BarbaraArdingerWriting

READ MY NEW BOOK!

Two years ago, Weiser Books phoned me and asked me to write a daily calendar book for them. "Put lots of goddesses in it," they said. And so I did. Also pagan friends, temples, web sites, and 'zines. Also pop culture-LOTR, Star Wars, Harry Potter, and Wonder Woman. And facts about other religions, whose mythologies are just as interesting as ours.

Pagan Every Day is NOT just for pagans. Tell all your friends about it.

Pagan Every Day is in your local bookstore and in the on-line stores. Buy your copy today.

Greetings

For as long as I can remember, I've been prolixily in love with the English language. My parents read to me practically from the time I was born, and when I learned to read myself there was no stopping me. As a child, I read Dick and Jane. A little older, I read all of the Nancy Drew books, as many of my mother's Literary Guild selections as I could reach (tall bookcase), and all twenty volumes of The Book of Knowledge. Today, I read most of the new books by pagan authors. I used to read a lot of science fiction to relax, but now I like mysteries written by women and the Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett.

I also started writing early on. I'm told that when I was in the second grade I wrote a story for my father's birthday. I do remember writing a puppet show based on The Littlest Angel (and playing said angel) when I was in the fifth grade, and in high school I was the only member of the Creative Writing Club who had a new story or essay for every single meeting. I can still remember Miss Nichols, my sophomore English teacher, taking her own time to drive me into downtown St. Louis to meet a representative from a vanity publisher. (That venture went nowhere.) And I was such a good writer by my freshman year in college that my English 101 teacher asked me to join the yearbook staff.

I'm still writing. In fact, I seem to spend most of my time at home sitting here at my computer, working on some project or other. The walls of my home are hung with so much art (much of it original, some of it my own, but none by anyone really famous) that I joke that I need taller walls, and nearly every horizontal surface holds my collections of witches and goddesses, plus altars and shrines, books (twenty-four full shelves in the living room, more in the bedroom) and plants and tchotchkes. When I'm not reading or writing, I create collage art and enjoy needlework and crochet … all of which free my mind to daydream and write in my head. Which drives me back to the computer.

I also like movies, especially the ones where people sing and dance. My video collection consists of a lot of Shakespeare, plus old musicals and Broadway musicals. Why is my favorite kind of music from musical theater? Simple. You can understand the words as well as sing the tunes. And I'm a member of the Michael Ball Fan Club. You don't know Michael yet? He's a wonderful singer. Go to his website—with your sound on—and find out for yourself. www.michaelball.co.uk

On this web site you'll see how I think and write, primarily my books, poetry, and a few magazine articles. You can also learn about the skills I offer as a freelance editor. I hope you enjoy my work and find out who's behind this flood of words. And if you have a need to write and need an editor who will care about your work, please get in touch with me.

xxx ba

Homecoming, 2006, at Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau, MO, where I earned my bachelor's and master's degrees. This sign outside the campus bookstore was a happy surprise for me. My friends and I saw it as we were walking up the hill after the homecoming parade.

Buy autographed copies of my books! Just send me an email request.

email: bawriting@earthlink.net