IndieView Q&A with Lenore Borja, The Lost Portal author

ReviewsPress

Oct 8

The idea for The Mirror Realm was spawned from my husband discovering a hidden closet behind a mirror in our old apartment. It made me wonder: what if every mirror in the world led to a secret, hidden realm? Hence the Mirror Realm was born.

Excerpt below:

THE LOST PORTAL | MIRROR REALM SERIES, BOOK II

The Lost Portal is the second book in the Mirror Realm series. It follows Hadley Caldwell and her band of huntress sisters as they embark on an epic quest to find an ancient relic: the Portal of Osiris. Their journey takes them across oceans, dreams, and time. But to defeat the gods, Hadley must first confront her troubled past. The Lost Portal is a mythology-inspired fantasy full of mystery, adventure, family drama, and sisterhood.

What is the book about?

When did you start writing the book?

Early 2020

How long did it take you to write it?

Short answer: ~6 months

Long answer: I began writing The Lost Portal at the start of 2020. I had just started querying my first book, The Last Huntress, and wanted to get a jump on the sequel (told from Hadley’s POV). Then the pandemic hit. While I continued to write, it wasn’t a very creative time for me. Despite focusing on other things, I’d occasionally return to Hadley and chip away at her story, making slow but steady progress. Fast forward to 2022—The Last Huntress was slated for release in November, and I had a 120K word draft for the sequel awaiting revision and edits. But something was wrong. I knew it in my gut—it wasn’t the right story for Hadley. So I made the hard choice to scrap it and start over. I sometimes joke that once I made that decision, I blacked out and the book wrote itself. But the truth was I’d already done the work. It just took me a while to get to know Hadley, for her to let me in. But once she did, the right story flew out of me. So technically speaking, I didn’t start writing The Lost Portal until December 2022, but I count the extra two years (and one tossed manuscript) as part of the equation, and time well spent.

Read the full interview here.

Available Now

Pre-order now on Amazon | Pre-order now on Barnes & Noble | Pre-order now on Bookshop

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Bookshop

Lenore Borja

I love a good love story. From slow burn to first sight, it doesn’t matter. Add in paranormal, fantasy, or dystopian elements, and I’m all in. These are the stories I crave, so naturally, they are the stories I write!

My love for writing started in the 8th grade when I wrote a short story about a girl on the Titanic. I loved imagining who she was, her hopes and dreams, and how she ended up on that ship. Of course, it wasn’t Rose and Jack (by a long shot), but it planted the seed that would eventually lead to my career as an author.

Oh, I took a few detours along the way. I was an actor. A bartender. A financial recruiter. A human resources professional. I was a lot of things. But one thing I never stopped being was a lover of books. While I might gravitate toward a specific genre, I’ll read anything that engages and captivates me. Historical, Thrillers, Rom-Coms, Post-Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi, Memoirs, Young Adult, I’ll devour them all! (Okay, maybe not cookbooks. I’m useless in the kitchen – ask my husband)

The point is, I love reading. I love immersing myself in another world for a while. Writing takes this one step further; it gives me the privilege of creating that world. And to be able to SHARE that world with you, the reader? That might be my favorite love story of all.

A few boring facts about me (because my characters are way more interesting):

Birthplace: Kankakee, IL (though I mainly grew up in Phoenix, AZ)
Favorite Book: Not possible to answer, but if my cat’s life were on the line, then I’d probably say Jane Eyre
Favorite Movie: No. Can’t do it.
Favorite Series: Tie between Lost and Friday Night Lights
Spirit Animal: Cat, obviously
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Most embarrassing moment: Listing these factoids

See you on the page!

http://www.lenoreborja.com