Xenia Steered the Boat is a collection of 28 articles on being a writer and the craft of writing, ranging from the author's early attraction to cowboy songs through her experience with syllable-count poetry, the publication of her first novel, and the publication of subsequent works of fiction and nonfiction, including the award-winning Women at Play: The Story of Women in Baseball. She also talks about the books that first influenced her: Great Expectations, which she read as a ninth grader; and Walden, which she read as a freshman in college. Barbara Gregorich has written many different kinds of books, ranging from the beginning reader The Fox on the Box to adult mystery novels such as Sound Proof and how-to books such as Guide to Writing the Mystery Novel: Lots of Examples, Plus Dead Bodies.