Carole Marsh Blog

DO..DOOT DO DA DOOT...DO DOOT DO DA DOOT...

That's the sound of reveille, if you couldn't figure it out! In Gallopade's notorious/illustrious New Product Development department we have embarked on a serious mission:  the production of a Civil War series, and it ain't yo' granny's Civil War books!  We have an entire team in place, though no one seems to be here today except me (maybe that's why I make the big bucks?)  You'll  hear more as we go along but I am excited about telling about "Tha Wah" in a dramatic, engaging, maybe even a little funky new way that will get readers from 4th to 8th grade to be fascinated and flabbergasted.  Many books paint the Civil War as America's "glory days"...and as we well know, war is not glorious!  So I hope there are many worthy messages to share, an unbiased look at all things Civil War, many incredible characters to meet, and so much more.  Ok, back to my new command post!

Good News at Gallopade!

Like other businesses, ours is suffering the ups and downs of the economy. It makes us sad to get letters from teachers who say they spend their own money for light bulbs and toilet paper...it makes us happy to get letters from kids who say they hated to read and now LOVE to read.  Good things at Gallopade are a sales rep planning for a summer wedding... eating lots of Girl Scout cookies...anytime we get to hire a

It is almost Census time!!!

National Census Day is less then a month away. So, as your 2010 Census forms arrives in the mail, take time to tell your kids the importance of the census. Gallopade has a handy tool that makes learning about the census fun too! CLICK HERE to see these terrific Census Kits. Also, take a tour of the Census Bureau's website, your kids will enjoy it too!

From My Heart to Yours... (part 2)

I went to a cardiologist after my regular doc said I was healthy and fine; nothing else to do or check.  I did not feel good about this, so had my heart checked.  Had a 20% blockage in one artery and slight calcification in a neck artery.  Got put on statins; added the baby aspirins; inspired

From My Heart to Yours... (part 1)

Went to a great heart health presentation by local hospital recently. I am surprised how competitive the hospitals and doctors are, which I think  works to our advantage?  This hospital is even competitive with its Big Brother downtown Atlanta.  They have great new equipment, such as the Da Vinci machine, and great docs, and all the latest everything;

Like a Virgin!

Ok, we really did go to the U.S. Virgin Islands!  This was the last, alas, of our Christmas Tree trips.  (If you don't know about them, well, more some other time!)  I can tell you DO NOT GO TO THE VI!!!!!!  Why?  Cause you ain't gonna wanna come back...not in this lifetime, or at least while it's still wintertime! 

Legendary Birthday...

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!! Read a great book tonight, in his honor!

The Tides of March

I know...it's supposed to be the Ides of March, but Bob and I are headed to the Virgin Islands for the weekend, so...pix and a report when I return; never been there but once wanted to live there; had a friend who did live there during her high school years.  Had our high schooler turn us down for a move because he did not want to leave his friends...can't blame him, he still has them.  In fact, if we had moved, we would have gotten there just in time for one of their worst hurricanes.  So a weekend sounds just about right, especially at the end of what has been a really cold winter in the South.  More when I get back...iiiiiffffff we come back?

March is National Woman's Month!

So "woman up" and buy some great bios on great women and give them to some girls!  Hint:  Gallopade has some! Every woman has a story and the best story for girls to read is how women, who seem so successful now, actually always overcame obstacles, often seemingly impossible ones, to achieve their current status.  What an important message for ALL girls to get.  Don't stop with the oldie goldie women, add some younger and current event women who are changing the world.  As Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Being a woman, what more can one want to be." Hear, hear!

Make My Day!

Man, some great letters from kids make my day:  from an autistic boy who wrote in his own hand with enthusiasm and love...a repeat correspondence from a young man with no hands who loves my books and says, "Having no hands does not stop me from doing anything!"  I believe him.  And then there was the one from one of my fans who read the Mystery in the Amazon Forest, went to Puerto Rico, was attacked by a wild mongoose (in the Amazon), and had to go to two hospitals to get rabies shots!  The truth really is stranger than fiction!  By the way, that boy was age six!  I think they all deserve to be one of my book characters one day, because they are already real characters!

Calling All Writers!

 Hello again!  It's Paige!  I wanted to announce that I have begun preparations for the writing workshop Carole is conducting here at the Gallopade offices on March 15th!  If you live within driving distance, we want YOU to join us!  The workshop is called "How to Write a Marketable Book in Six Days, Six Weeks, or Six Months – YOU CAN!"  This could be the key you've been looking for to transform

As promised...

If you always have your head in the stars, as I do, alas, add www.calculatorcat.com/moon_phases/phasenow.php to your bookmarked sites.  On Feb. 22 when writing this, the moon is
Waxing Gibbous, 61% of full...right there on my computer screen...

Mesa Verde is an incredible historic site near Four Corners (Colorado); each December they fill the vast array of ruin rooms

Coming soon...

gibbous moon, mesa verde luminarias, leprosy, and more...have to unpack first, and the notes that fall from my suitcase are always such a peculiar combo of things I saw, read, etc. and want to share...

Ft. Sumter Visit!!

Hello from Paige, Carole's trusty right hand gal! I am back this morning from a long, beautiful weekend in the historic city of Charleston, SC - site of Ft. Sumter, the Battery, sweetgrass baskets and the setting of the newest Carole Marsh mystery, The Mystery at Fort Sumter! Having grown up in SC, I have made many trips

More From Colorado!

Right now, I'm sitting in something that looks like a treehouse, with glass all around, so that I can watch the impossibly tall evergreens fill up with the falling snow.  Last night, with my contact lenses out, the big blobs of snow on limbs low to high on the trees (and I was looking from their tops down) looked like a gigantic snow lava lamp!  We snowmobiled to the top of the San Juans yesterday where we saw extreme skiing (death-defying, and death is not always