Cummings, Barbara 1940- (Ann Crowleigh, a joint pseudonym)

views updated

Cummings, Barbara 1940- (Ann Crowleigh, a joint pseudonym)

PERSONAL:

Born 1940; married.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Charles Town, WV. Office— Department of English, Shepherd University, P.O. Box 3210, Shepherdstown, WV 25443. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Educator, writer, artist, and jewelry designer. University of Rhode Island, Kingston, teacher of literature and composition; Shepherd University, Shepherdstown, WV, adjunct professor of English, 2001—. Also taught creative writing in the Washington, DC, area.

MEMBER:

Mystery Writers of America, Romance Writers of America, Washington Romance Writers, Novelists Incorporated, West Virginia Writers.

WRITINGS:

Playing Games, Harlequin Books (Buffalo, NY), 1988.

The Wind's Reward, Ivy Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Smoke Screen, Pageant Books (New York, NY), 1988.

Frontier Fire, Zebra (New York, NY), 1991.

Blazing Passion, Zebra (New York, NY), 1991.

Rebel Wildfire, Zebra (New York, NY), 1992.

Wilderness Flame, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1993.

Fortune's Fire, Zebra (New York, NY), 1994.

Knight's Lady (novella), Heartbeat Novella, 1995.

A Killing on Church Grounds, Five Star (Waterville, ME), 2006.

Contributor to In Our Dreams, Zebra (New York, NY), 1998.

WIH JO-ANN POWER

Prime Time, Pinnacle (New York, NY), 1992.

Risks, Pinnacle (New York, NY), 1993.

(Under joint pseudonym Ann Crowleigh) Clively Close: Dead as Dead Can Be, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1993.

(Under joint pseudonym Ann Crowleigh) Clively Close: Wait for the Dark, Kensington Publishing (New York, NY), 1993.

Contributor, under joint pseudonym Ann Crowleigh, to Murder under the Tree, Zebra (New York, NY), 1998.

SIDELIGHTS:

Barbara Cummings told CA: "Has anyone ever dared you to do something? What if the person who dared you was a published author whose books you admired? Would you do it? What if she was joined by someone who would later become your partner-in-crime stories? That's what propelled me to write my first novel—a dare to see if I had what it took. The result was Playing Games, a young-adult comedy that whisked me into realms within my mind that I never knew existed. I discovered that I had imagination, fortitude (giving up was an option I visited every day, because writing is hard!), a tongue-in-cheek humorous writing style, and a love affair with characters I developed. That first book took three months to write (it was short), two weeks to sell to an agent, and only six weeks to sell to a publisher. I could do it, and have done it successfully fifteen more times.

"I keep going—even now, into my ‘golden’ years— because I've found that there are millions of stories ‘out there’ and in my mind that must be told. My latest book, A Killing on Church Grounds, was influenced by my great-aunt and her sister sisters, nuns of the Catholic church. I loved them in my youth and love them still, and for years I've heard their voices whispering and shouting, until I gave in and tried to bring them to life on the pages of my book. That's what influences me the most—voices in my head, the voices of humanity, the human story, the juxtaposition of good and evil, and the complexities of the human spirit. That sounds rather highfalutin, but it translates into comedy and drama, love and falling into it, quietude and adventure, everything that's exciting about life.

"Nora Roberts says writing is a matter of putting your bottom in a chair and words on paper. Today it's the screen of my computer. When I was younger, I wrote every single day in my office on the ground floor of my townhouse. Today, it's an office in a converted bedroom of my West Virginia ranch house, and it's in the wee hours of the morning (midnight to four a.m.) when telemarketing phone calls can't jar me out of my train of thought. It's not every day now, because I do take time off for health reasons, but it's pretty steady when there's a story to be told. I work alone, with oc- casional help from a critique group when I get stuck or something doesn't seem to be working. I develop characters first and they tell me what they want to do, which I outline completely (with dialogue and scenes as they pop into my head) so I know what goes where and when. Then I ‘fill in the blanks’ for hours at a time until it's done. Editing comes last—and I'm ruthless! Adjectives have to have meaning or they get tossed. Adverbs are substituted with description or dialogue. Sentence structure must flow and move the story forward. I do a final read about six times, fine tuning each time, until I'm fairly sick of the prose.

"However, as I write this, I realize that—surprise!—I love the process of editing, even though it takes hours to do. Worth it in the end, though, because that editorial fine-tuning turns my original mess-o-potage into a gourmet treat—for me, and I hope for my readers.

"Because of this process, my favorite book is always the one I'm working on, although A Killing on Church Grounds was dear to my heart because it was based on my beloved great-aunt. She is there on the pages, as is my ‘home,’ the state of Rhode Island. And that's the best part of writing—to make characters live and breathe on the pages of books, to make their stories resonate in the minds of my readers, to hear one person say, ‘I loved this book! Sister Agnes was so real to me that I thought I knew her.’ Bliss."