WHO IS BARBIE JO?                

I was born and raised in Upstate NY - Mexico, NY to be exact which is not too far from the shores of Lake Ontario.  I love the outdoors and especially the Adirondacks!  Ice skating and Cross Country Skiing are still my favorite winter sports.  I love dogs, and have a very big, very lovable yellow lab named Cooper.  He's laying at my feet right this minute!  I don't live in Mexico anymore, but I'm still in Upstate NY with my husband and three children.  I've lived in Georgia for awhile, but what can I say... I Love New York!

My High School English teachers instilled the love of reading and writing. (Thank you, Mr. Joe Shaw and Mr. Gary Smith!)  By the time I took my Senior Creative Writing elective (yes, that was 1984), I was hooked!  I couldn't tell you how many "stories" I started through my college years and on into my adult life.  But like any TRUE writer... I never stopped writing.  Throughout those early years, I kept my writing to myself as a creative outlet and I guess you could say a hobby.  My dream was to someday write a book, but I didn't know how to make that happen, and while I tried to find myself professionally and personally... I couldnt' see that happening.  After I got married, I admitted my dream to my husband, who looked me square in the eye and said "If that's what you want to do, then do it!"  So I attacked my dream with a new found intensity, and in the process of writing my stories we began having our family.

And the funniest thing happened... I met my Soul Sister!  Neighbors moved in across the Street and as we got to know each other  and having our babies we found we had something more in common.  SHE was a writer too!  So we started brainstorming over coffee and childrens playdates.  We'd get together on Sunday nights after the kids were in bed and the husbands were relaxing.  We plotted and planned and critiqued each others work (not really knowing what we were doing).   I wrote during naptime, bedtime, nights my husband traveled, and as the kids got a little older I had them give me an hour of "quiet time" so I could still squeeze in time to write.  It wasn't until Kari moved away and ended up in Massachusettes and joined an RWA chapter there, that we realized EXACTLY what we needed to do.  Kari took that first step, and because of it, I took that step too.  I joined CNYRW (Central NY Romance Writers) and started going to monthly meetings with other writers - published and unpublished.  What an awesome support group.  Kari invited me to attend the New England Writer's Conference, and it was at that very conference that I felt at home and knew in my heart that I COULD be the writer I always wanted to be.   And now she's moved back to the Upstate area, and guess what?  We may not live right across the street, but we're just down the road!  (and our kids still play together!)

You can check out Kari's website at: http://www.karileetownsend.com

So who is Barbie Jo?  She's a wife, a mother, and a persistent writer.  Dreams can happen people, just never stop believing.