About Barbara

Before I turned to fiction...

I've had many careers. I've been a teacher, therapist, qualitative researcher, educational advocate, and full-time mom. I've run a not-for-profit organization, mentored PhD students, counseled families on how to nurture out-of-the-box children, and much more!

I've had many homes. I've lived in a cabin in the California redwoods, a firehouse, a former police station, and a converted sauna in the heart of Greenwich Village. I now live on an historic dirt road in New York's Hudson Valley.

I've looked and listened. I've traveled from Iceland to Israel, Scotland to Spain. I've explored Italy, Egypt, Alaska, Costa Rica, Turkey, France, and the backpacking trails of the U.S. and Canada.

I've spoken up I've given talks to parent groups, professional organizations, and academic conferences across the country

Here are some of the workshops, webinars, and presentations I’ve given on the craft and business of writing …

• Kauai Writers Conference
  “It’s About Time:” Mastering backstory, flashback, and chronology
• Women’s Fiction Writers Association
  Crafting Scenes with Purpose and Power
• Jane Friedman
  Choosing, using, and working effectively with a publicist
• Writer Unboxed
  The Building Blocks of a Story
• National Association of Memoir Writers
  Two Paths, Fiction and Memoir: Traveling the one that’s right for you
• Jane Friedman
  Hybrid Publishing 101: Learn what it is and if it’s right for you
• Story Circle Network
  Cooking Lived Experience into the Written Word