For nearly ten years, M. P. Barker worked as a costumed historical interpreter at Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts. She got a firsthand taste of nineteenth century New England rural life by milking cows, mucking out barns, and doing other tasks which helped her bring realism and immediacy to "A Difficult Boy's setting and characters". For nine years, M. P. Barker has been an archivist at the Connecticut Valley Historical Museum. She has more than two decades of experience as a historian, archivist, and writer.