The Glenwood Herald, Glenwood, Arkansas, The Murfreesboro Diamond, Murfreesboro, Arkansas December 1, 2004
PIKE FICTION
Second book from Lodi author due out next year
By John Balch
The Glenwood Herald
LODI - Barb Foster said storytelling comes naturally to her.
The former Pike County Justice of the Peace and Municipal Court Clerk can still recall hearing her
mother and grandmother spin tales in a time of no radio or T.V. as she grew up in the Midwest. So, it was natural when
Foster, who now resides in Lodi, began to spin her own tales and eventually put them to paper.
"I love to write and see the words come alive on the paper", she said.
Foster is awaiting the publication of her second book, "A Time For Change", which is scheduled to
be released in January.
Foster said the book is a fictional account of a young woman who strives to overcome "a domineering
older brother and sister and all the obstacles she has to overcome".
The book is being published by Publish America, a company to which Foster has inked a seven year contract.
Foster is responsible for marketing the book and earns a royalty on each copy sold.
"A Time For Change" comes on the heels of "Cassie's Clearing", a 112 page fictional take on a story
inspired in part by the family cat, Snooks, plus a whole host of cats that live on the Foster farm. The book was self-published
in November 2003.
"As a cat lover, I enjoy watching the cats and enjoyed writing this story," Foster said. Some
of the cats that inspired the tale still live on the farm.
"Cassie's Clearing" tells the story of a group of feral cats who live in the wild, and how they survive
and get along. It was a story that Foster had been thinking about for many years, but came together in about two weeks.
"I've been writing short stories since I was very young and as my daughters grew up I would always
write and tell stories about their pets", Foster said. On one family trip, with Snooks along for the ride, Foster spun
a vivid verbal tale about the pets and the vacation. Her husband, Harold, suggested that she put her pet tale to paper.
"The words haven't stopped flowing since", she said.
Foster already has four more manuscripts in the works. One is a fictional take on a non-fiction
situation involving the suspicious death of a well-known elderly woman. The book, tentatively titled, "Suicide or Murder",
called for some true crime research of police records that date back 30 years.
"It's a step in a different direction for me as a writer, but the story is very interesting to me",
Foster said.
Though the subject of her upcoming book deals with some graphic imagery, Foster said she will continue
to write "good clean fiction".
"I don't use vulgar language", she said, "I don't like to read things like that and I'm not going
to write like that".
Since storytelling has been a way of life for Foster and her family, she said it came to no surprise
to her relatives that she would become an author.
"They weren't surprised at all that I wrote a book," Foster said of her relatives. "They always
knew I was going to". In fact, Foster said her biggest supporters are the members of her very large family.
"I sell a lot of books at the family reunions", she laughed - signed copies, of course.
Foster said her future plans are to keep pecking away.
"Sometimes I sit at the computer for four or five hours a day", she said. "Some days I get writer's
block and I just have to walk away for awhile".
She would like to see her books appear on the New York Times best seller list, though.
Or perhaps see one adapted to the big screen.
"I've had a lot of people tell me "Cassie's Clearing" would make a good Disney movie.
There are also signed copies of the book availabe at the Salem Quick Stop for $10.
Pre-orders for "A Time For Change" which is 247 pages and will cost $16.95, can be made by visiting
the publisher's website:
www.publishamerica.com The Fosters, who have been married for 43 years and operate a breeder hen operation, have two
daughters: Melanie Tommey of Oklahoma and Michele Foster of Glenwood. They have four grandchildren: Zach, 13, Brianna,
7, Hailey, 6 and Matthew 3.
