TERRY ESSIG says that her writing is her escape valve from a life that leaves very little time for recreation or hobbies. With a husband and six young children, Terry works on her stories a little at a time, between seeing to her children's piano, sax and trombone lessons, their gymnastics, ice skating and swim team practices, and her own activities of leading a brownie troop, participating in a car pool and attending organic chemistry classes. Her ideas, she says, come from her imagination and her life–neither one of which is lacking!