Who Is Barbara Samuel and What Kind of Novels Does She Write?

Updated

Barbara Samuel is an American romance and women's fiction author who also publishes as Barbara O'Neal. She has won the Romance Writers of America RITA award seven times and has been inducted into the RWA Hall of Fame. Her novels center on family, food, dogs, and love, and many include recipes.

What she writes

Her work sits in the tradition of Kristin Hannah, Susan Wiggs, Maeve Binchy, and Barbara Freethy — highly emotional stories about families and relationships. The excerpt featured on her site, about former lovers Elias and Sarah separated by warring families and reunited after more than a decade, shows the kind of premise she returns to: long-buried secrets, second chances, and love that survives years apart.

A recurring signature is food. Many of her novels include recipes, and by her own account she cooks in response to stress, comparing cooking to life — sometimes things go wrong, but if you keep trying, eventually you'll get it right.

The three names she writes under

Name What it signals
Barbara Samuel Her literary and women's fiction work
Barbara O'Neal Stories of family, food, and second chances
Lark O'Neal Sexier heroes and heroines, secrets, going the distance for love

If you're looking for a specific title, it helps to know which name it was published under, since the three lines have different tones.

Where to start

  • Want the emotional family-and-food thread? Look at the Barbara O'Neal titles.
  • Want something steamier? The Lark O'Neal line is the one described that way.
  • Want to follow new releases? The site offers a subscribe page at barbarasamuel.com/subscribe.

She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband, a British endurance athlete. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and by email through her site.