Author's Bio
 Barri L. Bumgarner is a full-time author, freelancing for Family and School & Community magazines. She has just released her third book, Dregs, a young adult novel about the brutal reality of cliques in schools. Bumgarner's second novel, Slipping, won Missouri Writers' Guild Best Fiction runner-up in 2005. The story is about an average guy with an extraordinary problem--he's a multiple personality whose alter ego is a serial killer...and he doesn't know it. Her first novel, 8 Days, is in its second print-run. She received multiple awards from the Missouri Writers Guild for her articles in 2005, and also received Writer's Digest 72nd Annual Writing Competition honors in 2004 for her article "Inspire Magic." Dregs is currently being adapted for the stage, having already been performed as a staged reading in April 2005 on the anniversary of the Columbine tragedy. Ms. Bumgarner divides her time between attending graduate school and writing. She lives in Columbia, Missouri with her two fox terriers, and she's busy at work on her sixth novel. Her next release will be Playing the Line, a prequel to 8 Days. The book is due out this summer. Her current project is a true crime book about the murder of Jesse Valencia and the subsequent conviction of police officer Steven Rios. This book, Shades of Gray: The Steven Rios Story is currently with an agent. Ms. Bumgarner attended Lebanon High School and went on to earn her Bachelor of Science in Education from Southwest Missouri State University in 1990. Bumgarner is pursuing her PhD in English Education at University of Missouri-Columbia. She is a graduate of Long Ridge Writers' Institute, learning under the tutelage of Edgar Award winning author Carolyn Wheat. After graduating from college, Bumgarner taught English for two years in Louisiana, Missouri, then moved to Columbia. She was a center director for KinderCare Learning Centers for over five years, then chose to return to the classroom. She taught Reading/Writing Workshop in Columbia Public Schools for seven years at Oakland Junior High School, and often uses her former students as characters in her books! Along with nearly thirty poems, Barri has published over fifty articles for statewide magazines, and short fiction in Missouri Teachers Write, Rock Springs Review, and Well Versed. Her short story "Retribution" is published in the anthology Mysteries of the Ozarks, Vol. II, May 2006. She is the past-president of the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers' Guild and was recently inducted into Delta Kappa Gamma, an organization that celebrates women educators. Dregs, Slipping, and 8 Days are available in bookstores nationwide, as well as on Fictionwise.com in e-book format. Both 8 Days and Slipping were reviewed by national radio show host Jim Bohannon, as well as award-winning author Barbara Hodges. Dregs is currently being reviewed by award-winning Young Adult authors Todd Strasser (Give a Boy a Gun, The Wave) and Terry Trueman (Stuck in Neutral, Cruise Control). Bumgarner has a full calendar doing booksignings and speaking engagements as an author and motivational speaker. For information about bringing Barri to your school or club, visit the Speaker Request link. I love being busy, but if science would hurry up, I'd be in line for a clone… But one of me is about all most people can handle. I like sincerity, empathy, compassion, laughter, sarcasm, a good glass of Riesling, a steady flow of Diet Coke, salt over sweets, love to play tennis but settle usually to watch it… I'm an avid Cardinal's fan, an obsessed KC Chiefs fan, a Mizzou Tigers supporter, and take every chance I get to go to games, plays, and concerts. I collect Boyd's Bears, put together jigsaw puzzles, play Sudoku and Jeopardy! and am competitive about everything from Monopoly to Mexican Train. I live to travel, I work because I love it, and if life allowed it, I'd choose more time over more money. Aside from all the things I love, I cherish my family, my friends, my fox terriers, and my home, and if push came to shove, I'd pull a Zeus to protect them…(you have to have read Slipping to truly understand the depth of that assertion). All in all, I'm full of life, easy going, passionate, and always on the go. I embrace the adage that to heck with my glass being half full or half empty…I'm just happy to have a glass, and I'll fill it with life and love every chance I get. The glory of being a writer is the ability to explore the world both inside and out. For the inside, you can read my blog and peruse my website. For the outside, here is a little of my day-to-day, minute-to-minute, hair-pulling-out sort of days:
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For more information, email: barribum@aol.com
Barri L. Bumgarner
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