about those stories," she said, adding, "When I decided to become a serious writer, I went to the library and studied the work of authors like J.D. Salinger, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen and Daphne Du Maurier."

White-Francis' love for writing gave her a natural affinity with latest subject Tasha Tudor, a 92-year-old Vermont resident who wrote and illustrated her first children's book, "Pumpkin Moonshine" in 1938.

Last year marked White-Francis' own entry into the fiction field, when her novella "Vacation for Desire" appeared in the romantic digest "Sweet Wishes Hot Dishes" from Midnight Showcase Fiction.

The story's sequel, "Cruise for Desire," appeared in the Midnight Showcase digest "Sweet Challenge." "Vacation for Desire" and its sequel "Cruise for Desire" then were featured in Midnight Showcase Fiction's "Journeys of the Heart" digest, released in late 2007. Both stories concern a budding romance between an older woman and younger man.

"Romance writing is like a vacation away from the norm," White-Francis said.

She is working on two new romance stories for Midnight Showcase Fiction, "The Ghost and Mrs. Dunn" and "Brooklyn and the T-Bird Man." She is also planning an upcoming feature on baby doll artist Kathy Smith-Fitzpatrick. And she now shares her children's stories with her 11 grandchildren.

White-Francis has some basic advice for up-and-coming writers. "To be a writer, you have to stick to it and make it happen," she said.

LINDA WHITE-FRANCIS

SOME BACKGROUND: Linda White-Francis is an established doll and collectible author who lives in Holiday with husband, Jim Francis.

A LITTLE HISTORY: The Ohio native has published more than 100 stories in doll and collectible magazines.

Her latest article concerns Vermont artists Marjorie and Tasha Tudor, and appears in the latest issue of Contemporary Doll Collector magazine.

GET INVOLVED: To find out more about the work of

Linda White-Francis, write chanelasia@hotmail.com or chaneltippy@yahoo.com, or visit http://linda-lee6405

.tripod.com.

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