Barbara Sanchez was very disappointed, though slightly relieved, when she realized at the age of nine that vampires and werewolves didn’t exist. So, in high school, instead of doing homework in study hall, she wrote about horses. Luckily, she realized in time that it was the homework that was going to help her graduate.
In college, Barb majored in art, so she didn’t have to do much writing. Then she went to grad school and found out that term papers went hand in hand with studio courses. Barb discovered she still liked to write and loved to research Egyptian art for her thesis. She got a teaching certificate along with her degree.
Armed with her master’s and teaching certificate, Barb moved to New Mexico, where she got a job teaching art at the local two-year college. Eventually, she landed a job teaching English at one of the high schools. But when the principal told her she probably should have an English degree since she taught English, Barb spent the next two summers attending a special program for teachers in Kansas, where she earned a master’s in literature from Fort Hays State University. She also found out she writes best from seven o’clock in the evening until midnight, even though she’s usually in bed by 9:30 p.m. Barb doesn’t recommend writing in your sleep, however; it works much better if you get up and make notes on paper.
Barb retired from teaching seven years ago and began her first novel, THE DRAGON’S SON, a retelling of Bram Stoker’s DRACULA. After she finished the final draft, she only rewrote it eleven times before she started her second novel, THE WOLF’S DAUGHTER. About this time, Barb realized her retelling was turning into a series of at least four books. Unfortunately, she’s still thinking of ideas to put in her first novel. She also wrote a short story, “Pixed.” It’s actually finished, unless the contests she enters tell her to cut out another thousand words.
Barb lives in New Mexico with her husband, Truman, and the family’s dog and cat. Their kids are grown and gone, which is good because Barb has turned one bedroom into a writing room, and there’s no place for them to sleep anymore.