Barbara O'Neal

Barbara O'Neal
OccupationNovelist
Writing career
Pen nameBarbara Samuel, Lark O'Neal, Ruth Wind
Period1990–present
Genreswomen's fiction, new adult romance, contemporary romance, historical romance
Websitewww.barbaraoneal.com

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

O'Neal's books include When We Believed in Mermaids, The Starfish Sisters, The Lost Recipe for Happiness and How to Bake a Perfect Life.

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.

Career

Since 2017, Barbara O'Neal has written general fiction for Lake Union Publishing, and has since published 8 titles with them. Her book, When We Believed in Mermaids, was published in 2019. It has sold more than 1 million copies and been published in over 21 territories.

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. Her novels often revolve around multi-generational stories about women, and include themes of food, second chances, and families. 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. All of these titles have been reissued by Lake Union books.

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

O'Neal has won the RITA award seven times and been nominated for seven others. Her books have also won two Colorado Book Awards, 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.

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.

Bibliography

Women's Fiction

Published as Barbara O'Neal

  • The Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth. Lake Union, July 2025. ISBN 978-1662514951
  • Memories of the Lost. Lake Union, July 2024. ISBN 978-1662514913
  • The Starfish Sisters. Lake Union, September 2023. ISBN 978-1542038089
  • This Place of Wonder. Lake Union, July 2022. ISBN 978-1542037983
  • 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 Art of Romance Novels'" essay in North American Romance Writers (1999, ISBN 0810836041)
  • 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

References

  1. ↑ Romance Writers of America. "Barbara Samuel". myRWA Speakers Bureau. Romance Writers of America. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  2. ↑ Penguin Random House. "Barbara O'Neal". Barbara O'Neal - Penguin Random House. Penguin Random House. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ Romance Writers of America. "MyRWA : Awards : RWA Hall of Fame". myRWA: Awards: RWA Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  4. ↑ Harlequin. "Ruth Wind Bio". Harlequin.com. Harlequin. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "myRWA : RITA Awards : RITA Winners". rwa.org. Archived from the original on January 9, 2016. Retrieved October 20, 2015.
  6. ↑ Colorado Book Awards. "Colorado Book Awards History". Colorado Book Awards History - Colorado Humanities. Colorado Humanities. Archived from the original on November 19, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  7. ↑ Colorado Springs Independent. "On Target". Colorado Springs Independent. Colorado Springs Independent. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  8. ↑ Kindle Daily Post. "Kindle Post: How Lark O'Neal Finds Her Cover Art". Kindle Daily Post. Amazon Blogs. Retrieved November 19, 2015.
  9. ↑ Samuel, Barbara (1999). "The Art of Romance Novels'". In Mussell, Kay; Tuñón, Johanna (eds.). North America Romance Writers. Lanham (Md.): The Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 205–208. ISBN 0810836041.