About carol
Every writer is first a reader. For me, that means some of my earliest memories involve books. I learned to love reading by example and by encouragement. At first, they were the books others were reading—my dad’s avid reading of Zane Grey on his long bus commute to work when I was early elementary age, my grandparents reading every morning and then every evening before bed. And then there were my own books and reading. My stepmom of my elementary years, Denna, sent me large boxes of Scholastic books from her classroom book orders, building my personal library. (As an adult, she continues this with bookstore gift cards each birthday—the woman has personally underwritten the purchase of dozens and dozens of books!).
Thelma, Grady and Homer Blankenship (grandparents and dad)
I believe the love of reading is one of the greatest gifts given to a child. With this gift you’re encouraging their imagination; affirming curiosity, learning, and discovery; you're providing a lifelong tool for all ages, stages, and journeys they'll encounter in their lifetime. Reading is the friend that is always there, and I believe it has been my lifeline during various challenging times and my great joy all the time.
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Three vivid and comforting memories of my childhood involve reading. My fifth-grade teacher, Mr. Watson, let me stay in from recess to read. In the winter months in Colorado, this was a treat. For me, it was a treat in any season and in my young mind confirmed the importance of reading by someone I revered. This same teacher bought me The Hobbit from the book fair. He may have known I couldn’t buy it on my own, or he may have simply been encouraging this curious student to read beyond what her small elementary school had to offer by introducing her to J.R.R. Tolkien and a magical world. Whatever the motivation, the outcome was a strong affirmation of reading and an encouragement to stretch my reading skills and to free my imagination. My third memory is of sitting at the counter in my dad’s simple cabin working my way through student workbooks while Denna prepared meals. As a teacher, she had access to surplus workbooks and, knowing my thirst to read and learn, she always saved some for me and I poured over them during summer break.
Denna and Carol, about 7 years old, the age of the workbooks at the cabin.
I look back now and see the importance of these strong memories and the indicators of a lifelong learner and reader. I’m grateful to those who encouraged and enabled my reading and to the authors of many beloved children’s books that kept me reading. I remember my elementary school librarian telling me she thought I’d read every book in the library. That may have been a slight exaggeration, but I’m pretty sure I read every Beverly Cleary book they had! Regardless, her proclamation gave me a sense of pride for my reading.
Carol and Ms. DeRubes. Roy W. Martin Jr. High, Las Vegas, awards night. I received Ms. DeRubes' Language Arts award. I still have the Roget's College Thesaurus she gave me with an inscription to use it 'skillfully and religiously.'
It wasn’t until my adult years that I finally sat down to release and capture the stories in my head and record them. It’s been a surprise and joy to discover how much I enjoy creating characters and stories. I have several completed manuscripts that may never have readers other than me, but creating them, sitting down and working through the fun of conversations, relationships, and storylines has been a learning experience in addition to the surprising pleasure of writing.
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I encourage anyone who has a creative hunger to write to make the effort to simply sit down and start writing. I repeat what so many other writers and creators have said and will continue to reiterate forever—just get started. Try it. Give yourself freedom to release what’s inside without editing, without knowing where it’s going. You don’t have to know the end or even the middle to get started at the beginning.
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And that is how I’ve come to start writing. I finally sat down and wrote a book entitled Gift of GAB. It was an outpouring of my joy in being a mom, though the story is narrated by an eleven-year-old boy! It was a surprise to me how enjoyable I found writing and the creative process. From there I moved on to young adult, another children’s story, and contemporary fiction. There have been gaps in my writing when I allowed life to take over, but I’ve found my way back to my passion. I hope you find pleasure, discovery and, quite possibly, insight for life in these creations.
