Today we are interviewing Barbara Jean Weber, author of the YA fantasy, The Welcome Sign.
Barbara Jean Weber lives in Skagit County with her husband and two daughters, where she works as a speech and language therapist. Her novel, The Welcome Sign, was inspired when she was gifted a mermaid welcome sign. The more she studied the sign, the more her story evolved. She is currently an active member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
Visit her website at https://www.barbarajeanweber.com/.
I think deep down inside I've always had the heart of a writer. In school I was always interested in creative writing and was excited when we received new assignments to write something new and interesting. Writing was always my favorite subject in school. I've been told by others that I have a vivid imagination and create amazing and fun to read ideas and stories. When my kids were young I would make up stories at story time before they went to bed and they seemed to always enjoy my made up stories asking for more.
Your latest book, The Welcome Sign, centers around a young girl who finds a beautiful mermaid welcome sign which hides a wondrous magical realm filled with magical characters. She embarks on a dangerous quest to save the world from evil and restore the balance between the real world and the magical realm. How did you come up with this very unique idea?
The Welcome Sign's creation began when I received a beautiful metal Welcome Sign as a gift. I love and collect mermaids and my parents had found the beautiful sign with a mermaid on it. The store was going out of business so they purchased the sign for me. I have always loved stories that had magic and intrigue, good vs. evil so I was familiar with fun adventure stories that included these elements. After I received it as a gift, I had a series of incredible dreams about the origin of the sign. The dreams were the inspiration and basis for the "The Welcome Sign." As it evolved, it became a fun adventure story that I was eager to share with my family and others as I felt they would also enjoy reading it. This book allowed me to create magical worlds, interesting characters, intrigue and battles between good and evil. The Welcome Sign was written as the first book in a series of three. The second book is written but not edited or published yet and the third book is still being developed and is in outline form. It's fun to believe that my metal mermaid welcome sign might really have a magical origin story. You just never know.
Can you tell us about the main character in the book?
I have a couple of pivotal characters in The Welcome Sign but Molly Parmell is the main character. Molly is an adventurous 10 year old girl who loves exploring and seeking action. She owns a cat named Cuddles. Her dad left them when she was 2 years old. Molly has a very close relationship with her mom and grandmother. Molly soon discovers that she has very powerful magic. She initially lives in Popular Bluff, Missouri but as the story progresses they move to Barnstable, Massachusetts on Cape Cod to her grandmother's house. Molly is a courageous young 4th grader who is honest, kind and friendly. Molly isn't perfect but she is very relatable and interesting. She has struggles and insecurities common to most10 year olds, striving to be independent but also being close to her family. Molly will make audiences cheer for her success as she makes new magical friends, battles bad guys and helps save the magical realm. She will delight the audiences with her amazing adventures and courageous journeys throughout this book.
Can you tell us about the other characters in the book?
Margaret Ellen: Molly's grandmother who disappears-In her 60’s. Descendent of the special bloodline of the first union of merfolk and humans. Molly and Angela do not know about her magical past. Margaret is a special friend to the magical beings. Worked undercover for the Rebels to find out their secrets. She has been hidden away due to the dangers increasing with the rebels. She has been working with the magical community for many years. Her husband was killed early on in their marriage in a battle with rebels.
Angela Parmell: Mom to Molly- In her late 30’s. Single/widowed mom, reserved, not adventurous at all. Very close to her daughter, very skeptical of the unknown. Angela enjoys a calm, peaceful lifestyle, nothing wild or adventurous. She also has some magical powers but doesn’t know about them. She is a very kind and generous lady. Very likable and encourages Molly to have a relationship with her grandmother.
Garreth Simmons: Protector of Molly and her mom. Molly and Angela's landlord, mid 60’s, Owns the rundown house. More like a father figure to Molly and her mom. He has some history with Margaret and was asked to protect and watch over the Parmells.
Trista Deevins: One of the main Magical Guardians to Molly and Angela. She is a mermaid but now lives on land as a guardian. She is one of their neighbors-sent to keep an eye on the Parmells and keep them out of danger. Trista is stunningly beautiful and she has the same piercing green eyes as her son, Taran. Her long black hair is pulled to the side and braided over one shoulder.
Taran Deevins –Trista's son. One of the magical guardians. He befriends Molly. Taran is very adventurous. He has long, black hair, eyes are green as the grass. He is about 11 years old.
Crystal Perkins-Investigative reporter-works for Warren Tracer. She has short, black curly hair. Crystal is tall and slender. In her early thirties.
Warren Tracer- He is investigating strange and unusual events happening in the city. He is in his mid-late 60's. Beard, dark brown hair, handsome, rugged, in good shape.
Valis Tar- He becomes the leader of the rebel group. Tall, muscular, long dark hair. Dressed completely in black. He wears a long faded black overcoat that comes to his knees. He wears long, black boots worn and dusty, black, leather gloves.
THE CONCLAVE: Is the main council of the three magical realms (water, sky and land) .
Caylius Aquarus-Empress, Ruler of the Water Realm-beautiful mermaid but can change to look human. Accompanied by 2 guards on each side of her. Long golden hair with highlights of light brown. Wears strands of pearls draped over her shoulders and entwined in her hair. As a human: Wears a tight fitted bodice shimmering with blue and green with a long flowing skirt of aquamarine. Attached to the back of the dress is a lightweight cape of iridescent, aquamarine colored fabric that trails elegantly behind her. She wears a small pearl covered crown, her hair swept up into a loose bun. The bun is entwined with pearls and seaweed like strands. Ringlets of hair hanging down, giving the Empress a soft, warm look. She wears a clear strand of beads like bubbles around her neck. Kind and elegant.
Atamos Nimbus-Rulers of the Sky Realm (MAN-husband to Cumular Stratus) Fairy (Ethereal figure. Graceful, exquisite and refined. His delicate iridescent wings are barely visible. Dressed in white and silver clothing, almost as if it was made from the very clouds they were traveling in and moved as if carried by the very wind itself. He wears a vest of silver against his white billowy shirt. He wears shimmery white pants and white, knee-high boots complete his royal outfit. Wears a delicate crown of silver and diamonds. He has wisps of airy clouds around them.)
Cumular Stratus Rulers of the Sky Realm- (WOMAN-wife of Atamos Nimbus) Fairy (Ethereal figure. Graceful, exquisite and refined. Her delicate iridescent wings are barely visible. Dressed in white and shimmering, flowing gossamer gown, almost as if it was made from clouds.
ProAsis Geofirma -Ruler of the Land Realm-Centaur (A regal looking centaur clad in a leather vest). heroic figure. An intricately woven crown of vines and twigs intertwined with emerald stones sits lightly on his head. Covering his back is a deep red cape and he carries a longbow over one shoulder with a quiver of red tipped arrows. Around his neck and chest hangs a necklace made from a single piece of curved wood, intricately carved with various charms. He carries a long staff of twisted wood and vines in his hands. He has long dark brown hair.
What is the very first line of your book?
The very first line of the book is in the prologue. "Crystal Perkins slipped into her office and looked carefully down the hallway."
What is the main reason people should read your book?
The Welcome Sign is a fun, magical story for young-middle teen readers who enjoy hidden worlds of enchantment, magical powers, interesting characters, strong friendships, adventure and imaginative and emotionally engaging stories. The Welcome Sign is a balance between personal growth and magical adventure. It is full of good versus evil, intrigue and action. This book will delight and entertain readers who enjoy unique and magical characters, secrets to be revealed and discovering amazing new places. The Welcome Sign aligns with readers expectations for middle-grade fantasy. If you like fun, adventure stories with lots of action, this book will be a fun one to read.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
WOW! To say I am a person of enormous influence is very flattering. I consider myself to be a very down to Earth and humble person so to be given such a powerful role is very overwhelming and enlightening. I think the thing I would most like to be a part of is to influence and inspire people to be kind and respectful to one another no matter what. To be good from the inside out and to not be judgmental of others for beliefs, appearances or lifestyles but to embrace diversity. To live in a world where disagreements don't turn into cruelty, violence or anger but instead lead to intelligent discussions and the willingness to see things from other peoples points of view. Right now we live in a world filled with anger, bitterness, pettiness and cruelty all because of disagreements that instead should be bringing us closer together. We should be able to learn from each other's differences, appreciate that we think, believe and live differently and embrace those differences to grow and become more well rounded, kinder, more intelligent people. We should be celebrating and embracing kindness and respecting others, not judging or doing harm to others. There is too much violence, and nastiness in our world today. No one should be judged for what they believe or who they are but we should learn from each other, be accepting and just be kind. Diversity makes the world stronger and more united. There's a reason the golden rule is " do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
When 10-year-old Molly Parnell’s grandmother mysteriously disappears she and her mother travel to Cape Cod to take ownership of the house they inherited and find out answers about the sudden disappearance. But what they discover could be more dangerous and life changing than they ever imaged. Molly and her mother find a beautiful mermaid welcome sign in the attic and place it on the front door. Unusual things start to happen and they are flooded with visitors who claim they knew the grandmother. The true powers behind the mysterious sign are revealed as Molly learns her grandmother was part of a secret organization working to keep balance between the magical realm and the real world. The magical realms placed an invisible veil of secrecy over the world to hide their true identities from the human world but allowing them to live among them in secret. An angry rebel group of magical beings, tired of living in hiding is tearing down and destroying the magical cloaking fabric between the two worlds. If they are not stopped the magical realm will no longer be safe from the world. As Molly and her mom embark on a dangerous and magical adventure throughout the magical realms to help stop the rebels, she learns of her own magical powers and her strong family heritage connected to the welcome sign. Along the way, she teams up with new magical friends helping to keep the realm of magic safe from the eyes of the world and discovers that her grandmother was right all along. The world she thought she knew no longer exists, but an amazing world of magic woven into their world has always been hiding in plain sight.
Read sample here.
The Welcome Sign is available at Amazon.
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