The inspiration for The Welcome Sign 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 were full of magic, magical beings, intrigue and good vs. evil so I was familiar with fun adventure stories that included these elements. After I received the sign, I had a series of incredible dreams involving the origins of the sign. The dreams became the inspiration and basis for the book. 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 actually have a magical origin story. You just never know.
How I got published: Initially I was going to go with a traditional publisher but didn't have much luck. I had started to make inquiries with publishers when a dear friend suggested I try Book Baby self publishing. I had never heard of that company before and did some research on it. My friend had a sister-in-law who had gotten her a booklet that talked all about BookBaby-self publishing. My friend shared a copy of the booklet with me. It was easy to follow and read. Once I contacted the company it was amazing and easy. I was assigned a BookBaby Publishing Specialist who answered my questions, guided me step by step throughout the process, kept me on track for time lines. She was amazing and super helpful. I was able to get suggestions and help from her whenever I needed it. We had consistent email contact and some phone calls. I am very happy with my decision to go with BookBaby self publishing.
Title: The Welcome Sign
Author: Barbara Jean Weber
Publisher: BookBaby
Publication Date: July 1, 2024
Pages: 218
Genre: Fantasy/Middle Grade/YA
Formats: Paperback, Kindle
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.
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/.
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