Frequently asked

QUESTIONS

Frequently asked questions

Where can I get your books?

From me, personally, of course. You can contact me at btbarbaratucker11@gmail.com and I'll arrange delivery. I have credit card processing ability through Square. My business is not big enough yet to sustain an online store at this website. You can also buy Long Lost Family, The Unexpected Christmas Visitors, Bringing Abundance Back, and Leading in a Strange Land on Amazon in Kindle and hard copy and from Barnes and Noble in hard copy.



Do you belong to any writers' groups?

Yes, I belong to the Chattanooga Writers Guild and highly recommend these great folks. I also helped start a critique group for serious writers in Northwest Georgia (right over the line from Chattanooga, of course) but my professional life took me away from it until recently, and I'm returning to the group after a hiatus. I really advise any serious writer to join a critique group--not because everything they say is right, but because they do say something. No writer should submit to a publisher or self-publish without getting lots and lots of beta readers first. Let me give an example. I'm working on the sequel to Long Lost Family, and started the book in a certain way. They said I needed some action in the first chapter. I balked at this. But then I got over it and did write a short first chapter with "action" or at least a dramatic question--"what's going to happen?" It's much better. This book, Long Lost Promise, should be done in early 2019.



Do you blog about writing?

Yes, at partsofspeaking.blogspot.com. Use the archives and search engine to find my writing posts. I also blog about everything else there--politics, theology and practice, dogs, literature, film. I blog on higher education and college teaching and learning, my research area, at https://highereducationobservers.blogspot.com (formerly The Christian College Instructor).



Why don't you have an online store?

Because it would cost me about $120 or more a year over what I'm paying now for this site! If business takes off, I promise to add it.



Who exactly is Barbara G. Tucker?

OK, I added this just to get into the personal stuff. I didn't want to splatter my picture and information all over the front page of this new website; I wanted to emphasize the books and blog. I am Professor of Communication at a public state college in Northwestern Georgia. That should be easy enough to find. I like to keep my writing life separate from the academic life. In this day of microagressions, one can never tell when a student would feel aggressed against by something I write innocently. Without getting into my CV or resume, I've worked in higher education for over 40 years, doing just half of every possible job. Right now I'm an academic department chair supervising 25 faculty (full- and part-time). I teach classes in communication, although in the past I've also taught Engish. I have two master's degrees and one doctorate (Ed.D., which some don't consider a legitimate doctorate but I got it from one of the top universities in the nation, so I'm good with it. I also worked my head and other body parts off for it during a difficult time in my life.) My undergrad is from a Christian college that no longer exists. I have a husband, grown son, pit bull, disabled brother for whom I am conservator, and lots of friends and a wonderful support group at the church I attend. I am a very blessed person with a lot of interests and probably more energy than most my age (except when it comes to yard work in the Georgia summers!)



When do you find time to write?

Good question. You have to give up something to write. TV, movies, Internet surfing, big parts of your social existence, a little bit of your privacy, a lot of your sanity. It's lonely lonely work. Your best friends won't even read your work sometimes. You have to do it because you love it. You also have to work hard at it and let other people honestly critique you. You have to kill the little darlings and be realistic. You have to proofread your book three to five times, and there will still be errors. Is it worth it? I don't know; I just can't help it.