Loudoun Writers: Q&A With Barbara Simpson Carducci

This week, the Loudoun Writers column features author Barbara 'Bobbi' Simpson Carducci.

Q) When did you first begin to write and what motivated you to do so?
I wrote my first short story at the age of eight when my friend’s mother got tired of our giggling on a rainy summer afternoon. She handed us paper and pencils and said, “Sit down and write something.” We did. Later she told me my story was good and I should continue to write. Being a good Catholic girl, I obeyed and I’m still doing it.

Q) Describe the type of books you publish and why?
I am a very diverse writer. I am published in anthologies, newspaper feature column, book review column, and children’s book.

Q) When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
I fell in love with books as soon as I learned to read. I spent hours in the library every week choosing books and carrying home as many as I was allowed to check out. All that reading led to my wanting to become a writer.

Q.) How long did it take you to have your first submission published from the time you started writing?
Six months. Once I decided to start writing for publication I set a goal to submit something, somewhere, once a month for a year. It was personal test to see if I could do it. I met that goal and more. Almost six months to the day I sent in my first submission I made my first sale. Two months later I made my second sale. I was elated and wondered why I hadn’t started submitting sooner. Then the rejections started coming in. Today I understand it’s part of the process of being a writer. At the time I started questioning myself. I walked around saying, “I’m a big fact reject.” My very wise husband quipped, “But Honey, you’re not fat!” That made me laugh and broke me out of pity party mode. I took those rejected pieces and submitted them elsewhere. Some were accepted. Some still await a home somewhere with a lot of other pieces.

Q.) What is the first book you remember reading?
See Spot Run, an elementary school primer. What came after that I don’t recall but I was a big fan of the Hardy Boys and Trixie Beldon books as a kid.

Q.) What is the most recent book you have read?
Since I read every day as well write that will have changed by the time you get this. I am finishing a book by an author friend of mine, C.J. Lyons titled, Critical Condition. I am very eclectic reader. I read everything. If you even drop a piece of paper on the floor I will pick it up and read it.

Q.) Are you currently writing a book now and if so can you describe it?
I am working on a very personal creative nonfiction book about the seven years I spent as an in-home caregiver for my mentally and physically ill father-in-law. It is not a how-to book. It is very much a, “This is what happened today and this how I handled it. It is laugh out loud funny in some parts, devastatingly sad or frustrating in others. I describe it as a cross between Tuesdays with Morrie and The Glass Castle. The working title is Confession of an Inadequate Caregiver. The title is a reference to the fact that most of us who care for seriously ill relatives at home are not formally trained to do so. I call what I did creative problem solving on the run. Every day brought a new challenge for him and for me.

Q.) Who are your favorite fiction or non-fiction authors?
My favorite authors are C.J. Lyons as mentioned above, Jodi Picault, David Balducci, and others who write books with strong characters and vivid scenes. Another favorite author is Joshlyn Jackson. Her book, Gods in Alabama, sets an example for me as writer to produce the best work I can.

Featured Book

Storee Wryter Gets a Dog by Barbara Simpson Carducci
Young Reader (ages 8-10) publisher by Tate Publishing in paper back, ebook and audio book. 60 pages. $7.99 in print; $4.99 for e-book.

Storee’s ideas for her writing often come from her many adventures. And when her friend, Kyria, talks her into getting a new puppy, Storee gets some great ideas for her next book while she and her cat, Critique, have fun watching her puppy learn to become a trained therapy dog.

Join Storee as she learns to train her puppy to be helpful and soothing. Watch as Storee visits a classroom of special needs children, using her dog to reach out. And have fun with Storee as she gains new experiences certain to help her create her next bestseller! But most important of all, find inspiration for your next masterpiece as you read Storee Wryter Gets a Dog.

Carducci's Bio

Bobbi is a former senior staff writer for the Purcellville Gazette newspaper and currently writes a monthly book review column for About Families Publications.  Her short stories appear in the Chicken Soup for the Soul and Cup of Comfort Anthologies. Her first book for young readers, Storee Wryter Gets a Dog, published by Tate Publishing is now available in print, audio book and eBook form. She is currently refining her first novel length book, a creative nonfiction work based on her seven years as an in-home caregiver for a critically ill family member.

Bobbi is the Executive Director of the Young Voices Foundation, a 501 c 3 educational nonprofit established to mentor young writers. www.youngvoicesfoundation.org.