Biography

Biography:

I grew up in a house that sat along a very pretty country roadside in Pennsylvania. Our house, "the house", as my mother called it for years, was one my father built from a one-room country store. That house grew up around us as my sisters, brother and I grew with it. My mother made the house a home. I have vivid memories of her reading to us as children. One of the earliest books I remember is Out of My Window - a little golden book written by Alice Low.

My father, like so many other men in the area, worked very hard in the coal mines to support our family. An essay that I wrote about him when my children were small is so very dear to my heart. A version of my essay, entitled WHISTLE PRAYERS, appears in the May/June 2009 issue of Pennsylvania Magazine, and has appeared in other publications over the years. The original version can be found on this website.

I was never a strong speaker, but my need to communicate was strong. Maybe that's one reason I wanted to become a writer. I always felt stories, dreamed stories. They came from deep within, and somehow went from little girl printing, to cursive, to manual typewriter, to electric typewriter-to computer. Each age and stage produced different stories and characters-but the goal was the same-finding a way to "tell my stories" in a strong voice. I have always been passionate about writing.

I also feel passionate about my work with children. While raising my two children, I co-owned and operated Tumble-In Nursery in Chestertown, Maryland. It was such a wonderful experience, sharing time with three and four year old children five mornings a week - watching them grow and change.

Later, after moving to Western Maryland, I worked at a family center tutoring and testing adult education students for several weeks before they started taking GED classes. I was also a Parent Educator, teaching parenting classes on-site and as an outreach program. After moving back to the Eastern Shore, I worked at another family center, first as the lead teacher in the infant center - and later as a family advocate working with families both in-home and on-site teaching parenting and life skills.

I now write full-time. Look for my first published book - a YA novel entitled Star in the Middle, published by WestSide Books, and available October 2009! You can read more about teen parents, Star and Wilson, and their baby, on this website!

I've had a wonderful life so far. I have two beautiful children who are married to wonderful spouses. I have six grandchildren that I absolutely adore! I married my high school sweetheart and we will celebrate our 40th wedding anniversary in January 2010.

I feel blessed!

Thanks for reading!

Carol is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the National League of American Pen Women.