Writing as a Compulsion AND Updates on Re-releases

Writing is a compulsion. 

It is not my full-time profession, though that is a goal. It is definitely not a hobby because there are days I must write. Some mornings, I need to write. Other times, I choose to write.

I am at a stage in my education career that allows me to write more, and the most exciting transition is being given the opportunity to re-release my four novels in paperback (Fifty Cents), in eBook (all of them!!), and on audio/Audible (Fifty Cents, Dregs, and Slipping...maybe 8 Days eventually). And I am on the cusp of finally releasing my short story compilation The Voices. Because it feels like a new start, I am hoping to host a Book Signing/Re-release party. I'll keep you posted!

For those of you who have read my books -- THANK YOU! It is hard to know who reads what authors, and I have not always been one to push my friends to read my books. Maybe to a fault. This past week, I mentioned something about my latest book coming out in paperback to people I have worked with all year. One of the professors turned to me and said, "What did you just say?" I shared how Fifty Cents, my first hardback, got robbed by COVID, that I couldn't do book signings, author events, conferences, etc. Her eyes had gotten big, and she said, "Barri, I had no idea you were an author. I knew you published, but I assumed it was educational articles and such. I want your books!" It started a fun conversation with the group in the room, and I realized the author in me was hungry for reader interaction. 

So news will follow about events, signings, etc. I hope you'll come, even if you have the books, don't want the books, or need to be convinced. It will give me a reason to read a little from them! 

Stay tuned for information on book events!

Back At It!

 I have been sharing updates about my books and my author life on my Facebook Author page, though not very regularly. But I have finally gotten a new website, my books are being re-released, and I am making time to write and work on new projects. So I plan to get back at blogging and promoting my books, sharing my projects, and being available to do speaking engagements again. 

So I hope you will join me on this quest as Fifty Cents for a Dr Pepper comes out in paperback, eBook, AND on Audible as an audio book. It's been a goal, and it's almost here! The eBook will be available Aug. 17th on Amazon or through my website, the audio book will be on Audible sometime in August (I will keep you updated!), and the paperback is in the proof stage. Fingers crossed it will be released late summer or early this fall. 

Dregs is in early stages to be an eBook, then it will be re-released in paperback, and the audio book will be a Fall project. Slipping will be next! And finally, I hope to have 8 Days back in paperback and available as an eBook. 

My motto in life has always been to dare to dream, and I've tried to live by that mantra. Being an adult doesn't mean we have to be serious all the time. Remembering to play and enjoy life's simpler pleasures is the key to staying young and making your dreams come true. 

You have to grow older, you don't have to grow up. 

While many of you have heard me say that on occasion, I think I'm embracing it more now that I'm in my 60s. Being a teacher, a teacher educator, a writer, and an advocate of digital literacy inspires me to evolve and explore new things. But it has also reminded me to enjoy the simple things. The sunrise, a sunset, a glass of wine on the patio, kissing the nose of my Boston chihuahua every chance I get, and staying connected to those who have been part of my journey. One of my mom's YaYas passed away last week, and I am so grateful we had gone to Dallas to see her this past February. It matters to be present, if you can. To give back, if you can. And to pay it forward, if you can. 

It's what we do in life that will be remembered. Inez was an amazing human being, and I hope I can be just an nth of the person she was. 

Post-Dateline Blog #5

Post-Dateline Question #5: Bruises – Could the Super Ninja Chokehold Create Them?

Do Jesse’s bruises match the state’s theory of the crime? Let me first state that this post is graphic. If talking about and hearing about the crime itself is unsettling for you, then you might find this a tough read. But understanding the nature of the crime gives a much clearer picture of how it was most likely committed. Dateline had a diagram of injuries on Jesse’s body, but it’s important to know what those injuries actually were. Read the rest at: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/

Post Dateline Question: How do you argue with DNA and trace evidence?

A continued major talking point from “Before Daylight” which aired Friday, April 24th on @DatelineNBC, has been The Evidence – especially what was in Jesse’s apartment and on Jesse’s body (DNA and trace evidence).

The burning question: what about those hairs on Jesse’s chest and the DNA under his fingernails?

This question is arguably the most controversial element of the case. Jesse Valencia had DNA from two contributors, aside from his own, under one pinky fingernail. One minuscule dot of DNA from two other people. Ed McDevitt and Steven Rios. And let me say that again: microscopic DNA under one fingernail.

Special Prosecutor Morley Swingle made a valid point that the chances were 1 in a trillion that this DNA belonged to someone else (aside from what matched McDevitt). He belabored the point, making it clear that this dot of DNA belonged to Steven Rios. All Swingle proved was... Read the rest at: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/

Post Dateline Blog #2

Want to know more about Post-Dateline Blog #2? Visit https://www.facebook.com/AuthorBarriLBumgarner/

Life’s Choices – All About Perspective

Being on the “fun side” of the wall, as they put it here in Mexico, gives perspective to many issues going on in America. 

Aside from being one of the most violent countries, Americans are also so politicized we can’t see the depth of an issue before us. Not to make this a red vs. blue or an us vs. them, I think women need to step back and look at many things happening and put it all in perspective. No matter where you stand with pro-choice or pro-life, it isn’t as simple as that. When Roe v. Wade was enacted, it wasn’t just about abortion. It was about the right to privacy. A woman’s right to have control over her own body. Before the law, a husband could forcibly have sex with his wife, and it still took time for some states to enforce it. Men could hit their wives and not be held accountable. Fathers could molest daughters, and mothers could do nothing about it. Or if they took matters into their own hands, they were held accountable to laws put in place by our male-dominated society. 

With the current trend to overturn Roe v. Wade, without American voter input, we have to step back and grasp possible scenarios to really understand the scope of the decisions being made. Imagine a 14-year old gets molested by a stranger, a family member, or a foster brother or father. Under the new laws, she would have no rights to terminate, not even a morning after pill in many states. AND for the next near 10 months, her body is basically held hostage while she carries the reminder of what happened to her. She must nurture and care for a growing life and if she does anything to hurt it, she is subject to severe punishment by law. These are third-world country mindsets, and sadly, it will only impact the poor. 

This isn’t about babies; this is about our bodies. A law will not stop abortions. It will only make them more difficult and more dangerous. Abortion will still be an option for the wealthy. There is always be a way if you have the means. For three states, the next step they are striving for is to stop contraception. What then?   

But here’s the true crux of the issue. Pro-life ideology cannot stop when the child is born. TRUE pro-life is birth to natural death. Advocates demanding rights for this unborn child need to continue for that child past birth. Pro-life must include welfare, food stamps, healthcare, and beyond. That foster girl having a baby cannot provide for that child without it. So to be pro-life is at least an 18-year commitment. Thousands of babies will be born into extreme poverty and need these supports. Their life doesn’t just need to be fought for in the womb; he or she will need a safe home, an education, rights to all that it means to be an American citizen. To demand birth and call that pro-life can’t end at birth. I agree, life should not be a choice. But neither is quality preschool, a healthy meal, a safe home, and a life of opportunity. The opportunities that come easily to the middle and upper class. 

Poverty is cyclical, and if we don’t make efforts to break it, there is not a life of opportunity nor many choices. Women have fought this battle since time eternal. Women in other countries have fewer rights than we do in the U.S., but we are sitting back and allowing predominantly rich, white, men to make decisions that govern our lives, our bodies, our futures. We are founded on the principle “of the people, by the people, for the people.” For anything to be of, by, or for, we must have the right to vote for it. 

Let us speak…all of us. The unborn, the newly born, the rich, the poor, the marginalized and the minimized. This country shouldn’t just be about those with means or opportunity. Many people demanding all babies be born cannot fathom a world in which a substantial meal might only available at a shelter or at school. It’s easy for the middle and upper class to demand all children have the right to life, but what will they do to ensure a quality life? Provide foster care? Respite care? Donate to their education, their welfare, their housing? 

It’s easy to sit in a comfortable air-conditioned house preaching about beliefs when you’ve never known true poverty – hunger, hopelessness, no sense of self-worth. Fight for the life of a child at all stages and be supportive of opportunities for all. 

When Rachel on “Friends” said, “No uterus, no opinion,” it might now be adapted to “no follow-through, no opinion.” 

Of the people, by the people, for the people – all people.  

Prisons Are Relative

Prisons Are Relative

Prisons are relative. I toured Alcatraz in June, sat in a cell, and tried to imagine what it would be like to be forced to live there, confined, controlled, limited on what I could do when. 

But then again, I have spent most of my life in a metaphorical prison, a different kind of confinement, controlled by society on what I should do when and what I shouldn't based on standards designed to silence and shame me. Could I have resisted that prison, broken free, moved somewhere with fewer restrictions? Absolutely, but as a professional, it was easier, safer, and smarter not to. Anyone who isn't part of the majority knows what it means to be forced to assimilate, to fit into the white/male/heterosexual/Protestant/Anglo mold. And that doesn't mean WHASPs have never known what it feels like to be oppressed or different. One need only move to Rwanda or Moscow to experience being a minority.

But here, in America prisons are relative. There is a reason suicide is so prevalent now. Adolescents are suffering with what it means to be an individual. Teens struggle to assimilate to a world that doesn't fit them or worse, they're bullied or condemned for their differences or inability or resistance to conform. Adults, too, deal daily with their frustrations, their struggles, their self-perceived shortcomings. Knowing people like Robin Williams or Anthony Bourdain or Kate Spade or Alexander McQueen see suicide as their only option makes non-celebrities feel even more at a loss. If they can't cope, then how can I?

But prisons are relative. "Likes", fame, money, or fans don't matter. Lonely is lonely. Depression is depression. Trapped is trapped, no matter the mechanism. It is suffocating. A permanent solution to a temporary problem may not make sense to most but it does to many. The answer? Open your mind to differences, to individuality, to caring, to kindness, to acceptance, to inclusivity. Resist the urge to name call, to discriminate, to judge, to view the world through that WHASP lens. Why try to make us all the same, to fit into a cookie cutter mentality when it is our differences that make us special, unique, and stand out?  

To someone, it may be the first chink in his or her prison wall. And perhaps to one, it may be the key to opening the door.