Barbara Willis was born on Guam in the Marianas Islands in the Pacific and lived on Saint Croix in the Caribbean and Martha’s Vineyard off the coast of Massachusetts. She has also lived in Italy and South America, as well as California, Arizona, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and various New England states. She has an extensive history in community theater and has worked in occupations as varied as real estate, newspaper advertising, the restaurant business, and library research.