Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I was raised in a western Pennsylvania town with a population of 5,000. My access to books was limited to the school library until the age of 12 years old. My neighbor was establishing the town library and asked me to help her. I worked for $0.25 an hour checking in books and re-stacking them on the shelves. It was then that I discovered many things to learn by scanning book titles and checking-out many books to read. I learned that reading was a fun way to learn many different things that were not discussed or taught in school. I attended college and graduate school in PA, TX, and D.C. in the fields of political science, economics, and finance. I earned my private pilot’s license, joined the Air Force, co-built an experimental aircraft and lived across the U.S. and in England. I believe that the more you learn, work, read, travel and experience, the easier it is to be a storyteller. Now I write to help make learning fun for children who choose to read for entertainment. I hope that you enjoy my storytelling and feel the same as I do – that it’s important to learn the difference between FACT and FICTION AND that reading is a fun way to learn, because learning is a lifetime experience!
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My first book and latest is The Critter Family: The Fun Begins! It is the first in The Critter Family series. Book 2 entitled The Critter Family: Exploring the Shenandoah will be released in late May followed by Book 3 entitled The Critter Family: To Wyoming and Back! while will be released in August. I was on vacation when I completed a day of touring and sat down with my computer and began making a list of critters (animals). My husband asked what I was doing. I said that everyone loves animals, maybe I’ll write a book. Then 3 months later I began. I wrote over 300 pages which are not the basis for the first 3 books in the series.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I have a background in political science/economic/finance and have accomplished a significant amount of research and analysis in these areas. I believe that to understand and learn anything, a person needs to be able to pull up information. When I did these things, search engines didn’t exist so I needed to use library catalogs and search through library stacks, something students today aren’t quite as familiar with. But my writing habits haven’t changed much. I begin forming ideas and start writing. After my first draft, more ideas come to mind. The difference in writing this children’s book series from my earlier research is that all kinds of fun ideas come to mind at all times of the day and night and must be captured. I also have unsolved issues in the stories that I will revisit in later books in the series.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
Eevi Jones, author of “How to Self-Publish a Children’s Book”
What are you working on now?
I am editing Book 3 in The Critter Family series, have outlined Book 4, and am ready to take pen to paper. (or keyboard strokes on the computer!)
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Website is at http://www.barbarabanks.studio/taxiway.
Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/BarbaraBanks.Author
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Don’t hesitate to begin writing. Write from the heart and let your ideas flow. You will go through several phases of editing to embellish your ideas, refine your expressions and writing style. You will never write a book if you don’t capture those initial ideas. There’s always time to add to your story. BUT it is just as important to set a deadline or else your will never finish your book.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Don’t be afraid to start writing. It will come to you.
What are you reading now?
I’m reading a couple of Newt Gingrich books.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Publishing Book 2 in The Critter Family Series in late May 2020 Aentitled “The Critter Family: Exploring the Shenandoah” followed by Book 3 entitled “The Critter Family: To Wyoming and Back” in August 2020.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
A book on stock/option trading; a book on social media; a Newt Gingrich novel; and a Michele Malkin book.
Author Websites and Profiles
Barbara Banks Website
Barbara Banks Amazon Profile
Barbara Banks’s Social Media Links
Facebook Profile