Carolyn Newcomer did not set out to become an author. In fact, it wasn’t until seven years ago on a flight to Palm Springs that she even considered the idea.

It was on that fateful flight that her 10-year-old son decided to take out his airsick bag and use it as a puppet while screaming, “I’m barf boy!” While the entire plane was cracking up, Newcomer could not have been more mortified. After overcoming her humiliation, she began to see the humor in her son’s antics and realized what a good story line it would make. It took her over a year to finally put pen to paper, but once she did, Barf’s First Flight was born.

Newcomer, a resident of El Dorado Hills, is now a full-fledge author learning the ropes of the publishing world, “I found the writing process to be pretty easy and really fun,” she says. “It’s the publishing part that I’m having to learn the hard way.” With one story down and four more in the works, she seems to be getting the hang of it. The books all feature Barf and his sidekick Tiny the Tissue, but they each deal with a different lesson. Barf’s First Flight teaches kids the importance of true friendship. “Each book will have a moral virtue attached to it,” Newcomer says. The next four books she has planned deal with issues of teamwork, safety, hope, and different cultures and lifestyles. And while she believes it is important to teach kids a lesson, her favorite part of the job is reading her books to children. “When I get to read the book to kids, and having them laugh at the parts that I wanted them to laugh at and seeing the looks on their faces, that’s the most rewarding part.”

Carolyn Newcomer will be participating in a local author event at the El Dorado Hills Library in August, and a book signing at Fairytale Town on September 26. For more author events and information on the Barf series, visit www.barfsbooks.com.

For more information about Carolyn Newcomer, and other local happenings and information, be sure to pick up this month's copy of Style – Folsom El Dorado edition. Check out the "Get Your Copy" link on this Web site for some of our newsstand locations. Or, to order a copy of this issue, please email  [email protected], or call 916-988-9888.