✍The First Page: The Welcome Sign by Barbara Jean Weber

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/. 

✍The First Page: Larimar: Gem of the Sea by Christine E. Schulze

 

Larimar: Gem of the Sea

by Christine E. Schulze

YA Fantasy

A Fearless captain and a mysterious girl who walks on water. An underwater city and a destined deadly curse. What could possibly go wrong?

Captain Jorah is renowned for being one of the youngest explorers to ever sail Zephyrian waters. He’s also notorious for landing his crew in situations they hadn’t counted on, involving man-eating mermaids and other dangerous misadventures.

When Jorah decides to search for the legendary underwater City of Larimar, he doesn’t account for the quest that follows. After being rescued from shipwreck by a mysterious young woman who walks on water and carries a singing seashell around her neck, he soon finds himself reunited with an old friend once thought lost to him. Before he knows it, he’s caught up in a race against time to save her yet again, this time from a looming prophecy about a deadly serpent destined to consume her entire race.

Can Jorah help her save her people before the dark prophecy completes itself?

The Amielian Legends is a collection of stand-alone young adult books, all set in the same fantastic universe, that can be read in any order. Read Larimar: Gem of the Sea today to discover new worlds filled with adventure, diverse characters, and whimsical magic.

Amazon: https://amzn.to/44u4tQY 

Audible: https://www.audible.com/pd/Larimar-Gem-of-the-Sea-Audiobook/B0BZDYVKWY

 

 

 

                     

Part 1: Shell

Chapter 1

Captain Jorah stood proudly aboard the Gem, smiling as his ship departed from the shores of Muriel. He closed his eyes and lifted his face to the sun, relishing its warmth on his fair skin, paler than usual from being cooped up too much this past winter. With a deep inhale, he savored the salty air and released a contented sigh. How good it felt to be one with his beloved ocean once more.

As they picked up speed, the wind tousled his shoulder-length hair about his face. He pulled the unruly locks back, tying them with a bit of twine, and a fond, bittersweet memory played before him. His mother, washing his hair as a young lad, admiring how its golden-brown hues were the same as his father’s. When he grew older, she would run her hands through his hair and say it was golden-brown like the sands of the distant lands he longed so much to discover. Much as he relished this life of adventure, he oft times wished he could trade it for one more simple, precious night with Mama, sitting on the shoreline, talking, and dreaming of a better life. At least he had fulfilled the greater part of her dream by building that life for himself, and so he would go on doing, with each new quest he undertook.

Christine E. Schulze has been living in castles, exploring magical worlds, and creating fantastical adventures and romances since she was too young to even write of such stories. Her collection of young adult and children’s fantasy books, The Amielian Legacy, is comprised of series and stand-alone books that can all be read separately, but also weave together to create a single, amazing fantasy.

One of her main aspirations for The Amielian Legacy is to create fantasy stories with characters that connect with readers from many different backgrounds. Her current focus is to include racially diverse characters and those with disabilities. The latter is inspired by Schulze working with adults with autism and other developmental disabilities at Trinity Services in Southern Illinois.

Schulze draws much of her inspiration from favorite authors like Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Diana Wynne Jones, favorite games like The Legend of Zelda, and especially from the people in her life. Some of her exciting ventures include the publication of her award-winning Bloodmaiden, as well as The Gailean Quartet with Words Matter Publishing. Her books for younger readers include In the Land of Giants and The Amazing Captain K.

Christine currently lives in a cozy Hobbit hole, but you can visit her on her website: http://christineschulze.com.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Tiktok

 

✍The First Page: The Lightbound Saga Series by S.G. Basu

 

 The Lightbound Saga

by S.G. Basu

 

Middle Grade / Young Adult

13-year-old Maia is a land-dwelling Solianese living on the planet of Tansi. She has been raised by her doting grandfather. Her mother, Sophie, supposedly deceased, is accused to be a traitor who fought for the Xifarians who have subjugated Tansi. Loathing her family’s history, Maia has put herself into self-exile, vowing to steer clear of the temptations that led her mother astray. But when she is drafted into a peace summit by the Xifarians, she must walk into Xif, the planet she has always wanted to avoid. Here she meets loyal teammates Kusha, Dani, Nafi, and Ren, as well as Miir, their Xifarian team mentor who is as accomplished as he is temperamental. As Maia and her teammates thwart a plot to harm the underwater settlements on Tansi, she also discovers that her mother, Sophie, was not what she seemed. Sophie sacrificed herself to save Tansi before the Xifarians could destroy the Tansian system.

Maia visits the Jjord nation in their underwater colonies on Tansi. More of Sophie’s secrets come to light while she is in the colonies as well as more of the Xifarians’ plots to rebuild the dark heart of Xif. As Maia’s link with Sophie becomes apparent, Maia soon finds herself in the crosshairs of the Xifarians who kill her family and send her running for shelter across the dead lands of the Solianese. Chased by the Xifarians, Maia barely manages to stay alive with the help of her teammates.

While on the run across Tansi, Maia meets a mysterious man who unlocks a power within Maia. When her mighty Xifarian foes corner her, Maia unleashes the power on them, overpowering everyone, including her former mentor, Miir.

Maia struggles with her newfound power. The team is on the verge of fracturing when Maia reveals she might have killed Miir. Meanwhile, the R’armimon, an ancient and powerful enemy of the Xifarians, are on the way to the Tansian system, seeking vengeance from the Xifarians. On finding this, the Xifarians grow desperate to resurrect the dark heart that would enable them to leave the Tansian system. Maia narrowly escapes the Xifarians’ trap with a mysterious ally but her new alliance takes a toll on her friendships.

Maia is alone and hopeless but she forges on to regain the trust of her teammates and tries to convince the Tansian leaders of the impending threat of the R’armimon fleet. With help from her allies, Maia continues to uncover more of Sophie’s past. Together with her friends, Maia rushes to find the artifacts needed to thwart the R’armimon as the massive Execution Fleet of the R’armimon appears next to Tansi.

Purchase Information for Series

Amazon: https://amzn.to/3Tb71xt

 

                      

 

In the dim light of the distant stars, the ship of the R’armimon looked like a colossal spider hovering in space. For a flagship, it was rather plain, ugly almost. About a hundred wrinkled sacs, dull and worn out, formed the dense clump of a body; knobby, talon-like thrusters jutted out into the endless void. A mesh of beams and bars, stained along the seams, wrapped the egg-shaped core from the stern all the way to the bow where it arched over an observation deck. 

Inside, huddled under a blanket, sat the little boy, Ruche. He stared, open-mouthed, at a show of galactic fireworks dancing across the viewing windows. Blues morphed into vivid crimsons, burgundy and gold swirled and surged into fiery plumes, collapsing into showers of jade in the next moment. 

With every new flare, the boy’s pale eyes sparkled, and his cheeks flushed. Only a time or two, he cast a restless glance at the darkened corner to his right where a lean man stood. Neither joy nor wonder showed on the man’s face as he scanned the faraway lights—his eyes sparkled but only from the unshed tears. The pair continued to watch in silence until a searing flash of red tore through the skies making Ruche gasp. 

The man stirred immediately. “That’s the end of the Ssoiffean stars,” he whispered. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“End? No . . . not again!” Ruche’s shriek shattered the quiet. His voice quickly sunk into a disappointed murmur. “I wanted to walk on land.”

After what seemed like forever, the man replied, “I failed . . . again, Ruche. We came close this time. But not close enough to save the Ssoiffean stars and . . . the Ssoiffean people.”

 

S.G. Basu is an aspiring potentate of a galaxy or two. She plots and plans with wondrous machines, cybernetic robots, time travelers and telekinetic adventurers, some of whom escape into the pages of her books. Although she’s an engineer by training, writing has been her passion since childhood. Her other loves include extra-hot lattes, fast cars and binge watching sci-fi movies.

Find out more about the futuristic worlds she creates at sgbasu.com. She can also be reached at sg@sgbasu.com.

Books by S.G. Basu:

The Lightbound Saga series (YA Dystopian Science Fiction)

Maia and the Xifarian Conspiracy

Maia and the Secrets of Zagran

Maia and Regency Protocol

The Lightbound Saga 3 Book Bundle

The Firefly League-A Lightbound Saga novella

Elementals-The Serial Thriller (Paranormal Science Fiction)

Population Morpheus (Near Apocalyptic Science Fiction)

Jumpers (Paranormal Thriller)

You can visit the author’s website at www.sgbasu.com or connect with her on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

 

The First Page: THE TEMPLE OF THE CRYSTAL TIMEKEEPER by Fiona Ingram

THE TEMPLE OF THE CRYSTAL TIMEKEEPER

by Fiona Ingram

A plane crash! Lost in the jungle! Hunted by their old enemy, will Adam, Justin, and Kim survive long enough to find the Third Stone of Power? With only a young boy, Tukum, as their guide, the kids make their way through the dense and dangerous jungle to find the lost city of stone gods, where the Stone of Power might be located. River rafting on a crocodile-infested river and evading predators are just part of this hazardous task. Of course, their old adversary Dr. Khalid is close behind as the kids press on. But he is not the worst of their problems. This time Adam will clash with a terrible enemy who adopts the persona of an evil Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, and is keen to revive the ancient tradition of human sacrifice. Adam, Justin, and Tukum must play a dreadful ball game of life and death and maybe survive. Will they emerge alive from the jungle? Will Dr. Khalid find the third Stone of Power before they do?

Praise:

“Action, danger, and excitement are the key words for the riveting adventure novel, The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper … Its spellbinding storyline explores the history of the Aztec and Maya gods and their cities with exceptional accuracy; this is one of those books you can’t put down. With authentic historical facts expertly woven into this spectacular action-packed fiction series, no one of any age can resist its magnetism. This is a fascinating and exciting fiction story created with expertise and finesse, which educates while entertaining the reader.”

— Susan Williams, for Readers Favorite

USA Book Awards:

• Winner Pre-teen Readers’ Favorite Book Awards 2017
• Winner Book Excellence Awards 2018
• NYC Big Book Awards Distinguished Favorite 2018

Read the first chapter and receive a free download of The Young Explorer’s Companion Guide, a nonfiction guide to the journey and cover history, geography, mythology and subject kids will love to learn more about. In this guide, your child will discover the story behind The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper and experience the history of the Maya and Aztecs as well as who was the ancient priest-king Topiltzin and why he is important.

Click here to read the first chapter and download your free copy of The Young Explorer’s Companion Guide!

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon (print): https://amzn.to/39swq1j

Amazon (kindle): https://amzn.to/3iSb549

B&N eBook: https://bit.ly/3psW6QL

B&N Print: https://bit.ly/2Ymyf9E

Kobo: eBook: https://bit.ly/2Yi9wTB

iBook: https://apple.co/2KSX8GG

iTunes: https://apple.co/3qUFXny

Google Books: https://bit.ly/2MyMKEk

 

Adam opened his eyes. The screaming sound of tearing metal had stopped. So had the thudding and the rush of breaking branches outside his window. Still strapped in his seat, he hung upside-down at an angle. His seat belt was the only thing preventing him from hurtling through the gaping hole in the roof of the plane and onto the jungle floor. The strap cut into his chest as his whole weight pressed against the fabric. He craned his neck, twisting awkwardly to see the others. His body ached after the awful jarring and jolting when the plane fell. He shoved his hand into his right-side pants pocket to feel for his golden scarab. It was safe. Relieved, he squeezed the scarab for a few seconds to get his courage up. It felt warm and comforting.

“Justin? Kim?” He hoped like crazy they were all right.

“Uhh.” The groan came from Kim. “Ow! My head.”

“What happened just now?”

Adam grinned. Justin was okay. He could tell by his cousin’s angry tone.

“Are we alive?” Kim’s voice was faint. She sounded dazed. “Why am I the wrong way up?”

“I think we’ve crashed into the jungle.” Adam tried to look around. He couldn’t see much because the interior of the plane was shadowy. Everything looked weird half upside-down.

“That’s just flipping great!” Justin exploded. “Just great. The jungle is only thousands of miles big. We might as well be dead.”

 

Fiona Ingram is a children’s author, but up until a few years ago, she was a journalist and editor. Something rather unexpected sparked her new career as an author—a family trip to Egypt with her mother and two young nephews. They had a great time and she thought she’d write them a short story as a different kind of souvenir…. Well, one book and a planned book series later, she had changed careers. She has now published Book 3 (The Temple of the Crystal Timekeeper) in her middle grade adventure series Chronicles of the Stone, with many awards for the first book, The Secret of the Sacred Scarab, a few for Book 2, The Search for the Stone of Excalibur, and several for Book 3! She also teaches online novel writing for aspiring authors and she finds that very satisfying. Fiona’s experience with raising an adopted, disadvantaged African child struggling with literacy got her interested in the subject and she has written numerous articles on child literacy. Relaxation time finds her enjoying something creative or artistic, music, books, going to the theater or ballet. She enjoys doing research for her book series. Fiona loves animals and has written two animal rescue stories. She has two adorable (naughty) little rescue dogs called Stanley and Pumpkin, and a beautiful black cat called Bertie.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: http://www.FionaIngram.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/FionaRobyn

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chroniclesofthestone

Book Series Website: www.chroniclesofthestone.com

Blog: http://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com

GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/2868182.Fiona_Ingram

 

The First Page: Someone's Story by B.A. Bellec

SOMEONE'S STORY
B.A. Bellec
YA / Coming of Age

In his debut endearing coming-of-age book, B.A. Bellec writes about a group of weirdos that find and save each other from the dark depths of their minds. Someone’s Story is literally Someone’s story, as in a first-person narrative of a teenager that calls himself Someone. As he struggles to find a new footing in a new space, we encounter the many ups and downs of modern teenage life, the difficulties that adjusting to adult feelings bring, and a few tear-jerking surprises along the way.

Littered with music, mental health, friendship, loss, meditation, advice, pop culture, and even inspiring an EP, there is so much nostalgia, inspiration, and depth here it is hard to absorb it all. Cozy up somewhere warm and enjoy!

“B. A. Bellec has crafted a masterpiece of emotive and well-rounded young adult fiction.”
K.C. Finn – Author

“The variety of personages, situations, and mental illnesses represented allows all readers to relate to this book and take something away from reading! This novel is on our list of all-time favourites!”
International Girls and Books

“Someone’s Story is a beautiful novel, written in great prose, very descriptive, and filled with insights about life. The author does an incredible job with themes of family, friendship, bullying, and personal development. It felt like I was reading a portion of my emotions and myself in Someone’s Story.”
Gobi Jane – Professional Critic @ Readers’ Favourite

ORDER YOUR COPY

Amazon → https://amzn.to/3dHJU7X

 

 

 

Welcome B.A., can you tell us what your book is about?

Someone’s Story is literally Someone’s story, as in a first-person narrative of a teenager that calls himself Someone. The main theme of the book is mental health. I also deal with lots of tough social issues that have been becoming less taboo in recent years.

Outside that, I littered the book with pop culture and music. The book takes place in late 2010 and early 2011. I did extensive research on some of the most popular things over that year. I also love pop culture so lots of these references came organically and then I grew them with research. 

I am writing to a young adult coming-of-age crowd. There are lots of dark, sad moments. I felt I needed the pop culture to keep a young audience engaged and lighten the atmosphere at times.
I also wrote and produced my own music to accompany the book. It’s a pretty neat little tie-in as some of the lyrics are in the pages. One of my characters is an aspiring musician.


The first page is perhaps one of the most important pages in the whole book. It’s what draws the reader into the story. Why did you choose to begin your book this way?

My book has an arc with an ultramarathon runner. I have a few chapters that come together to form this second running story outside the main story. I wanted to start with one of these chapters because it gives you more action. After this, I set the stage and give you some insight into the world our character is in. Dropping the reader into this ultramarathon gives them a nice little tease and without it, the first 5% of the book wouldn’t have enough energy.

I also use lots of metaphors and similes in my writing. You get a few of those right away.
Electric yellow gets mentioned. This comes into play a few times. It’s the school colour. You don’t know that yet but you will in a few chapters. It’s a subtle little part that helps connect everything.

In the course of writing your book, how many times would you say that first page changed and for what reasons?

What I wrote didn’t change much. Maybe a word or two. What I did change though was the formatting. I was going for something different. I like to think this project is uniquely me in that I do a few things that are not traditional: 

-         I don’t indent my paragraphs (I write in a hybrid screenplay style)

o       I actually did have a version where I made indents, but after looking at it, I changed my mind and went back to my original style choice.

-         The chapter title spacing.

o       I was torn for a while on what to do. Eventually, I decided not to number the chapters and to instead name them all uniquely as a bit of a teaser to what the chapter is about.

o       I also added lots of white space around the titles so they pop off the page. This is absolutely intentional and part of the reader experience.

-         My drop cap.

o       This was a late edition. The last 48 hours before I sent the manuscript. In the end, I decided to start each chapter with the first letter dropped and then the entire first word in capitals.

-         The last thing is the alignment of the jogger’s action.

o       One of my beta readers actually suggested this. When I have a character running, I play around with the alignment to help add to the energy of running. This formatting decision came into the manuscript about a month before I published. I really like it and it makes a few appearances in the book.

Was there ever a time after the book was published that you wished you had changed something on the first page?

Nope. I love my first page.

What advice can you give to aspiring authors to stress how important the first page is?

To be honest, I didn’t think about it much as I made these individual decisions. They all came together nice to form something unique. This was my first book. I got a little lucky and trusted my gut on some cool, creative ideas. Going forward I will always consider formatting much earlier in my project. Formatting adds a dimension to the reading experience for sure. As for the content. Action. Action. Action. You have to capture the reader's attention right away.

 

 

Author of Someone’s Story and co-collaborator on the music it inspired, B.A. was born in Richmond, BC and raised in Langley, BC, before settling in Winnipeg, MB. His first adventure was a career in Finance, where he spent 15 years developing his business skills. His highest achievement was the Certified Payroll Manager designation. He currently still consults with businesses on their systems and processes. Over that period of time, he also attended film school where he started to nurture his early creative abilities.

A self-starter always interested in research, he taught himself many of the aspects of storytelling through reading books, screenplays and material online. Whenever he found an inspirational piece of art, he quickly went to the source to find the story behind the artist who created the work. It took many years after attending film school for him to finally combine his creative skills with his life experience and tell that story he had been holding back. Some of his favorite creative people: Lukas Rossi, Justin Furstenfeld, Peter Jackson, Stephen Chbosky, John Green, J.K. Rowling.

Currently he is pounding away on the keyboard writing his second novel, Pulse. This project is a change of pace and more details will come in a few months!

B.A. is also an avid jogger and walker, frequently using them as a way to work on those tough spots in life and his manuscripts. If you found it this far into his material, reach out to him on Twitter and make sure to like and subscribe to get updates on all his future endeavors.

WEBSITE & SOCIAL LINKS:

Website: http://www.babellec.com
Blog: https://babellec.com/b-a-bellecs-blog/
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/b_bellec