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.
Some Exciting News
Winning Poem Collection is Ready to Market to Publishers
Mississippi Meanderings
I was delighted to learn that my collection of 30 river poems received first place in Local Gems’ NaPoWriMo Poetry Chapbook Contest. I’ve finished revising and formatting the collection and am now working on finding a chapbook publisher for Mississippi Meanderings. Stay tuned for details!
The 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.
I hope the photos I’ve included here and on the Mississippi Meanderings page will whet your appetite for more!
Our Summer Adventure
After paddling the Mississippi, Gene and I temporarily traded our paddles for pedals and reignited our love of bicycling. The past eight 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.) This spring and summer, 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. More photos and information to come!
Appearances
- January 27, 2023, AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop Friday Night Free for All was a wonderful event to celebrate the studio’s 18th birthday! I read from my Mississippi Meanderings poetry collection, Mary Ann Noe shared selections from her novels, Dale Ann Morgan shared hilarious high school reunion memories from her memoir, Michael Giorgio entertained us with a selection from A Week of Criminal Happiness and Kathie Giorgio read from her newest novel, Hope Always Rises, soon to be released.
- March 2, 2023, Gene and I will be giving a presentation to the GE retirees, the GE Elfuns, at their monthly luncheon meeting in Waukesha. We’ll share stories from our Mississippi River kayak service adventure and my resulting memoir, Paddle for a Purpose.
Author Barb Geiger 