Featured Interview With Author Barbara A. Luker
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born and raised in Saint Peter, Minnesota, my day job happens to be working for the City of Saint Peter in the City Administrator's Office. As a Certified Municipal Clerk, I am actively involved in all the goings on with the city and being a hometown girl helps make me really good at my job with the city. I am an avid supporter of several animal rescues and live that passion through my rescue cat Annie. She's an older dilute Tortie cat and like the famous cats of Ernest Hemmingway, she is polydactyl on three of her feet!
You can't be a true Minnesotan without a love for Minnesota sports teams and I am also a passionate supporter of the Minnesota Wild and the Minnesota Vikings. I'm fortunate to live in the beautiful Minnesota River Valley and the changing of seasons in the fall is stunning in my area.
Saint Peter is a historian's dream, and our entire downtown is on the National Register of Historic Places. Saint Peter was originally planned to be the capital of Minnesota until a man stole the bill that would have named us as capital, but everything happens for a reason and Saint Peter is charming and welcoming and perfect for the 12,000 folks that call this home. Can you tell I am proud of my city?
Retirement is on the horizon, and I look forward to being able to spend many more hours writing and being able to more fully devote my time to meeting readers and talking about my books…especially my new book, "The Right One", that comes out in September, 2023!
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My family loves books and I was lucky that even though our parents had little extra money to spare, there were always books in our house and frequent trips to our Carnegie Library. I remember being about five when my parents purchased a set of what we called the "upside-down books"; books that you started and when you got to the end of one story, you flipped the book over to read another. That's when I discovered the Babar series which were among my favorite stories as a child.
But I didn't start writing until much later. I was always good at composing correspondence, but it wasn't until much later in life, when I was about 50 years old, that I actually wrote my first manuscript. It came after having a vivid dream night after night that just had to be written down and before I knew it, I had written a complete story.
That was about the same time I discovered that my grandmother, unbeknownst to anyone in the family, had secretly been taking creative writing classes. Written on a manual typewriter, on onion skin paper only those of us of a certain age may remember, we found dozens of short stories she had written. At first those stories were covered in the dreaded red editing pencil marks, but by the time we got to the bottom of the box she had improved dramatically. It impacted me so much; I honor her secret by including her name Lillian somewhere in each of my books.
My first book, "Remembering You", was published in 2020, just two weeks before the COVID pandemic shut down Minnesota. For a first-time author it was disappointing as there were no book signings, no launch party, and, unfortunately, very few chances to promote other than word of mouth. If you get a chance check out Remembering You. I think readers who enjoy a good love story will enjoy it.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Pinning down a favorite author is like naming a favorite child! When you are brought up exposed to all genres and a diverse stable of writers, your tastes become quite varied and that is the case with me. In romance/woman's fiction, the categories I happen to write, I am a big fan of Kristin Hannah. Her work, Winter Garden, was my first exposure to Hannah and I have been a fan ever since.
As part of my job with the City of Saint Peter, I serve as our Election Official which has led me to have a strong interest in politics and politicians. A great way to learn more about the people who represent us is by reading memoirs. My personal library has a large number of memoirs on everyone from Abraham Lincoln to those who currently occupy the White House.
But I am also a big fan of thrillers and the work of the late Vince Flynn, the author of the Mitch Rapp books, is my favorite. Vince tragically passed away much too early in life, but he was a prolific writer and since his death an author name Kyle Mills has taken over the series. Vince was a fellow Minnesotan and when I began trying to find a publisher for my books, I was inspired by the journey he took to publication. He suffered through rejection after rejection before he finally self-published and became what seemed to be an overnight best-selling author. Of course, there was a lot of hard work that went into that "overnight" success, but his story inspired me to not give up before I was published.
In my own work, I am inspired by people, their emotions, their failings, and the hopes of so many of us that someday love will come our way. I am inspired by families and secrets and the unpredictability of life. No two of my stories are the same, but I always describe them as love stories with a twist. Most are set in modern day and many have Minnesota connections.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I Carry Your Heart, published in 2022, is a dual timeline story full of love, heartbreak, family secrets and mistakes. Set between the 1960s and today, it spans three generations of the Ward family and delves into the interactions between mothers and daughters, husband and wives, and what we are willing to do for love. It's a story of undying love, the sacrifices we make for those we love, and the unbreakable strength of family.
Someone asked me after the book came out where the idea came from, and I had no answer except to say I woke up with the idea. Like my first manuscript, it was something that needed to be put down on paper and it virtually wrote itself. I couldn't stop thinking about it until the words "the end" appeared on my screen. From start to finish it took just three months. Sometimes, and trust me those times are rare, it is just that simple.
Readers who have visited with me after reading the book, or those who have left online reviews, have suggested setting aside plenty of time to read because once you start you won't want to put it down. Others have suggested reading it with a box of tissues. Both are high compliments to this author as it tells me the story engaged readers and touched their hearts.
I'm proud to say that I Carry Your Heart was a finalist in the 2022 American Writing Awards in the Women's Fiction category and while that's wonderful and humbling, the best reward for me is when complete strangers reach out to tell me how much the story meant to them. I hope that you will be one of those strangers!
Connect with the Author on their Websites and Social media profiles
Barbara A. Luker Facebook Page
Barbara A. Luker Twitter Account
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