Carolyn has always liked to create. There were always gardens full of beautiful plants in her life, plenty of frilly, homemade dresses for her daughters—and don’t leave out the puppets. Ever since third grade, Carolyn also liked to write. She is the author of Promises, a teen historical fiction novel, and the author/illustrator of two children’s picture books. Carolyn lives in Utah with her husband and teenage daughter, where she runs her puppet-related business in between family time and writing time.
What is your favorite quality about yourself? Creativity—I love to create things.
What is your least favorite quality about yourself? I am horribly unorganized, and the thought of becoming such feels overwhelming, so I’ve learn to limp along amidst my unorganization.
What is your favorite quote, by whom, and why? “A ship in the harbor is safe; but that’s not what ships were built for.” The quote is by William Shedd. I don’t know who the heck the guy is, but it was written on a 1999 calendar I got from my insurance broker. I still have that old calendar tucked away in a drawer because I loved that quote. It has become my mantra.
What is your favorite color? I love yellow—it’s so cheerful.
What inspired you to write your first book? My neighborhood book club read a book entitled The Mermaid Chair seven years ago. It was about a woman going through her mid-life crisis and having an affair with a monk. The subject matter turned my stomach to the point I thought I could write a better story than this. The next day I decided to try my hand at writing a novel. (I had been involved in journalism during high school and my early college days, so I wasn’t averse to writing). That first novel stunk, but it served as training wheels. I am currently working on my eight novel. My first published work, Promises came out last year. Literary Loom: The Big Debate will be my second published work, and I have a third slated for publication with Covenant Communications scheduled for release next year. It is entitled, I Couldn’t Serve Hitler.
Why did you choose to write this particular book? As I was reading the book Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain, I remember thinking why did God care so much about the French being free from English rule—lots of other countries had succumbed to them? And then the answer came to me as a quiet voice in my head: God needed the French to be free so they could help America to be free. This moved me to the point I wanted to share it with others and thus the idea of the book was born.
What was the hardest part about writing this book? Shaving the page number down to an reasonable amount. Originally it was almost twice the number of pages.
Will you write others in this same genre? I am currently working on the sequel, which will be dealing with evolution vs. intelligent design. It touches on the narrow-mindedness of the scientific community as they try to explain the origin of life while adamantly denying God hand in the creation of this world. Of course there will be a fun, mysterious storyline involving Josh and his friends.
Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp? God is real and He intends for us to be free to make our own choices.
How much of the book is realistic? The three different times Josh book travels through history are based closely on actual historical events.
What are your goals as a writer? To give readers, especially kids, a choice. There are a lot of books out there that sound like carbon copies of each other—same stuff, different setting. Some uplift, some are mere candy for the brain, and others are depressing and/or full of crap. I don’t want to write what everyone else writes. That is why I’m self publishing—mainstream publishers are only willing to invest in books that are going to make lots of money. The books I want to read and write are few and far between. There are not a lot out there that bring actual history to life while inspiring and entertaining the reader all at the same time. That’s why I want to write them.
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Thanks for participating in my blog tour.
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