Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I cut my teeth on the classics, reading every book my local library had to offer, including Animal Farm at the tender age of eight. A tomboy, I rode horses, climbed trees, waded in creeks, and cheered, all while excelling in English classes and maintaining a straight-A average in school.
Majoring in business in college, I later went on to earn my Doctor of Chiropractic degree. Then, in the early 2000s, my lifelong love affair with words and reading compelled me to sit down and write. I poured my heart out in a memoir, then lost it to a crashed hard drive. After recovering from that blow, I was seized by an idea for a children’s book. And in the blink of an eye, Frank and Ernie Find Home was born. That manuscript currently resides on a treasured thumb drive, but someday Frank and Ernie WILL find a home. I promise.
My next writing adventure was a women’s fiction novel. The title came to me in a flash of inspiration while living in Dahlonega, Georgia, near the Southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. That title, plus a series of other novels starring the main character, Sammy Starr, will be revamped and published at some point, along with an Awen spin-off series of paranormal novels.
I sidelined Sammy’s project because ideas for a different story began bombarding me. When they would not relent, I dove into the fantastical Awen Universe. At present, this consists of Awen Rising, Awen Storm, and the soon-to-be-released Awen Tide. I have also published two short-read Awen prequels, The Druids of Marduk, Parts I and II. Part III will complete the prequel and is due out in early 2022.
Slave to a twenty-pound, black, longhaired he-cat named Rambo, O.J. currently resides near Boise, Idaho (U.S.). Her time is split between writing, working as a semi-retired chiropractor, vacationing at the Oregon coast and in the Idaho mountains, and occasional jaunts to Georgia and other parts of the globe.
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What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Right now I’m writing Awen Tide, the final book in the Awen Trilogy. This fantastical story was inspired by an idea I had while meditating – what if, after anchoring my energetic roots into Mother Earth, some entity hitchhiked back up them? Would it be evil? A force for good? How would it get out of me to be free to roam? WHY would it even want to? These questions triggered an avalanche of more and Awen and William’s story was born. If you would like to know more, I have begun a series of blog posts detailing the birth of the trilogy. You can find those here: https://bit.ly/atbirth
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
My writing habits are all over the place, but Covid’s restrictions have messed my process up royally. I like to write in coffee shops and restaurants over a hot drink and food. That rarely happens anymore and my productivity has suffered. That said, I spend a LOT of time in my bedroom, which doubles as my writing room.
I fall into the pantser category, which means I write by the seat of my pants. Outlines (plotters’ main tool) get in my way. Instead, my brain is constantly working in the background putting the story together and serving it to me as I need to write it down.
I am a research junkie and can have twenty or thirty tabs open on my browser when in research mode. And lollygagging, those simple stretches of doing nothing or doing things not writing-related like folding clothes or sweeping the patio is the space in which my ideas flourish. So many say their writing is fueled by coffee. Mine wouldn’t exist with lollygagging.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
So many! But as to my writing style, I’d say Nora Roberts influenced me greatly. I prefer short, zippy sentences and paragraphs to long rambling ones. I loved Tolkien’s fantasy, reading The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings trilogy many times throughout the years. Then Rowling’s Harry Potter series lit a fire within me that I didn’t even know was there until Terry Brooks’ Magic Kingdom for Sale/Sold leapt off a shelf at my local Barnes and Noble. That one thing changed my life forever.
Over the years, I have especially loved books featuring animal characters. With its quirky dog-scribe Abernathy and the other talking animal and earth characters, Brooks’ Magic Kingdom series became one of my favorites. His juxtaposition of a fantastical world within our day-to-day one directly influenced the creation of the Awen trilogy. My love of meditation, natural healing, nature, and cinema can also be found in the pages of my novels.
What are you working on now?
The Awen Trilogy takes place in the near future, 2042. But like so many things in life, its roots are ancient, as evidenced in the Awen prequels. Right now I am receiving and writing down the culmination of this immense story that spans many millennia.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Good question, and one I have yet to answer. Unfortunately, I promote the same way I write, by the seat of my pants. But I AM in the process of interviewing author PAs. I know I will find the perfect someone/s to take over and run my marketing efforts.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
YES! Just do it. Listen to the ideas that emerge from nothingness. Start writing. And have fun!
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
That there are few hard and fast rules when writing, and NO advice fits every writer or work.
What are you reading now?
These days, I mostly read research material, so LOTS of web articles. And right now I’m devouring the second volume of Drunvalo Melchizedek’s THE ANCIENT SECRET OF THE FLOWER OF LIFE. And yes, you will see some of his work underpinning both the Awen prequel and the trilogy.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Next? I haven’t finished THIS yet, lol. But once I complete the Awen Trilogy AND its prequel, I’ll be jumping on either the spin-off paranormal series or Sammy Starr’s series. Since one of hers is mostly written, I may start there. Time will tell.
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?
Irving Stone’s THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY. A bible. The book I’m reading now. And. Hmmm. Can I bring Rowling’s seven HP novels bound into one? And Tolkien’s works?
Author Websites and Profiles
O. J. Barré Website
O. J. Barré Amazon Profile
O. J. Barré’s Social Media Links
Goodreads Profile
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