Who is the Southern Princess?

So you discovered the Kingdom...good, good. I am pleased to say that I love visitors. It is so refreshing to meet people from foreign lands. Well, then come on in, take a seat at the Royal Table and we will share..

Oh? What's that? You don't even know who I am, much less what "Kingdom" you are in?!

Well fiddle-de-dee! Sit a spell and I will tell you a story to answer all your questions....

Once upon a time there was a young maiden born to loving parents. They raised her with the utmost respect for Southern mannerisms, a love of good food, respectful of her elders and a desire to read anything they put in front of her. The youngest of four children (two brothers and a sister) she was surrounded by literature of all genres. As young as second grade she began to read stories that were well beyond her young years in subject matter. She did not care! She was swept away by the beauty of Lord Byron, carried off on an Odyssey by Homer, sleuthing with all her wits beside Nancy Drew, devouring the politics of her southern neighbor Atticus Finch, wandering the hills with Anne of Green Gables and enjoying the banter of those March girls. Every story gave her a new reason to love the written word, so it was not surprising that she found her own imagination just as enjoyable. 

At night she would beg for something new to hear and the next day would act it out. She would make adjustments to some while others she felt were just right. When school was in she found herself doodling pictures of the characters and writing sequels to their stories. Friends supported her endeavors and soon she found the courage to write for them her own imaginative adventures. She wrote poetry, short stories and novellas. But she did not have the courage to pursue this dream.

She was a happy maiden all through her teens and when she went to college she found herself surrounded by amazing teachers. Their classes had her falling in love all over again with literary friends old and new. But you see she also had another love, one of art. She painted, she sculpted, she drew and it was the direction she chose. Years later, when school was done, she realized that she had chosen art because it was easier to be anonymous in art - to enjoy your work from afar.  She spent a year exploring animation under the teachings of the greats but it was not where her heart lived. Lack of confidence and fear kept her tied down. Yet this fear of sharing had held back the passion that bubbled below the surface. Art was something she enjoyed...Writing is what she desired. A Kingdom, she thought, a place where she can explore her talent without anyone knowing who was behind the stone fortress; protected by the webbed walls she would write.

But alas, the Kingdom she created could not be hidden behind anonymous posts & stone webbing. She entered a contest, needing to leave information about herself in case she won....and she did win. She made a friend through the contest; discovering she was not the only one who loved the written word. Carefully she stepped out and rather than meet the warring words of enemies her Kingdom was welcomed. So she opened the gate and lowered the drawbridge. 

Here, in her realm, you can follow her journey, learn of her husband - Marcus, their niece - Kristin, their dog - Peanut Butter Barr, and their Kingdom in Alabama. Nestled amongst green pines, warm sunny skies, flowering azaleas, fields, rivers of cool water and the best hospitality you can ever find is the home of Courtney Barr - The Southern Princess.

I am Courtney. 


I am a writer.


Please, peruse the archives, enter the contests, enjoy the craziness, comment on the stories and believe in your dreams. Because I will one day be visiting YOU, along the spine of a book, on the shelf in your home I will eagerly wait for you to open the pages of my book and to remember your last visit to my Kingdom...