We recently connected with Barbara Leonhard and have shared our conversation below.

Barbara, appreciate you joining us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

Almost every success in my life began with taking a risk. When I was 6 going on 7, I contracted measles encephalitis, which paralyzed me. I was unable to walk, talk, or eat solids. I went into a coma, and when I awoke from it, I was able to speak but not walk. The doctor announced that I would never walk again. However, I took a risk. Not wanting to be in a wheelchair for the rest of my life, I taught myself how to walk again while my parents were away. When they arrived home, I was able to run up to them. That risk taught me not to listen to anyone’s limited expectations of me. Writing creatively was a risk because it’s easy to get discouraged by critics. I find if I embrace criticism, the artworks and poems improve. My poetry has grown a great deal since I started my WordPress blog. I think the greatest risk was developing and writing my poetry collection, which is about my caregiving to Mom as she navigated Alzheimer’s. My poems are honest and raw. Putting myself out there with such sensitive emotions was fearful. However, the reception of the book has been fulfilling. My risking vulnerability has made an impression on people who might otherwise paint the mother-daughter relationship as an ideal partnership when really there may be pain and grief to resolve to care for an ailing parent. Finding a publisher was a risk. I thought long and hard, “Am I ready? Should I just throw the book in the trash? Who’s going to like this work?” I took risks submitting some poems from this collection, which I called “Three-Penny Memories: A Poetic Memoir”. for publication on Spillwords, in Free Verse Revolution, and other places. A couple of poems in the collection won Publication of the Month and nominated for Publication of the Year on Spillwords: “Cooking a Life with a Wire Spine” and “Marie Kondo Cleans My Purse at Starbucks”. I was also voted Author of the Month of August on Spillwords. In 2022, another poem from my collection was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Getting published is a risk. I decided to go with a small press, and EIF-Experiments in Fiction, owned by Ingrid Wilson, took a chance on my book. It opened as a best-seller on Amazon and has been on and off the best-seller list more than once since Oct 2022, when the book was published. This year, 2023, I took a huge risk by agreeing to replace Gabriela Marie Milton as the Editor for MasticadoresUSA, one of several issues of Masticadores created by Juan Re Crivello on WordPress. I believe the risk has paid off as I learned that I am able to edit a literary magazine. Taking risks involves stepping out of one’s comfort zone and making new connections.

Barbara, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

As a retired ESL Instructor at the University of Missouri in Columbia, MO., I do not believe I have a “brand”. Currently, I do not teach English as a Second Language. Instead, I feel like I’m playing all the time. All the things I do now are enjoyable. Of course, I loved my career and had fun creating class materials. I even wrote a book using my creations: Discoveries in Academic Writing (Heinle ELT, 1999). The fun I am having now includes whatever I choose whether I make money or not. I’m my own boss. I explore writing and doing art, such as neurographica art (a fairly new form of art therapy) and collage-making. I believe having a “brand” is like being “pigeonholed” and labeled. I have never sold art and do not wish to display it in an art show. I have written a poetry collection, so I suppose I can be labeled a “poet” and now an “editor” because I started editing a magazine. However, labels create stereotypes. I was once an “instructor”. Everyone knew what to expect from me as a teacher. My main brand is “a human”. I’m just making my way in retirement to have a good time.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

At first, and even now, I got onto social media to visit with people. I could have cared less about numbers, stats, likes, and so on. I would be on and off and very inconsistent, Now, however, I feel pulled to perform on social media. Selling a book is all about making connections by posting, commenting, liking, and sharing. In some ways, I wonder how authentic these connections are. I strive to be genuine. People used to connect at work, school, church, etc. But now we have online opportunities. To build a business, I think being engaged online is necessary. Also, do unto others what you would have them do unto you. You may be the first to reach out. Also, if they write a review for your book, you write one for their book. People help each other and build community online these days. It’s time-consuming. However, my numbers are still low. I could work harder, but there are only a few hours in a day.

Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?

I’m a creative person but compared to others, I’m not as good a “creative”. As I said, “building a brand” isn’t my thing. I know some creatives who are on all the social media and have mastered the apps which help them to create incredible visuals and other things I have no idea how to do. So I struggle with the technology that will help my poetry and art to get attention. Those who want to invent a brand must learn how to use Canva and other apps that will help them to create cool posts and advertise their works.

Contact Info:

• Website: extraordinarysunshineweaver.blog
• Instagram: @meelosmom123
• Facebook: Barbara Harris Leonhard/barbara.leonhard
• Linkedin: ExtraordinarySunshineWeaver
• Twitter: @BarbaraLeonhar4
• Youtube: @bleonhard818

Image Credits
This is the book cover for my poetry collection. I own all the photos.