#MMBBR #Showcase The Castle in the Bubble by Lori Forrest @magicbubblewand

The Castle in the Bubble (Magic Bubble Wand #1)

POP! An old bubble wand. A hazy image in a bubble. POP! And suddenly, Erin is pulled into a new world -- a medieval town, complete with a castle. Mistaken for the princess who has gone missing, she finds herself in danger and on the adventure of a lifetime. With the help of her new friend, Jeffrey, Erin finds clues to the missing princess and struggles to save the kingdom. Join Erin on her first adventure in the magic bubble as she discovers the past of this new world. She must decide who to trust and learns she is braver and stronger than she thought!

Lori Forrest has a BA in English from the University of Puget Sound.  She creates marketing material for a local non-profit, UP for Arts, that promotes public art and local artists.  She served for a year as president of the organization.  She lives in University Place, Washington with her four amazing children that keep her inspired day after day, and on her toes! 

Q.  What inspires your writing?

A.  Being a mom of four wonderful children has really been an inspiration to me.  Not only rekindling my own imagination but also filling me with the desire to create books with strong characters and fascinating worlds as children begin the process of independent reading.  I want to instill a joy of reading in my children and give them books that will fill them with imagination and a sense of adventure.

Q.  What is your favorite thing about being a writer?

A.  My favorite part of being a writer is getting to spend time with my characters and creating new worlds.  When I was a child I would imagine a different world existed inside each bubble that I came out of the bubble wand and I longed to be able to explore each of these worlds.  Now, as a writer, I get to do just that. 

Q.  What is the toughest part of being a writer?

A.  For me it would be putting myself out there.  After working so hard to create something, I really want to share it with the world.  But as a writer you face a lot of rejections and to continue to persevere and believe in what you have accomplished and created at times can be hard.

Q.  If you could not be writer, what would you do/be?

A.  I enjoy teaching and have in the past taught a drawing class that was very enjoyable for me.  I would like to teach writing and editing and creating writing prompts to help fellow writers. 

Q.  What would the story of your life be entitled?

A. “The Unexpected.”  During key times, my life has taken very unexpected turns that changed the direction I had planned to go greatly.  This lead to many unexpected challenges and many unexpected joys.  The first, having my first daughter right after graduating college changed the direction I had been planning for my life, grad school and becoming a professor.  But it gave me not only an amazing daughter that I am so proud of but also the chance to become an artist and writer which I would probably not have done otherwise.

Q.  What is your favorite book of all time?

A.  Lord of the Rings!  I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve read it.  I’ve lost count.  What I love about that book is the fact that you are not just put into a new world, but the world has a rich and extensive history that is eluded too throughout the book.  The characters are also well thought-out and purposeful. Each has a specific role that lends to the storytelling in the book. 

Q.  Which character from ANY book are you most like?

A.  Éowynne from Lord of the Rings.  Partly because she is my most favorite character of all time, but also because she is strong in the face of adversity.  She does what is needed to be done no matter how hard it is and defies a traditional female role without losing her femininity. 

Q.  What character from all of your book are you most like?

A.  I am most like my main character, Erin.  The journey she faces of finding out she is brave and strong and can accomplish things in her own story mirrors the journey I am currently on as I face many changes in my life requiring me to be braver and stronger than I thought I could be.

Q.  Which book would you love to take a weekend vacation inside of?

A.  I would love to take a weekend inside the trilogy, “The Dark Heavens” series.  I am fascinated by eastern culture and lore and martial arts.  I would really enjoy a trip to China and to explore Hong Kong and see the various temples.

Q.  What is your favorite season?

A.  Fall.  Where I live the weather can change moment to moment from sun to rain to storm and the dynamics of the weather is very exciting.  Also, all the trees changing colors is very beautiful and makes me want to get outside before winter.

Q.  What inspired your book cover(s)?  Or what is your favorite book cover and why?

A.  I have a wonderful illustrator, Thi Nguyen (Houdi), who not only did the book cover for my book but also several amazing interior illustrations.  I chose her based on the quality and style of her art.  Her style looks inspired by anime my favorite genre to watch.

Q.  Tell me something funny that happened while on a book tour or while promoting your book.

A.  I had the pleasure of reading excerpts of my book to local 3^rd grade classrooms and answering questions about being an author.  There were many questions concerning the actually publishing and physical book creation process as well as my writing process but the funniest comment came when one of the children upon finding out my oldest daughter was not a featured character in my first book suggested that she should be the villain in my second book.

Q.  Are you working on something new?

A.  Yes!  I am currently writing the second book in the series, “The Underwater Bubble.”  It is scheduled for release November 2016.

Q.  Anything you want to say to followers of this blog or those that are just stopping by?

A.  Always keep a sense of adventure!  When life itself is an adventure you will never be bored.  

You can tweet to me or get updates by following my twitter: @magicbubblewand or by visiting my website www.magicbubblewand.com.