A Writer Afoot » romance http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog Writing, reading, walking Fri, 03 Feb 2012 16:35:07 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Once upon a time… http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2010/01/17/once-upon-a-time/ http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2010/01/17/once-upon-a-time/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 18:03:15 +0000 Barbara Samuel http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/?p=801

We’re doing some spring cleaning around here and while transfering files from a box (really) to an actual file cabinet, I found this query. 

It ended up leading to my first sale. 

The phone number was my mother’s, by the way.  I was too poor to have a phone of my [...]]]>

We’re doing some spring cleaning around here and while transfering files from a box (really) to an actual file cabinet, I found this query. 

It ended up leading to my first sale. 

The phone number was my mother’s, by the way.  I was too poor to have a phone of my own.

]]> http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2010/01/17/once-upon-a-time/feed/ 0 THE SECRET OF EVERYTHING, Barbara O'Neal http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/09/20/the-secret-of-everything-barbara-oneal/ http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/09/20/the-secret-of-everything-barbara-oneal/#comments Sun, 20 Sep 2009 11:06:22 +0000 Barbara Samuel http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/?p=637 Coming your way January 5, 2010:

FROM THE BACK COVER: In this spectacular new novel, Barbara O’Neal delivers a generous helping of the best in life–family, food, and love–in the story of a woman’s search for the one thing worth more than anything.

At thirty-seven, Tessa Harlow is still working her way [...]]]> PRE-ORDER NOW

Coming your way January 5, 2010:

Cover Image
FROM THE BACK COVER:
In this spectacular new novel, Barbara O’Neal delivers a generous helping of the best in life–family, food, and love–in the story of a woman’s search for the one thing worth more than anything.

At thirty-seven, Tessa Harlow is still working her way down her list of goals to “fall in love and have a family.” A self-described rolling stone, Tessa leads hiking tours for adventurous vacationers–it’s a job that’s taken her around the world but never a step closer to home. Then a freak injury during a trip already marred by tragedy forces her to begin her greatest adventure of all.

Located high in the New Mexico mountains, Las Ladronas has become a magnet for the very wealthy and very hip, but once upon a time it was the setting of a childhood trauma Tessa can only half remember. Now, as she rediscovers both her old hometown and her past, Tessa is drawn to search-and-rescue worker Vince Grasso. The handsome widower isn’t her type. No more inclined to settle down than Tessa, Vince is the father of three, including an eight-year-old girl as lost as Tessa herself. But Tessa and Vince are both drawn to the town’s most beloved eatery–100 Breakfasts–and to each other. For Tessa, the restaurant is not only the key to the mystery that has haunted her life but a chance to find the home and the family she’s never known.

PRE-ORDER NOW
]]> http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/09/20/the-secret-of-everything-barbara-oneal/feed/ 20 An excellent review and interview http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/04/21/an-excellent-review-and-interview/ http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/04/21/an-excellent-review-and-interview/#comments Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:18:11 +0000 Barbara Samuel http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/?p=591 The Gazette Telegraph’s book columnist had some lovely things to say about The Lost Recipe For Happiness:

http://anitalaydonmiller.blogspot.com/

I should add that she most graciously interviewed me and read my book open-mindedly even though I accidentally blindsided her in a blog I wrote for RTB.  Thanks, Anita.  A lady and a scholar.

 

]]> The Gazette Telegraph’s book columnist had some lovely things to say about The Lost Recipe For Happiness:

http://anitalaydonmiller.blogspot.com/

I should add that she most graciously interviewed me and read my book open-mindedly even though I accidentally blindsided her in a blog I wrote for RTB.  Thanks, Anita.  A lady and a scholar.

 

]]> http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/04/21/an-excellent-review-and-interview/feed/ 0 Writing as an act of faith http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/04/15/writing-as-an-acts-of-faith/ http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/2009/04/15/writing-as-an-acts-of-faith/#comments Wed, 15 Apr 2009 17:36:33 +0000 Barbara Samuel http://www.barbarasamuel.com/blog/?p=589 I noticed yesterday that the new book about Columbine is out.  I’m not going to read it.  I remember enough about the day and the subsequent stories to last me the rest of my life.  Enough to say, “what a wretched day” and go on.  But the anniversary will surely mean more coverage, and [...]]]> I noticed yesterday that the new book about Columbine is out.  I’m not going to read it.  I remember enough about the day and the subsequent stories to last me the rest of my life.  Enough to say, “what a wretched day” and go on.  But the anniversary will surely mean more coverage, and there have been many trials since then, so it seemed to me a good time to post a link to a talk I presented at RWA in 2004:

Acts of Faith

Author preface: It’s a dark talk, but remember, I do know how to deliver a happy ending….

It’s an unholy world we’re living in, isn’t it? Over the past five years, it has become an increasingly dangerous place. I sometimes look back and think, “What happened?”

For me, the dark times started on April 20, 1999.

An unholy date. Hitler’s birthday, but more specific to our current situation, it is the day two boys went into a suburban high school and murdered 12 children and themselves.

Those killing happened 100 miles from us, and they hit my eldest son very hard. They hit ME hard. My sense of safety was shattered, and there was no way to put it back together again.

One of the hardest things I’ve ever done was taking my son to school the next morning. Where a cataclysm could happen.

Where he was no longer safe.

I couldn’t sleep for weeks afterward. I thought of the parents of the children who were murdered, and the parents of the children who did the killing, and my soul was torn with unease.

I wanted to fix it. Solve it. Heal it. What could I do? There had to be some way to stop the madness.

It is an unholy world we are living in.

A couple of summers ago, I went to France for a hiking trip with a good friend of mine. It was a personal test-to see if I really had achieved the fitness levels I’d been working toward, and a reward for giving up cigarettes.

I wanted to see if I had the courage to venture into a world where I didn’t know the language, and hike-seriously hike– for seven days with a small group. My life had been changing and I needed time to see where I might be going next. On those hills in Provence, sweating, I found some answers. Or what I thought were answers.

I was buoyed by my discoveries. I was cheered.

READ MORE….

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