Welcome to my author website!
I’m glad you’re here and hope you’ll be able to linger awhile. As a teacher for over thirty years, I spent each day surrounded by young children and good books. I loved to meet authors and hear their stories, but it wasn’t until I retired that I began to seriously write myself. I guess you could call me a late bloomer. Writing has opened a new world of relationships, learning and adventure that I found I love. So be my guest. Come on in!
Fondly,
Barb
Looking for an inspiring adventure?
Step aboard as my husband, Gene, and I paddle the tandem kayak we built from the Headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River to the Gulf of Mexico. Experience the moods and magnetism of America’s greatest waterway and the kindness and generosity of folks who live alongside it. Pause with us to volunteer with charitable organizations in quaint river towns and be inspired by passionate people from all walks of life who give their time and effort to support and encourage others.
All of the author profits from the sale of this book are donated annually to the charities we served on the trip. You can find more information about this memoir, including photo galleries and an interactive map of our journey at www.paddleforapurpose.net.
Available Now!
Poem Collection Published by Finishing Line Press
Mississippi Meanderings
The 30 poems in this collection are musings about our experiences as we traveled down the “Big Muddy” and the Tenn/Tom Waterway from Itasca, Minnesota to Mobile, Alabama. You’ll be awed by river wildlife and sand island sunsets, fascinated by mammoth barges and pearl button factories, and entertained with poems of mishap and moonshine.
A photo gallery accompanying the poems in the collection can be found under the Photos tab above. You can also download a free discussion guide with optional writing prompts here.
Our Latest Adventure
After paddling the Mississippi, Gene and I temporarily traded our paddles for pedals and reignited our love of bicycling. The past nine summers, we’ve biked near home in the Great Cycle Challenge to help support the Children’s Cancer Research Fund and have hosted cross-country cyclists through the Warm Showers organization. (You can read more about these organizations on my Charity Spotlight blogs at http://www.paddleforapurpose.net.) For our latest adventure, during the spring and summer of 2022, we left Key West to ride our bikes up the East Coast Greenway Trail to Calais, Maine. We posted about our trip at https://fb.me/2OldFolksOnBikes. Considering our user name above, we took our time: meeting people, seeing the sights, and collecting lots of story and poem ideas along the way.
Appearances
- During the week of June 21-27, I participated in the Janesville Book Fest 2026, a collaboration between the Hedberg Public Library and Downtown Janesville, Inc. Authors were paired with businesses in Janesville downtown area on days during the week to hold events with their partner businesses. On Friday, I appeared at a lovely art gallery called, Raven’s Wish, to offer a Poetry and Art Scavenger Hunt and returned on Saturday in the morning to sign books. Thank you to Kegane at Raven’s Wish, for collaborating with me for a fun and innovative experience!
- The Southeast Wisconsin Festival of Books is coming! Stop by at Carroll University in Waukesha on Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7! Find out more about the keynote, panels, and authors at http://www.sewibookfest.com! At 10:15 am on Saturday, I’ll be a panelist, along with authors Nancy Jorgensen and Mary Ann Noe, discussing the difference between the genres of Memoir and Personal Essay. Dale Morgan will be our moderator. Then, at 12:30, I’ll be moderating a panel called Kids + Books = Magic! Three award-winning children’s authors will discuss the current state of children’s books and their writing journeys. You’ll get to meet authors John Coy, Joyce Uglow, and Stef Wade. Bring your holiday gift lists and get signed books for the children and adults in your life who love to read!
