Barbara’s mantra is “Curiosity is the Fountain of Youth.” Nearly 40 years in the airline industry afforded her the opportunity to explore and observe the culture, people and sights of many foreign destinations.
Growing up in Iowa was wonderful; however, early on she was plagued with wanderlust. As soon as she was able, she packed her bags and headed for Phoenix where she landed a job with Western Airlines in their Phoenix Marketing office.
“I have always been a creative person so, as part of my job, I jumped at the chance to dress up the front window of the ticket office with monthly displays advertising everything from destinations like Alaska and Mexico to announcing the revolutionary idea that you would no longer be charged for the weight of your baggage. I filled luggage with bricks sprayed with gold to bring the message home.”
In 1980, she transferred to Western’s general office in Los Angeles until the merger with Delta Air Lines resulted in a move to their general offices in Atlanta.
In all of her various responsibilities with each airline, Barbara always found an outlet for her creativity including developing themes for management conferences that ranged from “Your Part in Our Success” featuring movie titles like “Top Gun” and “The Right Stuff” to a Sherlock Holmes themed “Poor Service Is A Crime” conference complete with a film written, produced and directed by Barbara. Maybe that was a sign that she would someday write a romantic suspense novel.
Barbara has always been a storyteller; just ask her family and friends. She decided it was time to test the waters by actually committing her stories to the page. In 2013, at the age of 73, she immersed herself in creative writing classes and workshops in pursuit of the goal of writing essays, short story fiction and memoir. Her non-fiction essay, “Why We Didn’t Tell,” was published in biostories.com.
Much of Barbara’s writing draws on her travel experiences during her forty year career in the airline industry which is one of the reasons her first novel “Saving Aimee/Saving Margo,” takes you on a suspenseful journey to Thailand.
Barbara writes from Scottsdale Arizona with her Toy Fox Terrier, Bubbles, at her feet.
Her stated intention for this chapter of her life is to become the Grandma Moses of Prose.
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