Barbara O'Connor, Her Home and Newest Book
Dream is a standalone companion to my New York Times bestseller Wish. It tells the story of 11-year-old Idalee Lovett, who is content with her life in small-town Colby, North Carolina, living in her family’s huge house with rooms for rent. But she has big dreams, just like her mama.
While Mama is on tour for the summer with her cover band, Lovey Lovett and the Junkyard Dogs, Idalee decides to hone her craft as a songwriter—since her truest wish is to hear her country songs on the radio one day.
When the local radio station announces a songwriting contest with the winning song being recorded by an up-and-coming singer, Idalee is determined to win. It would definitely be possible if only she could buy the shiny blue guitar in nearby Asheville’s music shop. Idalee doesn’t have much money, but she knows exactly how to get it—the long-lost treasure her late granddaddy hid somewhere in their house. With the help of her friends Odell, Howard, Charlie, and an adorable little dog named Wishbone, Idalee is going to search every nook and cranny until she finds it. But little does she know, the biggest treasure of all is only discovered when you believe in yourself with your whole heart.
Now, tell us about where you live and why you love it so much.
I live in Asheville, North Carolina, an artsy, funky little city in the Blue Ridge Mountains.
I love everything about it: the glorious views of mountains everywhere you look, the breweries, the welcome-everywhere dogs, and the anything-goes, bohemian vibe.
I lived in Greenville, SC. I do have many fond memories of my childhood. But my family was very dysfunctional, which makes for confusing memories for a 7-year-old trying to figure out what’s “normal.” Many of my books address dysfunctional families, a subject I don’t shy away from as a children’s writer.
After all, I write realistic fiction (not idealistic fiction) and I know that many kids relate.
Is there a book that changed the way you look at life?
I can’t say that it changed the way I look at life, but it changed the way I see the creative process. Song Writers on Song Writing by Paul Zollo.
It’s a compilation of interviews with a wide variety of song writers, including Pete Seeger, Paul Simon, Carole King, Frank Zappa, Tom Petty, k.d. lang, Merle Haggard, Lenny Kravitz, and many more. I loved reading about their different processes of creation. As a writer, I made deep connections. (And so would Idalee, the songwriting character in Dream.)
Do you have a favorite children’s book and what about it makes it so?
Missing May by Cynthia Rylant.
Prior to reading it, I was struggling to find my distinct writer’s voice. Missing May is set in the mountains of West Virginia, where Rylant grew up. I had a lightbulb moment that maybe I should be writing stories set in the places of my youth. Bingo! I found my voice.
How did you meet your beloved Willy? How did your first date go?
I met my beloved, Willy, in Hollywood, California, where we both worked, along with a motley crew of unique Southern California characters. I was immediately drawn to his humor, my number one most revered trait in others. We laughed a lot on our first date and for 40 years after that.
I lost him to glioblastoma four years ago and miss laughing with him every minute of the day.
Is there a song, person, or group that you listen to when you are feeling a bit down?
Van Morrison
Lisa Stansfield
I’m much more introverted. My 20s were my hippie days and I lived it to the fullest, the music, the drugs, the lifestyle. Now? My happiest place to be is up on my barn deck, perfectly content to be alone.
Is there a question no one has ever asked you that you wish they would? Something, perhaps, that people would be surprised to know about you?
This a really silly factoid, but I have no sense of smell. It’s fascinating how much that affects the everyday things in life and connections to people and experiences.
We all have or can point to a certain experience where, because of this experience, it shifted our lives in a way that led to where we are today, it could be a person you encountered or you were in a certain place or you had a certain experience or all three, but it was so pivotal that you can say that because of this experience, I am where I am today as a writer or in a greater sense as the person I am now.
The experience of sharing the majority of my years with my husband, Willy, changed me forever. He was the most generous person I’ve ever known. He wasn’t one to display or talk about emotions. But he showed me his love by the things he did. I learned so much about living outside myself and showing others my feelings for them (but I’m not nearly as good at it as he was.)
Can you remember a particular random act of kindness from a stranger?
Well, this wasn’t a stranger, but it was a random act I’ve never forgotten. I was living outside of Boston and was lucky enough to have my dearest friend living next door. My father was in South Carolina and became very ill. I was torn about what to do, as he had been in and out of hospitals many times. My friend came over and told me she had gotten me a ticket to fly down to be with him, helped me pack, and drove me to the airport. If she had asked me if she could do that, of course, I would’ve said no. But I was so struck by the fact that she just did it.
What would you say is the biggest joy and hardest challenge in your life?
Biggest joy: husband and son, hand’s down. Biggest challenge: caring for my terminally ill husband at the height of the pandemic. I shut my life down and have not fully opened it back up.
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| Barbara with her beloved Willy |
And on the writerly side of things, I never imagined that I’d write another book. I lost my mojo and several years went by without writing. Then my editor called and suggested I consider a companion novel to Wish. That was just the creative nudge I needed to begin writing Dream.
How do you feel about “Independent Bookstores” and their role in your success?
I just recently got off of a week-long, five-city book tour where independent bookstores were the very heart of it. I loved seeing their connection to their communities and the schools. I loved going in them and seeing their pure love for what they do. I was in one small, children’s bookstore and the owner told me to pick out any book I wanted as a gift. We had so much fun walking around and grabbing books off the shelf and talking about them. She introduced me to books I wasn’t familiar with and her joy was almost intoxicating. As for their role in my success, I see firsthand the importance of my relationships with them. I know they will be hand-selling my books and introducing my work to those unfamiliar with it.
And in a short essay…………………………
IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME
to any period from before recorded history to yesterday,
be safe from harm, be rich, poor or in-between, if appropriate to your choice,
actually experience what it was like to live in that time, anywhere at all,
meet anyone, if you desire, speak with them, listen to them, be with them.
When would you go?
Where would you go?
Who would you want to meet? And most importantly, why do you think you chose this time?
Now, I realize this isn’t nearly as interesting, thought-provoking, or intelligent as it has the potential to be, but it’s my honest truth. I’d go back to my loving days with Willy. THAT, would make me rich and happy and blissful.
(But I also wouldn’t mind being on Ken Kesey’s psychedelic bus.)
Thank you so much Barbara, it was an honor visiting you in your beautiful home. Seeing all the wonderful things Willy made and constructed was amazing; he was so talented!
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