Born and raised in Virginia, Barbara Leary first started telling stories as a kid desperate for a little peace and quiet on long car trips with her parents and nine siblings. Her love of writing led to a four-year stint as the editor of a travel trade magazine and then to a career in corporate communications. These days, she works as an independent management consultant, serves on the adjunct faculty at Georgetown University, and uses the magic of “once upon a time” to entertain the three feral princesses who call her “Grandma.” Barbara’s granddaughters inspired her first three children’s books: Virginia Loves Dogs, The Climbing Tree, and the forthcoming Caroline and the Not-Mamma. She also writes creative nonfiction and the occasional short story, one of which was read on NPR. In 2018, she edited and published Backstage at The Lost Colony, a tribute to America’s longest-running symphonic outdoor drama, written by Dwayne Walls, Jr. In 1999 she co-authored a travel guide to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Barbara works and writes from her 100-year-old farmhouse in the Virginia countryside, where she keeps a small flock of doggish chickens. For more information: https://www.barbaraleary.com.