About The Author

Hi, I’m Barbara robinson.

I am an unrepentant optimist who believes that lasting love is possible, so my stories almost always feature happily-ever-after endings.

Most of my writing includes an element of magic, rooted in the cultural and spiritual traditions of pre-Christian Europe. I find inspiration in myths and folktales, poems and ballads, historical sources and academic writing.

I also draw inspiration from nature. I live in Nova Scotia, in the shadow of ancient mountains that lie along the Bay of Fundy coast. New Scotland has a magic all its own, with mist covered valleys and wild, windswept shorelines. These rugged vistas shape my story settings, while providing the perfect backdrop for life with my husband, my hound and my dragon (Pogona Vitticeps).

Domestic Arts

I am an enthusiastic nurturer of plants. I grow heirloom vegetables, herbs and berries, and I enjoy canning and preserving this bounty each year.

I find comfort in connecting with nature, with the seasons, and with the land. Every year, something does well, and every year something fails, reminding me that food is precious, and harvests precarious.

Gardening, cooking and eating with purpose allow me to savor food, and life, more fully. I especially enjoy cooking for others, and celebrating with those who gather at my table.

Neurodiversity and Giftedness

I was diagnosed with autism and giftedness in my forties, after suffering a traumatic brain injury. As I adjusted to everything that followed, I found myself reflecting on historical accounts of madness, witchcraft and shamanism.

I concluded that historical accounts of elves, witches and troll-women likely featured ordinary women whose extra-ordinary gifts were misunderstood. Some people have cognitive pathways that change the way they experience the world(s), and this may manifest in both sensory and extra-sensory ways.

Applying a lens of magical realism, I explore the things that make gifted and neurodiverse characters different, without forgetting the things that make them human.