Barbara O'Neal

This article is about the American romance novelist. For the American actress, see Barbara O'Neil. For the Australian naturopath, see Barbara O'Neill.
Barbara O'Neal
Pen nameBarbara Samuel, Lark O'Neal, Ruth Wind
OccupationNovelist
NationalityAmerica
Period1990 - present
Genrewomen's fiction, new adult romance, contemporary romance, historical romance
Website
www.barbaraoneal.com

Barbara O'Neal is an American romance novelist who has written over forty books under different pen names.

O'Neal's books include The Lost Recipe for Happiness, How to Bake a Perfect Life,[1] The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue and Lady Luck's Map of Vegas.

O'Neal has written women's fiction under the names Barbara O’Neal and Barbara Samuel, contemporary and historical romance novels under Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind, and new adult romances under Lark O’Neal.[2]

Career

O'Neal began her writing career as an author for Harlequin Silhouette. Writing as Ruth Wind,[3] she has published over twenty contemporary romances, winning two RITA awards in this genre.[4] Under the name Barbara Samuel, she has written seven historical romances, winning a RITA in 1998 for her book, Heart of a Knight.[4]

In 2000, O'Neal began writing women's fiction under the name Barbara Samuel, publishing five books under this name until moving her women's fiction titles under the name Barbara O’Neal.[5] These books are set mostly in her home state of Colorado or New Mexico, with themes of food, second chances, and multi-generational stories about women.[citation needed] She has won three RITA awards for her women's fiction work, making her eligible for the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame, into which she was inducted in 2012.[6]

O'Neal has won the RITA award seven times and been nominated for seven others.[4] Her books have also won two Colorado Book Awards,[7] and been named Favorite Book of the Year from Romance Writers of America, a Target Book Club pick, and a top book from Library Journal.[8]

When New Adult Romance emerged as a new genre 2013, O'Neal began writing as Lark O’Neal, launching her first New Adult series, Going the Distance, later that year.[9]

Bibliography

Women's Fiction

Published as Barbara O'Neal

  • Write My Name Across the Sky. Lake Union. August 2021. ISBN 978-1542021647
  • The Lost Girls of Devon. Lake Union. July 2020. ISBN 978-1542020725
  • When We Believed in Mermaids. Lake Union. July 2019. ISBN 9781542004527
  • The Art of Inheriting Secrets. Lake Union. July 2018. ISBN 978-1503901391
  • The All You Can Dream Buffet. Bantam. March 2014. ISBN 978-0345536860.
  • The Garden of Happy Endings. Bantam. April 2012. ISBN 978-0-345-53446-0.
  • How to Bake a Perfect Life. Bantam. December 2010. ISBN 978-0-553-38677-6.
  • The Secret of Everything. Bantam. December 2009. ISBN 978-0-553-38552-6.
  • The Lost Recipe for Happiness. Bantam. December 2008. ISBN 978-0-553-38551-9.

Published as Barbara Samuel

Published as Ruth Wind

New Adult Romance

Published as Lark O'Neal

  • Random. November 2013.
  • Stoked. February 2014.
  • Epic. August 2014.
  • Brilliant. December 2014.
  • Intense. May 2015.
  • Extreme. December 2015.

Contemporary Romance

Published as Ruth Wind

Historical Romance

Published as Barbara Samuel

Nonfiction

Published as Barbara Samuel

  • The Care and Feeding of The Girls in the Basement: An Upbeat Guide to Life as a Writer. eBook.
  • The Girls in the Basement: Celebration Book, A Writer's Guide to Joy. eBook.

Omnibus

Awards

  • 2012 ROMANCE WRITERS HALL OF FAME for Strong Romantic Elements [4]
  • 2012 RITA Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements for How to Bake a Perfect Life[4]
  • 2010 RITA Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements for The Lost Recipe for Happiness"[4]
  • 2006 RITA Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements for Lady Luck's Map of Vegas (written as Barbara Samuel)[4]
  • 2003 RITA Award for Best Contemporary Single Title for No Place Like Home (written as Barbara Samuel)[4]
  • 1999 RITA Award for Best Long Contemporary Romance for Meant to be Married (written as Ruth Wind)[4]
  • 1998 RITA Award for Best Short Historical for Heart of a Knight (written as Barbara Samuel)[4]
  • 1998 RITA Award for Best Long Contemporary Series Romance for Reckless (written as Ruth Wind)[4]

References

  1. ^ Fox, Rose (June 30, 2012). "Digital-First Books Win Romance Awards". Publishers Weekly.
  2. ^ Romance Writers of America. "Barbara Samuel". myRWA Speakers Bureau. Romance Writers of America. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  3. ^ Harlequin. "Ruth Wind Bio". Harlequin.com. Harlequin. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "myRWA : RITA Awards : RITA Winners". rwa.org. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. ^ Penguin Random House. "Barbara O'Neal". Barbara O'Neal - Penguin Random House. Penguin Random House. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  6. ^ Romance Writers of America. "MyRWA : Awards : RWA Hall of Fame". myRWA: Awards: RWA Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 5 September 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  7. ^ Colorado Book Awards. "Colorado Book Awards History". Colorado Book Awards History - Colorado Humanities. Colorado Humanities. Archived from the original on 19 November 2015. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  8. ^ Colorado Springs Independent. "On Target". Colorado Springs Independent. Colorado Springs Independent. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  9. ^ Kindle Daily Post. "Kindle Post: How Lark O'Neal Finds Her Cover Art". Kindle Daily Post. Amazon Blogs. Retrieved 19 November 2015.