For Mother’s Day gift-giving inspiration, stop by Oakland’s Octopus Literary Salon on May 12 to hear San Francisco Bay Area women read from their books and poetry . Read more.
Barbara’s Riffs on Life
Making Noise in the Library — An Author’s Gala in Walnut Creek
I like a party. No two ways about it. So when I was invited to eat, drink and chatter away in a library — the Walnut Creek Library — I said yes. Read more.
Splash! My New Mobile-Friendly Website Is Here
My new mobile-friendly website is up and running, and I feel the way I did when I got a brand-new inner tube with my name on it: ready to go places. Read more.
Bay Area Authors: Your Chance to Meet Some Cool Ones (and Me)

Want to have some fun with interesting company, sip a cocktail, bid on a silent auction to benefit our Walnut Creek libraries and meet some cool Bay Area authors — like Don Lattin, Joyce Maynard and, um, me? Read more.
Office Romance in the #MeToo Era — Is It Worth the Risk?
Jon looked at me sheepishly and asked, “Was I guilty of sexual harassment?” He was thinking, and I was thinking, of the early days of our office romance. Read more.
A Holiday Gift for Our Times: Give Them a Copy of ‘Wrestling with God’
“Wrestling with God: Stories of Doubt and Faith,” is a thought-provoking holiday gift for believers and doubters alike. Read more.




