Barbara Faith
Barbara Faith was an American author born in 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio, who later grew up in Detroit, Michigan. She graduated from Wayne State University in 1950 and began her career in the publishing industry, working as an editor for various publications, including the Miami Beach Sun and Monitor. In 1965, she moved to San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she immersed herself in the local culture and language, later marrying Alfonso Covarrubias, a former matador. Faith's writing career began with her first novel, *Kill Me Gently, Darling*, published in 1978, after which she transitioned primarily to romance novels.
Her works often drew inspiration from her travels, with settings in exotic locales such as Morocco and Spain, reflecting her desire to evoke romantic and adventurous themes. She received several accolades for her writing, including the Southeastern Writers Conference first prize for a short story and the Mainstream Golden Medallion Award from the Romance Writers of America for *The Sun Dancers*. Faith passed away on October 1, 1995, leaving a legacy of stories that combined her diverse experiences and interests.
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Barbara Faith
Writer
- Born: January 19, 1932
- Birthplace: Cleveland, Ohio
- Died: October 1, 1995
Biography
The daughter of Clara E. Kraizl Faith and Earl R. Faith, a sheet metal draftsman, Barbara Faith was born in 1932 in Cleveland, Ohio, but her family soon moved to Detroit, Michigan, where she was raised. She attended Wayne State University, graduating in 1950.
After working briefly as a secretary to an investment counselor in Detroit, she left that city to work in Miami, Florida. There she worked for the Miami Beach Sun newspaper as a secretary, and then, from 1954 to 1964, as editor of Storer Story, published by the Storer Broadcasting Company. From 1965 to 1976, she edited Monitor, published by the Miami Heart Institute. After fourteen years in Miami, Faith went to live in the picturesque town of San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, participating in her first year there in the Spanish language program at a branch of the University of Guanajuato. In Mexico, she also met Alfonso Covarrubias, a former matador and customs officer, and the two married in 1970.
In 1978, Faith published her first novel, the contemporary mystery Kill Me Gently, Darling, beginning her career as a successful author. She soon turned, however, from the mystery genre to that of the romance novel. She also published short stories in magazines such as Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine and Mademoiselle.
Sometimes known as Barbara Faith de Covarrubias, Faith and her husband lived in Mexico or on the Mexico-California border, but spent much of their time traveling to many countries in Europe and to Morocco. Some of this traveling was for the purpose of researching her novels, the settings of which she liked to locate in places that American readers would deem exotic or romantic. A trip to Morocco in the early 1980’s, for instance, was necessary for her to gather material for her novel Bedouin Bride. Two novels cowritten with Debbi Rawlins and published posthumously in 2006 also have a Moroccan setting. Other novels are set in Spain, where she and her husband were frequent visitors.
A number of her books are set in Mexico. The Moonkissed is a historical novel about the Mexican Revolution, and Enchanted Dawn is takes place in Mexico during the reign of Emperor Maximilian. Her novel The Sun Dancers draws on her husband’s knowledge of the world of bullfighting to tell the story of a woman who has set her heart on becoming a matador. Wind Whispers is a contemporary story that takes place on the Yucatan Peninsula of southeastern Mexico
In 1970, Faith was awarded first prize from the Southeastern Writers Conference for her story “Teresa.” She won the Mainstream Golden Medallion Award (now the Rita Award) from Romance Writers of America for The Sun Dancers in 1982. She died on October 1, 1995.