Featured Interview With Barbara A. Luker
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
Born and raised in the beautiful Minnesota River Valley in southern Minnesota, I am a devoted fan of everything Minnesota. From our 10,000 lakes to the snow and cold of winter, I would never consider living anywhere else. But that hasn’t stopped me from traveling across the globe and all across the USA.
Living in a small town and surviving a 1998 F4 tornado, I have realized just how precious every day is and how the people around us will come together when others are in need. Our tornado was over a mile wide and the devastation it left behind was massive, but help arrived within hours. By the time cleanup was done and the hard work of rebuilding our lives began, it changed me and how I saw the world.
I share my life and sometimes my keyboard with my rescue cat Annie. Like the famed Hemingway cats, Annie is polydactyl and she was rescued from a hoarding situation at the age of. She is a lovely dilute Tortie.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My parents are readers and, while we didn’t have a lot of extra money growing up, they made sure our house was full of books of all kinds. My favorites were the upside down books; books that you read one story through to the middle of the book before turning them upside down and reading a completely different story. Those books exposed me to the children’s story of Babar and after that, there was no looking back.
Writing came much later in life and it started with a dream that wouldn’t go away. Night after night, I dreamed of this story until, eventually; I had to write it down. Once I started, I couldn’t stop and within a few short months, I had my first manuscript. Looking back, it was pretty awful, great story line, but awful writing. I wrote four or five manuscripts after that before my first book, Remembering You, was published in 2020.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
My tastes in books are quite diverse. I love a good spy thriller such as the Mitch Rapp series written by the late Vince Flynn. Kristin Hannah’s Winter Garden is another favorite. Her writing, much like my book I Carry Your Heart, is family centric and really delves into interpersonal relationships along with the romances.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
I Carry Your Heart is a love story within a family drama. It centers on two generations of the Ward family with a dual timeline between the 1960s and the current day, but don’t let that throw you. The transitions between the two periods are well defined and easy to follow. Abby, the matriarch of the family, has kept a closely guarded secret that is exposed after she passes. A secret of a love so strong that it will defy social norms and test her family when they learn the truth. It’s a story of love, family, and the sacrifices we make for those we love. It’s a story you’ll want to leave plenty of time to read with a box of tissues.
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