Carole Marie’s Author Updates

Is There More Than One Hawaii? | Planetary Astronomy | Travel | Writing Research

~ Carole Marie ~ Leave a comment

When purchasing an airline ticket, have you ever made the mistake of choosing a city of the same name in a different state? Such as choosing Portland, Maine rather than Portland, Oregon? They are on completely opposite sides of the country, so it’s a blunder you would deeply regret.

But what if your mistake landed you in outer space? If space travel ever becomes readily available, we’ll have to ensure we don’t make that same mistake with Hawaii.

There is, of course, the lush big island of Hawaii that we know and love. Then there is the minor planet named after Hawaii, which is similar to a big rock — definitely not a tropical paradise. (Its formal name is ‘48575 Hawaii’.)

A minor planet is an astronomical object that orbits the sun. It is larger than a meteorite but smaller than the eight major planets. Minor planets include asteroids, dwarf planets, and distant objects. As minor planet discoveries are confirmed, they receive a number from the Minor Planet Center, and the discoverer can submit a planet name. If you’d like to see a list of all the minor planets named after places, click here.

And as you’re planning your space travel itinerary, here’s a list of minor planets named for various places in the state of Hawaii, including volcanoes:

  • 48575 Hawaii (Big Island of Hawaii)
  • 284891 Kona (Kona District, Hawaii)
  • 342431 Hilo (Hilo, Hawaii)
  • 34901 Mauna Loa (a volcano that forms the largest part of the Big Island of Hawaii)
  • 171183 Haleakala (a volcano on the island of Maui)
  • 188534 Mauna Kea (a volcano on the island of Hawaii)

I stumbled upon these minor planets during my writing research, which prompted a story that I’m currently refining and polishing to submit for traditional publication as a picture book.

In this story the main character, Kai, lives in Hawaii, and the wrong package is delivered to his home. Kai attempts to return it to the galactic delivery driver, but the contents are quite slippery (and there are so many snapping teeth!). After numerous mishaps, they end up in outer space, attempting to get the dangerous package (pssst… it’s a shark) delivered to its intended destination on the minor planet, Hawaii. But there’s no water there. In the end, they discover a solution, one with an ocean of water and the ability to track that slippery shark!

While I enjoy visiting the Hawaiian islands, I have no desire to visit a minor planet that lacks oxygen and pineapples. So, unfortunately, the minor planet of Hawaii is not on my travel itinerary. (But if you ever trek your way there, please take lots of pictures and share them with me.)

2022 Book of the Decade Semifinalist | Cosmic Chaos | Author Update from Carole Marie

~ Carole Marie ~ 2 Comments

I’m excited to announce that my middle-grade novel, Cosmic Chaos, is a ‘Book of the Decade’ semifinalist!
The semifinalists are moving into the next round of judging, and the finalists will be announced by Serious Writers in August. Congratulations to all the semifinalists!

Finalists will be announced on August 5, 2022, and winners will be announced in early September. Grand prize winners receive an incredible awards dinner, a beautiful statue, and an Orlando experience.

Are you looking for a space adventure for your kid’s summer vacation? Cosmic Chaos is excellent for older elementary and middle school readers!

Twelve-year-old Logan lives inside the Luna Biodome on the moon. Not only is the moon dust making him sick, but it also sets him apart from the other kids. While Logan is inside his new robot’s interactive program, his illness disappears, and mysteries occur that he can’t explain.
Logan meets an annoying yet undeletable program character named Amy. Their misadventures awaken him to a glitch—a secret that could return him to Earth to track down his missing mother. But only if Amy will cooperate before the moon’s lockdown and before the robot destroys him.

To learn more about Cosmic Chaos, click here.

The Wild Mustangs of Devil’s Garden | Writing Update from Carole Marie

~ Carole Marie ~ 8 Comments

Federally-protected mustangs run free in Modoc National Forest in California. They’re in a place called Devil’s Garden. The U.S. Forest Service has been rounding up about a thousand of these wild horses for their removal and subsequent adoption (to free up grazing land for livestock). 

In Devil’s Garden, Avanzino Ranch is being used as a gather site to hold the mustangs until they can be picked up by their new owners. This endeavor has been going on for a few years. I’m just now discovering the mustang adoption project, as I have recently begun planning a road trip to Devil’s Garden, my old stomping grounds.

I’ve been outlining a story that will encompass the time my family lived in this remote area. It was 1979, I was seven years old, and we had moved north from Stockton (aka the ‘armpit of California’) to Devil’s Garden. We were there for about six months, enduring severe snow storms, wild animal encounters and washed out roads.  At Avanzino Ranch, we lived in a tiny cinder block house that had no electricity or plumbing. We quickly learned how to build and keep a fire burning to stay warm, pump water from outside to bring in, and cook over a fire.  The closest neighbor lived seven miles away and they spoke very little English.

Herald and News article about the Shelton family

A portion of our story was featured in the local paper, the Herald and News in March, 1980. We were having difficulty getting to school every day due to the bad roads and lack of gas funds. The school district was unhappy about our sparse school attendance and threatened to have us three kids removed from the home. Shortly after this article was published, we moved closer to town.

Devil’s Garden is in the heart of the Plateau of the Modoc National Forest. It is located 22 miles from the nearest town, Alturas, and takes an hour to get there (best driven using a 4×4 vehicle). If you look on a map, that’s the upper eastern corner of Cali, near the borders of Oregon and Nevada. When the first European settlers traveled to this region in the 1800s, they named it ‘Devil’s Garden’ because the terrain was all so similar it was easy to get lost. Many hunters would go out into the half a million acres of juniper trees, sagebrush and lava rock, and never find their way back home.

Some of the animals inhabiting the area are elk, pronghorn antelope, sage grouse, turkeys, coyotes, bobcats, deer, and wild horses. 

As I work on writing my story about our time living in Devil’s Garden, I’m also making plans to return to the little ranch house when the roads are dry. My kids say they are ready for a road trip!  I’d like to see anew all the places that are fuzzy in my memory. And maybe we’ll see a few wild mustangs while we’re there. 

Contract Signed for Debut Picture Book | Sasquatch Loves Bacon Day | Writing Update from Carole Marie

~ Carole Marie ~ 8 Comments

On August 3rd, 2020, I joyfully signed a publishing contract with Clear Fork Publishing for my picture book manuscript, “Sasquatch Loves Bacon Day!”.

‘Sasquatch cooks up tasty dishes on National Bacon Day at his little friend’s cabin. The frying pan gets HOT while the bacon snaps and sizzles. But when the bacon burns, causing Sasquatch to panic, will it ruin their special day or will they still find a way to make the flavors sing? ‘

Sasquatch leaves the safety of his mountain cave to teach his little friend how acts of service can be expressions of love. And of course, it encourages the celebration of National Bacon Day on December 30th. (Bring on the tasty bacon recipes!)

My four children and I are bacon lovers living in the Pacific Northwest where we’re always on the lookout for Sasquatch on our hiking adventures. So why not combine bacon and Sasquatch into a sweet story about friendship?

Last spring I took a five-week picture book course through Children’s Book Academy. Wow, what a jam-packed course of valuable information about the children’s book industry! At the end of the course, each student had the exciting opportunity to pitch their picture book to twelve agents and publishing house editors. If chosen, a ‘Golden Ticket’ would be given to bypass the slush pile and submit directly to the agent or editor.

I was one of the fortunate ones to receive a Golden Ticket! I nervously sent in my manuscript and expected to wait four to six months before receiving a response, as that’s the usual waiting time, sometimes longer.

I was surprised, delighted and JOY-FILLED when in just a few days I received an email from the editor at Clear Fork Publishing offering me a contract. Thank you Callie Metler-Smith and Mira Reisberg for this beautiful opportunity. My heart is bursting with gratitude.

Sasquatch Loves Bacon Day is scheduled to hit shelves in 2023. I’ll keep you posted – I’m excited to share the bacon-love with you all!

Princess Trilogy – Clash of Crowns | Writing Update from Carole Marie

~ Carole Marie ~ 2 Comments

As much as I loved reading princess stories when I was young, I found it frustrating whenever the answer to all the lady’s problems was to marry a prince. And while finding the love of a good-hearted man is appealing (and wonderful if you find him), it shouldn’t be the ultimate and final goal for young ladies, nor should they expect marriage to resolve all of their problems. Right?

I decided to write a different type of princess story, one where the heroine discovers the importance of character growth and the beauty of selflessness and kindness.

In 2005, while pregnant with my first son, I began writing a picture book manuscript titled, Perdita the Prodigal Princess. After reading the story, my critique group asked me to expand on it as they felt there was potential for it to be longer and more fully developed.  I had no intention of writing anything other than a picture book, but heeded their advice and began efforts toward a chapter book. 

After presenting this ‘chapter book’ revision to my critique group, they strongly recommended I go deeper with the story and characters.

Okay, I admit, I was miffed. That’s not what I wanted to hear from them. But I decided I’d give it a shot to write a middle grade novel, and go deeper with character development and subplots.  The more I wrote, the more I realized how much I love writing for middle grade. 

Two-thirds into writing this princess novel, I needed a break and focused on other writing projects.

In 2019, I pulled out my ‘princess’ manuscript from years ago with the intention of completing it. Finally. However, after looking at the word count, I realized it is WAY too long for a middle grade novel and it’s not even finished yet!  That’s when it occurred to me that I could split it into three books to create a trilogy.

I went through the manuscript and carved it into three sections, then created a new ending for book one. It’s now in the process of getting critiqued while I work on polishing and revising book two.  Woot!! 

Tentative titles for the Clash of Crowns Series:

  • Amethyst Ball (book one)
  • Ring of Promise (book two)
  • Crowning Moment (book three)

My goal is to have the manuscript for book three completed and polished by the end of 2021. I’ll keep you posted on my progress!