Betsy Barker

Big money, tiny gems – an invitation to robbery? Will our jewelry artist sleuth and her policeman lover survive a gem heist at the fabled Tucson Gem Show?

The “Ruby Red” short mystery was inspired by a pendant that Betsy inherited from her aunt. Betsy uncovered the hidden story of this pendant while at the Gemological Institute of America where she taught diamonds and was the reference librarian.

The sleuth in “Ruby Red” has a chronic illness called ME/CFS. Despite her illness, she has a successful career and caring friends. She has learned to pace herself within her energy limitations and to keep her expectations realistic.

Betsy also has ME/CFS and is one of the “Millions Missing” from life. By sharing her experiences with chronic illness, she hopes to increase understanding and provide representation for everyone with chronic health issues. Check her website at Betsy Barker Media for additional reputable resources.

Near Life Experiences contains several of Betsy’s haiku about surviving chronic illness. There is also an environmental short story inspired by bald eagles she saw on a quilting cruise to Alaska. Near Life Experiences was published by the Pillow Writers, a support group for writers with ME/CFS.

In 1985, Betsy learned how to make quilts. In quilting, she found a caring community of artists striving to improve and innovate their skills. She was surprised and proud to see her “Corona Virus Blues” quilt displayed on the pages of Quarantine Quilts. Betsy has made and donated many quilts to children in hospitals.

Changing careers, Betsy programmed updates for the budget system for GTE. Her skill at learning languages from around the world made coding programming languages easy for her.

Later, she worked for Los Angeles County. Betsy used her sleuthing skills to understand the mystery of failures of software systems or network equipment. She assembled clues and avoided red herrings to provide a solution so that her co-workers could meet their deadlines.