WRITINGS

Ann Gaylia O’Barr returned to writing after fourteen years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U.S. Department of State. Most of her overseas postings were in the Middle East.

She has written a series of novels covering the years from World War II through post 9/11. They narrate the journeys of Americans struggling with personal challenges against a background of global upheaval and cultural conflict. Characters include a university professor of Middle Eastern studies; a student; an English teacher in Saudi Arabia; American Foreign Service Officers; a journalist; an artist.

Quiet Deception (1944-1977)
Todd Edwards and Byron White grow up together in a working class neighborhood during the years following the Second World War. Sometimes their lives and viewpoints merge, sometimes part. Throughout Byron’s abusive childhood and erratic youth and Todd’s broken engagement and experiences in Viet Nam, they pass in and out of contact. As a young adult, Byron joins Todd on a university faculty. He disappears less than a year later. Todd sidesteps responsibility for Byron until one of his students discovers what happened to him.

Dawning Joy (1991-1998)
Kate McCormack and Philip Tangvald, Americans working in Saudi Arabia in the 1990's, become friends within the rigors of the foreign culture. Kate becomes trapped in a desperate situation and accepts Philip’s offer of marriage to escape. After marriage, she must find the door to Philip’s haunted past as the world grows more dangerous.

Searching for Home (1993-2003)
A southern young woman with close family ties, Hannah Forbes wants to forget the pain of dealing with her fiancé’s death and the awakened life to which he called her. She settles for a secure life until she travels to Cyprus. There she meets and marries Patrick Holtzman, a diplomat with losses he refuses to discuss. She finds that her controlled and ambitious husband runs from his own pain. Hannah, Patrick, and a young boy must find a new definition of home and commitment in a world of terrorism, family evacuations, and separation.