THE AUTHOR: Barbara Leary
THE BOOK: The Climbing Tree
THE GENRE: Children’s Literature
LIVES IN: Purcellville
THE STORY: A grandmother of three, Leary has written children’s books with each of her granddaughters in a starring role. Her first, The Climbing Tree, was inspired by her oldest grandaughter, Eleanor. “She had this tree that I taught her how to climb in her yard in Falls Church. She became obsessed. She was so heartbroken when they moved. I saw the book as a way of honoring those feelings and creating something together,” says Leary. The Climbing Tree was self-published, and it took home first prize (out of 1,800 entries) in the Writer’s Digest annual Self-Published Book Awards.
NoVA CONNECTIONS: Leary grew up in Arlington, was raised in Fairfax and now lives in Purcellville. She says the diversity and beauty of the region infl uence her work. “As somebody who likes to work in nature, all the books [feature] nature somehow. It’s just a beautiful place to be,” Leary says. She also notes, “I try with each of the books to work in some diversity that [the characters] encounter. That’s another thing that I love about Northern Virginia.” The vastness of NoVA also plays a part in her creative process. Her granddaughters live in Alexandria, and the car rides to her Purcellville home are where the three, ages 7, 5 and 3, discuss the plots of the books—and even get some inspiration for their own future writing careers. Says Leary of the star of The Climbing Tree, “Eleanor herself is working on a book.”
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