I was born in Lewistown, a small town in central Pennsylvania.

(Carolyn in middle school before braces)

I was an only child.

What? An only child? I'll bet you were a spoiled brat!
I was NOT a spoiled brat. My parents wouldn't have put up with that. Actually I was very nice. Smart, too.

Definitely stuck on yourself.
Not really. Just shy. Definitely shy.

Come on, get on to the good stuff.
Well, I loved to read. And I loved to write, especially stories. I started to write my first novel when I was 8 years old, HUMPY THE CATERPILLAR AND GLADYS THE SNAIL: A TRUE LIFE ROMANCE. (But I finished only 3 chapters.)Then I met up with Miss Frankenberry the Grammar Dragon, who happened to be teaching English at my school. She was fierce about grammar, ferocious about spelling, fiendish about punctuation.

(Mifflin County Jail, Lewistown, Pa.)

Glad to get rid of HER, weren't you?
Yes, but she did make us get it right. And then I found that college was full of teachers like Miss Frankenberry. After graduation from Bucknell University in 1957, I headed to New York to seek my fortune. Instead I got married, had children, and moved to the suburbs. That's when I really started to write--and discovered that editors are an awful lot like Miss Frankenberry.

What was your first published book?
A sewing book for little girls (because I had 3 little boys, none interested in sewing) called MISS PATCH'S LEARN-TO-SEW BOOK. Years passed. I kept writing. The total is now more than 50 books.

Where do you live?
In a cozy little Victorian house in the middle of Albuquerque, New Mexico--somewhere in the lower lefthand corner of this picture.

(Albuquerque, NM)
 

Where do you get your ideas?
From things I've read, places I've visited, people I've met. Ideas are everywhere--the trick is to recognize them when I see them. 

Were you good at sports?
I was a terrible athlete--couldn't pitch, hit, or catch a ball. Somewhere I got the idea that I couldn't graduate from high school unless I could stand on my head. That turned out to be a myth; I managed to graduate at the head of my class. Then in college I had to take physical education and ruined my beautiful grade-point average. Since then I've tried skiing, ice skating, horseback riding, and yoga. All disasters. Now I walk 2-1/2 miles every day and go to the gym 3 times a week; sometimes I even work out while I'm there.

Pets?
No. I want somebody to clean up after me.

Husband? Kids?
Husband: E. A. "Tony" Mares, retired college professor, historian, poet, essayist. Three sons: Alan (married to Amanda; children Erin and Joe), John (married to Cindy; daughter, Sophie), and Chris (one large dog). Tony's daughters, Vered and Maria, plus their husbands (Chris and Dave) and children (Lianna, Danielle, Shannon), his son Ernesto, and too many animals to count.

Seems as though you like to travel.
I do. I've traveled lots of places: Alaska, South America, South Africa, Japan, all over Europe, and Bahrain, an island in the Persian Gulf.

You must be ancient. How old are you, anyway?
I was born June 8, 1935.

Why don't  you dye your hair?

Enough questions! And remember, if you need help with a report, pay a visit to Miss Frankenberry and to The Writer's Workshop, which should be up and running soon.

So where can I write to you?
Right here: meyerwrite@comcast.net.

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