THE WELCOME SIGN
By Barbara Jean Weber
YA Fantasy
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.
The Welcome Sign is available at Amazon.
NINE-YEAR-OLD MOLLY PARMELL, THE ADVENTUROUS, BROWN haired girl, sat quietly on her bed as her cat, Cuddles, sat purring in her lap. Molly adjusted her braids, shivered, and pulled her cozy pink sweater closer around her shoulders. She looked lovingly down at her orange tabby cat and scratched his head. The roof creaked and groaned loudly from the gusty winds of the storm, and Molly cringed, thinking the roof might actually blow off the house. A low rumble of thunder boomed in the distance, and Molly glanced up as a continuous “drip, drip, drip” noise splashed into a half-full pan of water in the corner of her room. Huge flashes of lightning lit up the room, creating odd shadows over the walls. The falling rain created thunderous pounding sounds on the roof as it poured relentlessly from the sky. The creaky old house was cold and drafty, and the chill
in Molly’s room hovered in the air like a thick smoke. Molly rubbed her arms and shivered again. She hated this creepy old house and couldn’t wait until they could move into one of their own.It was a cold and stormy October day in the town of Popular Bluff, Missouri. Popular Bluff was set among the majestic foothills of the Ozark mountains, which were replete with spring-fed streams and breathtaking lakes. It was a great place for fun outdoor activities; however, there wasn’t much to do there on cold rainy days. Molly didn’t particularly enjoy these chilly fall days when the sky was dark and cloudy and the trees were losing leaves. The house was dark, eerie, and very creepy. Molly looked thoughtfully out the window at the constant downpour. The few leaves that still clung to their branches were covered in the bright, fiery shades of yellow, orange, and red. Fall at the Parmell house meant that the fireplace was ablaze with the warm glow of firewood, and Molly and her mom would devour large mugs of hot chocolate with extra-big marshmallows. In front of the fireplace was the only real warm spot in the house on dreary days like this.
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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