Carole Marsh Blog

Get Your Autographs!

Don't forget that Carole will be autographing mysteries here in the Gallopade Offices tomorrow, Feb 9, from 9 am - 12 pm.

6000 Shake Rag Hill St. 314

Peachtree City, GA 30269

She will also be autographing mysteries at Omega Books tomorrow, Feb 9, from 4 pm - 5 pm. 

100 North Peachtree Parkway

Peachtree City, GA‎ 30269

Barksdale School

I wanted to share a few more photos from my school visit.

Go, Buccaneers!

On Friday I did a school visit in Rockdale County (Conyers) Georgia...at a lovely school named Barksdale, which even has its own china! courtesy of a Mrs. Barksdale, an early educator the school is named for. Their  media specialist, Jone Williams, is a real dynamo, as are her helpers...and  made Papa and I feel most welcome!  It was fun to talk to the kids about Carole Marsh Mysteries,

Pining for Pineapple?

A really great e-newsletter to receive is this one:

Dole Nutrition News

It's by the Dole Nutrition folks and is pretty, quick, and informative.
Not just about pineapple, which I love, but lots of great family nutrition
tips...I especially like the ones recommending dark chocolate!

Winter Miscellany from Carole Quadreu....

If you have not read the book THE HELP then do, please! It has gotten lots of buzz, great reviews, and is a book club fave. My good friend Vicki de Joy recommended it and my local bookseller Karen from Omega Books can't wait to hear "what I think."  I think this Kathryn Stockett should win a National Book Award for this, her first novel! If you have read or do read it, let me know what you think!  "The Help" is the story of a young white girl writer who talks a number of black maids into "telling their story"... and, boy howdy, do they!  Set in the days of early Civil Rights action, and inaction,

Winter Miscellany from Carole Redux...

It took me a year, but I wrote a short trivia book about the amazing Biltmore House in Asheville, North Carolina, the fabulous mansion and largest private residence in America! of George Washington Vanderbilt.  Today, you can tour the incredible house (250 rooms!) and grounds and never see it all and want to come back soon, REAL SOON!  Once I signed my Mystery of Biltmore House at the estate and enjoyed seeing

Snow Time Fun...

So you wonder if Bob actually threw the big snowball at me?

You bet!  Retaliation in progress!

Winter Miscellany from Carole

Do you like Jazz?  Bob and I love jazz!  Recently met and shook hands and admired a man named Cyrus Chestnut.  He seems quiet and gentle and soft-spoken and can play the piano like it has 888 keys...the high notes he barely seems to breath on to get angelic sounds...the deep notes he bashes and can make rumble like the darkest thunder.

The Mystery in Hawaii

In 2009, Hawaii was the 50th state that Bob and I had traveled to.  It took us 30 years; we have been in most states many times. Not sure if we saved Hawaii for last because it is the 50th state, or because it is so far away from where we live, but I wish we had not waited so long!  I had no idea it was so beautiful, smelled so good, tasted so good, and is indeed the paradise it claims. Of course I wanted to set a mystery here!  Pearl Harbor, the volcanoes, the geology of the islands themselves, the BIG waves, the BIG whales...so much to cram into one story!  I'm just waiting to return!  I hope kids will love this book as much as I loved discovering Hawaii up close and personal for myself.  We returned just before my birthday.  I had bought an extra suitcase so I could pack all I needed for a Birthday Luau!  I'm still not "over" Hawaii, and hope never to be so!

Want a sneak preview of this great mystery? Click HERE or on the image to view the first three chapters.

The Mystery on the Great Lakes

When Bob and lived on the North Carolina coast, one summer we rented our house so we could travel the Great Lakes area.  We started in the east then went west then came back.  It was amazing to see the lakes as smooth as glass, as they say, but also in the snarl of storm!  We tugged a little jet boat and had the foolish audacity to put it in the GREAT Lakes a couple of times, but not for long!  I especially enjoyed all the lake lore regarding shipwrecks; fell in love with walleye cheeks; and loved the endless romantic lighthouses.  It was easy to think of a million mysteries to write as we traveled along, but I ended up with one, one I hope kids will enjoy, especially if they live in the Great Lakes states, and even more so if they do not and do not realize just how GREAT these lakes are!

Want a sneak preview of this great mystery? Click HERE or on the image to view the first three chapters.

The Mystery at Mount Vernon

We all grew up saying "George Washington Slept Here."  Well, I thought, wouldn't it be fun if the real kid characters in my real place mystery book could sleep where George slept!  The amazing renovation of this remarkable historic site was a fun place to set a mystery.  I was especially happy at the thought that kids could read the book and on some future trip to Washington, DC, actually get to scoot down and see Mount Vernon for themselves!

Want a sneak preview of this great mystery? Click HERE or on the image to view the first three chapters.

On You Census Huskies!

Click HERE to Purchase Census Products

Well, for a long time now, I have thought that I was the only person in America really excited about the Census...our chance at true civic engagement!  However, today, I have an enthusiastic partner—Clifton Jackson, 88, a WWII vet, and now, the first person to be counted in the census!  He's from the Alaskan Inupiat Eskimo village of Noorvik, just north of the Arctic Circle.

The Mystery on the Oregon Trail

Once, Bob and I tried to follow the Oregon Trail.  It was a lot of fun, hard on tires, legs, and full of wonderment at how those pioneers did it!  We climbed Independence Rock and put our fingers in the prairie schooner ruts...ran our hands over the names carved into the sandstone.  All I could think of was that it must have been a heck of a trip, whether it was fairly tame (no such thing?) and especially if it was not,  I thought kids would love a mystery set in a setting that was not just a place, but places, not just a time, but a time out of mind, and not just and adventure, but a life-and nation-changing adventure.

Want a sneak preview of this great mystery? Click HERE or on the image to view the first three chapters.

The Mystery at Yellowstone National Park

Bob and I love Yellowstone, have been through there from every gate, many times.  Our favorite was a cold, bright winter's day via snowmobile...just us and the bison!  It felt like "What if you owned your own national park?!"  Later in the day, frosty clouds, then fog, then snow blew in, so we had that "just wait a minute" weather experience.  Needless to say, I was  "writing mystery" in my mind the whole trip.  I thought kids would love to armchair travel to such a wild wilderness and discover its secrets, one of which is "Where is the volcano in Yellowstone?"  The truth became known via NASA satellite while we were there...the volcano is not in the park...the park is in the volcano!  Think about it, then try to sleep at night!  I couldn't!

Want a sneak preview of this great mystery? Click HERE or on the image to view the first three chapters.

It's No Mystery!

People always ask me, "Why did you pick that place to write about?" so in the next six blogs I will tell you the "why" behind the six new Carole Marsh Mysteries coming out right away, so order...and ask me to autograph them, if you like!

Want a sneak preview of this great mystery? Click HERE or on the image to view the first three chapters.

The Mystery at Fort Sumter

The 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War is in 2011, so I wanted to get a head start on helping kids understand the Ground Zero of "The First Shot Fired in the Civil War."  Besides, Bob and I love Charleston, South Carolina and all its history!  I love to take a place I know pretty well, but focus in on one aspect, so historic Fort Sumter and the events that set Americans at war with one another is a great back