Meet Michele Barrow-Belisle, Author of Fairy Wishes 123
BBB: Tell us about yourself.
MBB: About me….hmmm, let’s see….I’m a writer, and I’m sort of as addicted to it. Reading too. I’d be a tremendously happy girl if I could just read, write, drink lattes and eat chocolate…all day every day.
I really love chocolate, in case that wasn’t evident from the last point.
I’m a polymer clay sculptor. My favorite things to sculpt are faeries and miniature clay food.
I have lengthy conversations with imaginary people. Sometimes even arguments.
I’m a Libra. And as balanced as they come ;)
I live with my amazing husband who rides a motorcycle, my incredible son who’s also an incredible writer and a cat with a princess complex, who truly believes our entire reason for being is to see to her every whim. Which, of course, we do.
When I went to John Taylor from Duran Duran’s book signing event, I signed a copy of my book and gave it to him. Pretty cheeky, I know.
My sister-in-law Tami was the first person to read FIRE & ICE after I wrote it. She loved it, and that gave me the encouragement to move forward. And now here we are six years later, and still going strong.
I’m a teacher by nature. And teaching preschoolers is much harder and infinitely more rewarding than teaching adults. I’ve done both and I love both, but children always bring their A-game and force you to be on yours.
I once modelled for a clothing company called President Stone. For a while, there were larger-than-life posters of me plastered all over the city. The company went out of business. Totally not my fault.
I adore my life. I really do.
Uhm, let’s see what else… did I mention the chocolate?
MBB: About me….hmmm, let’s see….I’m a writer, and I’m sort of as addicted to it. Reading too. I’d be a tremendously happy girl if I could just read, write, drink lattes and eat chocolate…all day every day.
I really love chocolate, in case that wasn’t evident from the last point.
I’m a polymer clay sculptor. My favorite things to sculpt are faeries and miniature clay food.
I have lengthy conversations with imaginary people. Sometimes even arguments.
I’m a Libra. And as balanced as they come ;)
I live with my amazing husband who rides a motorcycle, my incredible son who’s also an incredible writer and a cat with a princess complex, who truly believes our entire reason for being is to see to her every whim. Which, of course, we do.
When I went to John Taylor from Duran Duran’s book signing event, I signed a copy of my book and gave it to him. Pretty cheeky, I know.
My sister-in-law Tami was the first person to read FIRE & ICE after I wrote it. She loved it, and that gave me the encouragement to move forward. And now here we are six years later, and still going strong.
I’m a teacher by nature. And teaching preschoolers is much harder and infinitely more rewarding than teaching adults. I’ve done both and I love both, but children always bring their A-game and force you to be on yours.
I once modelled for a clothing company called President Stone. For a while, there were larger-than-life posters of me plastered all over the city. The company went out of business. Totally not my fault.
I adore my life. I really do.
Uhm, let’s see what else… did I mention the chocolate?
What inspired your book, Fairy Wishes 123?
MBB: As a mom and a preschool teacher, I’ve read countless stories to young children, and I got a feel for what types of stories children loved best. I was also a little surprised at how many books geared toward young children simply didn’t measure up. They were either too long, too short, too boring or had unappealing illustrations. So, writing my own children’s book has always been in the back of my mind. And I guess I finally found a window of time and some inspiration to finally write them. The ‘Wishes Series’ was born, and I knew if had to be a rhyming book because they were the ones children requested most often, and they were the most fun to read as adults. And I knew I wanted bright colorful illustrations, to capture the imagination. Hopefully I’ve achieved both of those things.
BBB: Tell us about your main character.
MBB: The story is about two culturally and ethnically diverse little fairies who want to trade lives with each other, thinking the grass is greener on the other side. They soon discover that it’s best to just be themselves.
BBB: What other books have you written?
MBB: This is my first illustrated children’s book, which will include at least 6 more books in the Wishes series. But my debut novel was a series for teens, Fire & Ice (Faerie Song Saga). It’s a six book YA fantasy romance series, and the 4th is releasing Feb.28th 2018. It’s also currently in development for a major motion picture, which we’re all very excited about! I have one stand-alone New Adult, paranormal romance novel, Entangled Summer. And In non-fiction, I’ve also published several how-to polymer clay sculpting art books.
BBB: What do you think readers will find most appealing about your book?
MBB: I think the illustrations will capture their heart, at least I hope they will, that and the rhyming, which are my favorite types of books to read aloud to children.
BBB: Tell us about your illustrations.
MBB: I worked on the illustrations myself, beginning with sketches from photographs, adding color and then applying digital effects using a light box. I’ve always loved art ad graphic design in all its many forms and media, so that was a fun part of the process, though also the lengthiest part.
BBB: How did you come up with the idea for your book cover?
MBB: I wanted something magical, that was an invitation into an enchanted fairy world…a world reader would want to enter into.
BBB: What are you currently working on?
MBB: I actually have several projects on the go at the moment. I’m working on an illustrated guide for about the Faerie Song Saga realms, along with writing the fifth and sixth books in that series.
I’m working on illustrations for the next book in the children’s wishes series, Pirate Wishes 1-2-3.
Lastly, I’m revising a new young adult novel, Written In Red, which is a post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy. Here’s the premise: In a post-apocalyptic world governed by Witches, 17-year-old girls must compete in the Culling Ritual where those with magic triumph and those without are enslaved. But for Freedom Bliss Matthews, being released from an asylum on the eve of the Ritual might mean trading one prison for another.
BBB: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
MBB: Readers can find my books through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo/Chapters Books, as well as most book retailers globally.
You can find me on social media here: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via my website.
The very best way to stay connected is by signing up for my mailing list, where I send out updates about news, book releases and any book-to-movie developments.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to visit. I’m always up for a chat, so please feel free to reach out anytime! 😊
MBB: As a mom and a preschool teacher, I’ve read countless stories to young children, and I got a feel for what types of stories children loved best. I was also a little surprised at how many books geared toward young children simply didn’t measure up. They were either too long, too short, too boring or had unappealing illustrations. So, writing my own children’s book has always been in the back of my mind. And I guess I finally found a window of time and some inspiration to finally write them. The ‘Wishes Series’ was born, and I knew if had to be a rhyming book because they were the ones children requested most often, and they were the most fun to read as adults. And I knew I wanted bright colorful illustrations, to capture the imagination. Hopefully I’ve achieved both of those things.
BBB: Tell us about your main character.
MBB: The story is about two culturally and ethnically diverse little fairies who want to trade lives with each other, thinking the grass is greener on the other side. They soon discover that it’s best to just be themselves.
BBB: What other books have you written?
MBB: This is my first illustrated children’s book, which will include at least 6 more books in the Wishes series. But my debut novel was a series for teens, Fire & Ice (Faerie Song Saga). It’s a six book YA fantasy romance series, and the 4th is releasing Feb.28th 2018. It’s also currently in development for a major motion picture, which we’re all very excited about! I have one stand-alone New Adult, paranormal romance novel, Entangled Summer. And In non-fiction, I’ve also published several how-to polymer clay sculpting art books.
BBB: What do you think readers will find most appealing about your book?
MBB: I think the illustrations will capture their heart, at least I hope they will, that and the rhyming, which are my favorite types of books to read aloud to children.
BBB: Tell us about your illustrations.
MBB: I worked on the illustrations myself, beginning with sketches from photographs, adding color and then applying digital effects using a light box. I’ve always loved art ad graphic design in all its many forms and media, so that was a fun part of the process, though also the lengthiest part.
BBB: How did you come up with the idea for your book cover?
MBB: I wanted something magical, that was an invitation into an enchanted fairy world…a world reader would want to enter into.
BBB: What are you currently working on?
MBB: I actually have several projects on the go at the moment. I’m working on an illustrated guide for about the Faerie Song Saga realms, along with writing the fifth and sixth books in that series.
I’m working on illustrations for the next book in the children’s wishes series, Pirate Wishes 1-2-3.
Lastly, I’m revising a new young adult novel, Written In Red, which is a post-apocalyptic dystopian fantasy. Here’s the premise: In a post-apocalyptic world governed by Witches, 17-year-old girls must compete in the Culling Ritual where those with magic triumph and those without are enslaved. But for Freedom Bliss Matthews, being released from an asylum on the eve of the Ritual might mean trading one prison for another.
BBB: How can readers discover more about you and your work?
MBB: Readers can find my books through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indigo/Chapters Books, as well as most book retailers globally.
You can find me on social media here: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and via my website.
The very best way to stay connected is by signing up for my mailing list, where I send out updates about news, book releases and any book-to-movie developments.
Thanks so much for the opportunity to visit. I’m always up for a chat, so please feel free to reach out anytime! 😊
