Writing has always come naturally to local author Barbara Mack

Writing is something that has always come naturally to Cape Girardeau author Barbara Mack.

"I wrote my first story when I was only 4 or 5 years old, and had my first poem published for $10 when I was 11 years old," says Mack. "I always knew that I wanted to be a writer."

Mack has since penned a historical romance novel and novella, and several cookbooks. She has also written books for young adult readers under the pen name Barbara Rose.

"I've been an avid reader all of my life," says Mack. "I love reading about history and the Underground Railroad in particular."

Mack's latest novel, "Chasing the Sunset," is based on events that happened during the period of the Underground Railroad. In the novel, Maggie, a happy, mischievous girl who had been coddled by her parents, ends up losing them and running away from an abusive marriage and into the wilds of Missouri in the 1800s, according to Amazon.com. When her uncle Ned gets her a job as a live-in housekeeper to intriguing Nick Revelle, Maggie feels an immediate attraction mixed with fear for her employer. Nick has been hardened by a past marriage and Maggie is afraid that her secrets will make him hate her.

"Chasing the Sunset" also spawned a novella that Mack wrote, titled "Dreaming of You."

"People always told me that you can't learn anything from reading romance novels," says Mack. "But I took a medieval history course and an American history course in college and passed them both without cracking a book because of what I had learned from reading historical romance novels."

In addition to the novel and novella, Mack has written "Easy, Fabulous Bread Making," a cookbook that is consistently in the top 50 books on breadmaking on Amazon.com. Mack also just released a new cookbook, "Southern Gourmet," which features many of her favorite recipes.

"I cook a lot and I like to cook a little bit of everything," says Mack.

A few of the books written by Barbara Mack (Fred Lynch)

Books that Mack penned for young adult readers include "My Dead Boyfriend" and its sequel, "Light of the Wicked Moon."

"The sequel is due to come out toward the end of April or the first of May," says Mack.

All of Mack's books are available in print or on Kindle.

In addition to being a full-time writer, Mack is a freelance graphic designer and a member of the Romance Writers of America.

"I lived in Florida for a while, where I did a lot of promotional writing, but I was born and raised here," says Mack, who has a son and a daughter who are both in college as well as a huge extended family in this area. She is also planning to be married in September.

When asked where she gets her writing ideas, Mack says, "I find inspiration in everything. I was watching a show on the Discovery Channel the other night and I got an idea that helped me to finish a plot point of one of my stories."