Pen on Fire:
A Busy Woman’s Guide to Igniting the Writer Within
Los Angeles Times bestseller and winner of the 2005 ASJA Outstanding Book Award
“Pen on Fire has got a wonderful mix of the practical and the inspirational, which can only come from a writer who knows what she’s doing and what it takes to get things done. She understands that hard work is at the bottom of good writing, but she also points out that a certain lightness and sense of exploration and play are important, too. Pen on Fire helps them to see that writing, although difficult, can be fun.”
—T. Jefferson Parker
“We all know what it’s like to have that fierce drive to do something remarkable … and no idea where or how to start. Pen on Fire is a beginning writer’s dream cocktail of fortitude: equal parts compassion, inspiration, and fabulous limbering exercises. Want to be a writer? Drink deeply of Barbara DeMarco-Barrett’s hard-earned wisdom.”
—Jodi Picoult
“So many people have told me they are burning to write, but can’t seem to find a spare moment. I wish I could track them all down and hand each of them a copy of Pen on Fire. Barbara DeMarco-Barrett shows us how, even in our fast-paced, overscheduled, culture, we have more time than we realize to realize our creative dreams.”
—Gayle Brandeis
Available at Skylight Books (Los Angeles), Book Carnival (Orange), Best Book Store (Palm Springs), Amazon, Bookshop, and wherever you buy books. If you listen to audiobooks, find it on Scribd.
Crime and the City: Palm Springs
Palm Springs Desert Sun
Coachella Valley Independent
Reviewing the Evidence
Los Angeles Review of Books
Brightness, Darkness, and Everything In-Between
Kirkus Review of Palm Springs Noir
Palm Springs Noir received a pre-publication review from Kirkus.
Mystery Scene
Check out this review of Palm Springs Noir in Mystery Scene Magazine.
The OC Register’s Bookish Summer Reader
A feature about Palm Springs Noir, courtesy of Southern California News Group.
Publisher’s Weekly
Publisher’s Weekly reviews Palm Springs Noir.
Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times reviews Palm Springs Noir.
CrimeReads
Sunny Palm Springs is a Perfect Setting for Noir.
New York Journal of Books
Beverly in Movieland
A Palm Springs Noir, My Sweet.
Authors Guild Member Spotlight on Barbara
The muse is so very busy these days….
Palm Springs Noir (video)
A visual collage with footage, readings, and snippets from contributors to Palm Springs Noir.
NBC Palm Springs (video)
Corey Roskin talking about Palm Springs Noir
LGBTSR
Featured book: Palm Springs Noir.
Coachella Valley Independent
Review and excerpt from Michael Craft’s story
Stu News Newport
Palm Springs Noir, edited by local author Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, launches on July 6.
Palm Springs Life
Alta
Bookchase (review)
Point Blank: Hardboiled, Noir, & Detective Fiction (review)
The review begins at around 31:00.
Podcasts
Writers on Writing (podcast) with Palm Springs Noir contributors Eric Beetner, Rob Roberge, and me, moderated by literary maestro Corey Roskin.
Writer Types (podcast) hosted by Eric Beetner, with Barbara DeMarc0-Barrett, Tod Goldberg, and Janet Fitch
(Begins at 14.32)
Write About Now (podcast) hosted by Jon Small
Jon and Barbara talk about Palm Springs Noir and so much else on the craft of writing.
Drinks with Tony (podcast) hosted by Tony DuShane
Tony and Barbara talk a teensy bit about Palm Springs Noir and laugh and laugh some more.
Events (videos)
Book launch at Skylight Books, (event) Los Angeles with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Eric Beetner, Janet Fitch, and T. Jefferson Parker.
Pen on Fire Speaker Series and Salon (event) with Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Chris J. Bahnsen, Rob Bowman, Eduardo Santiago, and Kelly Shire, hosted by Corey Roskin.
Rancho Mirage Library (event) hosts Palm Springs Noir contributors Barbara DeMarco-Barrett (editor), Tod Goldberg, Janet Fitch, and Michael Craft.
Sisters in Crime Orange County (event), moderated by Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, with Palm Springs Noir contributors Eric Beetner, Eduardo Santiago, and J.D. Horn.
Mysterious Galaxy (event), moderated by Halley Sutton, with contributors Barbara DeMarco-Barrett, Rob Roberge, and Rob Bowman.
Coolest American Stories 2022
Released January 12, 2022, with my story, “Blue Martini”
“Some of the characters who populate this collection can only save themselves by sacrificing others, as in Barbara DeMarco-Barrett’s noir ‘Blue Martini,’ where a woman tries to escape her abusive meth-head boyfriend. The sensory details of Palm Springs and the surrounding desert are painted so precisely that you can feel your skin crackle with dryness.”
– Washington Independent Review of Books
