226: Barbara Boehm Miller- Author of When You See Her

Our guest this week is Barbara Boehm Miller (When You See Her, Red Adept Publishing, January 2023). We discuss learning to cut out extraneous back story, why she set her novel in a carnival, and why she chose a plus-size woman for her protagonist. On the marketing side, we talk about how she started out as a lurker on social media and had to get comfortable with what to post. Then we compare notes on the struggle to find an agent in today's climate where ghosting has become acceptable, leaving authors hanging in limbo. Barbara likes to write about secret societies and marginalized people and to create desperate and unsavory characters who, nonetheless, appeal to readers. WHEN YOU SEE HER is her first novel. In addition, she earned a Master of Arts in writing from Johns Hopkins University and has had several short fiction pieces published in literary journals. She's also worked for many years as a translator of Romance languages into English and has published a series of translations, primarily in the field of children's rights. She has lived in Costa Rica, France, Mexico, and Spain and, at present, serves as a senior diplomatic translator for the U.S. Department of State. When not writing, reading, or working, Barbara likes to spend time with her inspiring husband and twin daughters, and her sweet brown dog. To learn more about Barbara, click here.