O'Neal's books include The Lost Recipe for Happiness, How to Bake a Perfect Life,[1] The Goddesses of Kitchen Avenue and Lady Luck's Map of Vegas.
Writing as Ruth Wind,[3] she has published over twenty contemporary romances, winning two RITA awards in this genre.
[4] Under the name Barbara Samuel, she has written seven historical romances, winning a RITA in 1998 for her book, Heart of a Knight.
[5] These books are set mostly in her home state of Colorado or New Mexico, with themes of food, second chances, and multi-generational stories about women.
[citation needed] She has won three RITA awards for her women's fiction work, making her eligible for the Romance Writers of America Hall of Fame, into which she was inducted in 2012.