About Barbara

Barbara Briggs Ward grew up in the country surrounded by relatives and a backdrop made for inspiring a young imagination. Barbara and her cousins were constantly playing in their chicken coop clubhouse filled with the remains of an abandoned one-room schoolhouse.

It was in that clubhouse where Barbara read her favorite authors including Louisa May Alcott and Laura Ingalls Wilder - and began writing her own little stories. When Barbara’s grandfather made her "most favorite Christmas present ever" - a simple pine desk with a single drawer which held a pad of lined paper and a #2 pencil - she knew she wanted to be a writer.

 

 

Barbara began writing for children. Her first short story was published in Highlights for Children. She is the author/self-taught illustrator of the Snarly Sally picture book series and illustrated “The Brain Reigns” plus “And Then There Was Hope” for the New York State Office of Mental Health.

The Christmas Trilogy

Barbara's writing took a turn in October, 2010 when she published, "The Reindeer Keeper", a heartwarming story of family and Christmas geared to adults, chosen by both Yahoo's Christmas Book Club Group and Yonkers Riverfront Library Book Club as their 2012 December Book of the Month. Because of readers asking for the storyline to continue, Barbara released “The Snowman Maker” in 2013 and “The Candle Giver” in 2015.