About the Author








	BARBARA A. SCHNELL I’m a first-time novelist and I’m supposed to say something about myself to give people an insight to my ability but I’m not sure what would be helpful. I’ve worked in marketing at an insurance company; I was a purchasing agent for a major San Francisco law firm (now defunct but I had nothing to do with that—really); I restored a 1921 California Bungalow in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles; I set a cash-winning record (at the time) on $25,000 Pyramid; I came in last on Jeopardy but got a nice set of golf clubs for my trouble and humiliation; I sing in the church choir; I live with my patient husband (we just celebrated our Silver Wedding Anniversary or, as he says, about twenty happy years together) and two cats….Life has been an interesting journey so far. With reference to writing credentials I’ve written two screenplays—I worked as an actress and am still a member of SAG and AFTRA, it seemed a logical medium to start in—and I got lots of compliments but no cash. I also serve as editor for my husband who’s a technical writer. Oh! And I get raves on my Christmas letter (I know that means less than nothing but the strokes are good for my ego). I’m busy working on my next book that is tentatively titled I was a June Bride. It’s the story of a wedding done with no money, for a bride who’s not at all sure she’s doing the right thing, attended by feuding relatives…you know, reality.

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The Epic of the Ordinary–

In Barbara Schnell’s “First Year” we embark on a journey into the “epic” of the ordinary as we journey with the talented protagonist–a young actress-- from “less than legendary” mythical Los Angeles into the unknown trials and tribulations of exile in– South Dakota! After a whirlwind romance she marries and follows her husband to grad school in his hometown of Brookings, South Dakota where she wonders if she’s signed on for connubial bliss or miss. Thrust into the arena of in-laws, outlaws, academia, the pinch of gender generated expectations, and small town “prairie home” pragmatism, she encounters what seem at first like Stepford church ladies, and men with the emotional range of the nearby Mt. Rushmore gang. It’s enough to turn any girl an occasional “Medea.” As she turns from anomaly to influence, we see some of “the girls” turn into Trojan Women and explore new tactics and entitlements. Greek drama got at universal truths through the epic stories of the gods and monsters and vulnerable human beings in all of us. Schnell takes us on an endearing, enlightened, and thoroughly enjoyable journey to universal truths through the epic of everyday life. En route I found myself nodding my head in recognition. I laughed. I sighed. I even cried –(which may be illegal for men in South Dakota). I know these people. “First Year” kicks our proverbial American Gothic flying buttresses– but doesn’t remove our quintessentially American underpinnings. This isn’t a book of pot shots and good laughs at the expense of Midwesterners. Schnell is an engaging storyteller– and a compassionate and wise observer of human behavior in her book that is very American, very universal, and very entertaining.

James Koenig, Director/Founder of Scandinavia/LA Film Festival, author of And the Meter is Running…,