Category Archives: Carolyn Stearns Storyteller

Countdown to Mystic Girl

Countdown to Mystic Girl – Final Phase

 

Files are uploaded and proof copies ordered. The paperback editions of Mystic Girl will be coming soon. This is the exciting part of publishing a book. It feels as good as the day I write the last sentence in a manuscript! This is just as nerve-wracking as I need the books here to have my launch event, but one must begin planning that event before the book is done. It’s a balancing act that has many pieces and timings to fulfill. Very soon I will be holding the very first copy of Mystic Girl in my hand, I will share that moment on social media!

My book How Far is Safe? was a book from my heart. Mystic Girl is a book from my inspiration. This story is a swirl of my creativity and the many seeds of inspiration that were planted. I can’t wait for you to see it.

 

I will be on the radio at 1400 am with Wayne Norman and Judy Stoughton, Mansfield Children’s Librarian. Wake up or commute with us on March 7 at 7:40 if you are in the eastern CT listening area. We will be talking about the book Mystic Girl and the launch event on March 12. We also will talk about the Feathered Quill Book Award won by my book How Far is Safe?

 

Upcoming is my book launch event or party, to be held Saturday, March 12 at Mansfield Public Library from 2-4. What’s happening then? I will be storytelling a Norse tale from their wild mythology. The mythology plays an integral part in Mystic Girl. I will read a few short selections from the book to whet readers’ appetite for reading it. After that, I will give instructions on how to play the Viking chess-like game Hnefatafl.

 

There will be a make your own Hnefatafl game station. Each family will be able to take home a starter Hnefatafl set. Following the Hnefatafl instructions, there will be an open Hnefatafl tournament. The overall winner will get a free copy of Mystic Girl!

 

Two other things will be available at the launch event. Take your photo with a pair of Valkyrie wings behind you! Gaia (Guy-uh) rides Morgan horses trying to earn her Valkyrie wings. Gaia leans the equine sport of vaulting. Watch video clips of vaulters and this amazing sport of gymnastics on horseback.

 

While tournament play goes on I will be available for book signings. Kids, if you plan to use Mystic Girl for a school project or book report be sure to ask for a photo with the author to include.

Tick, Tick, Tick…. Mystic Girl is coming!

Ancestors at Sea

Did your ancestors work  the sea? What immigrant ship did your ancestors arrive on?  Tell family stories with accuracy to detail, with a visit to a nautical museum or website. Here are some places to begin your voyage of discovery, the family stories from the sea. The whale boat above, is an image from Mystic Seaport,… Continue Reading

Ties to a Shipyard Story

Allen, that is a family name, my Paternal Grandmother was Pauline Allen Marshall. She was from Port Greville, Nova Scotia Canada.  Here she is as a young woman in Rye New Hampshire.   She came to the United States as a young teen to work in the Amoskeag Mills in Manchester, NH. Allen is an… Continue Reading

The Patriot Gave Everything – Focus on Family Stories

Are you aware of the thousands who died for the cause of America, not in battles of our Revolution, but as prisoners of war held by the British under the most horrific of conditions. Their story is mostly forgotten, their lives given to the new nation undervalued by history, unserved by classroom text. The stories of… Continue Reading

Where do Fish Stories Come From?

Where do Fish Stories Come From?

         Where do fish stories come from? How do we find the vehicle to tell a story and make it compelling for the listening experience.  I am a performance storyteller for all ages, my current project is for a curriculum guided school based program. Whose voice should the story represent and what message do I need… Continue Reading

I’m Leaving You

I’m Leaving You

    My close friends won’t be surprised by my declaration of independence. My neighbors won’t hold any grudge although some will miss socializing with “us” as a couple. I will learn to be social without the pain of the long tenuous relationship.    We set out in our relationship so many years ago. We had the… Continue Reading

The Birth of an Audio CD

The Birth of an Audio CD

         How many hours, how many emails, how many years? Yes, years from start of the CD  idea to CD in hand.  In order to make the best CD, I needed to be ready, and so did the material. This is a storytelling CD, but the same could be said for music, you have to… Continue Reading

8 Things to Do When it is Wicked Cold

8 Things to Do When it is Wicked Cold

                                   I don’t know about you but I am ready for spring! It won’t be here for awhile yet in Connecticut and even longer if you live north of this latitude. So I gathered some ideas for things to do when the North wind blows and the snow piles up and the little red line… Continue Reading

2013 National Storytelling Festival

2013 National Storytelling Festival

The National Storytelling Festival       What an adventure it is to attend the National Storytelling Festival! I was invited by my friend Norah Dooley www.norahdooley.com who would be telling in the Exchange Place. I have wanted to go to the festival for a long time and 2013 with Norah’s invite, I finally made it there. We’ve travelled… Continue Reading

Why I Tried Out for America’s Got Talent

Why I Tried Out for America’s Got Talent

  “You went to New York City for the America’s Got Talent T.V. Show auditions …….Really? Why, How ? What was it like? Tell me more!” I’ve heard that a lot in the last week! Imagine this scenario:“Hello CBS Broadcasting how much is a 2 minute commercial?                                        A few questions, of course, yes, Prime Time,… Continue Reading

I Was Absent, But I Produced…

I Was Absent, But I Produced…

       I was absent from my blog.Was there homework? Is there a new assignment?  I took a hiatus from writing and posting, chasing articles and images, I just took a break.  I believe in the power of my blog to reach people and to get information I feel relevant, collected and redistributed. A little bit… Continue Reading

Wed. Word Wisdom – Hand

Wednesday Word Wisdom with Carolyn Stearns StorytellerHand; it’s not what you think it is really so much more. As an equine reference point it is a fun word to define. Hand:   a unit of length measurement equalling four inches, used for measuring the height of horses, usually from the front hoof to the withers… Continue Reading

Simple Pleasures – Christmas Spirits

Simple Pleasures – Christmas Spirits

A few years ago this story fell in my lap. I was hunting for something to share over the holidays and piece by piece this came to me. It was as if the story had been waiting to be found and  left a trail of clues for me to follow. “Christmas Spirits” is historical fiction.… Continue Reading

Teach Storytelling to Middle School Students- YES!

Teach Storytelling to Middle School Students- YES!

Saying yes to teaching a spring vacation storytelling class was a “no brainer”, as the kids say. I love helping kids discover their voice and the power of story….. Day One  Four rotations will come to me over the course of the day. Each group will have a high school aged guide. They will stay… Continue Reading

Pinterst How To

Pinterst How To

“> = Use Pinterest  to promote an event, a venue, a hobby, a profession, a place or the eclectic you! Like having all the school bulletin boards to yourself! Scrapbooking online, collect and pin up what you like!There  is no limit to the fun things you can share and find via Pinterst. Technology can be… Continue Reading

laughter is the best medicine

laughter is the best medicine

 I thought we could use a dose of good medicine today Out of body experience? “and a little round belly that shook when he laughed like a bowl full of jelly”                                                              Adjust Your Privacy Settings…….? Tractor with Catalytic Converter FEEL BETTER? I’m a storyteller, I like words to describe things, but I also love… Continue Reading

School Day  and Story Night

School Day and Story Night

A great school day looks like this:                                                                                     For a storyteller a great school day is getting to share stories with eager listeners. Recently I was  fortunate to share my day with the students and staff at my neighborhood school, Annie Vinton Elementary School in Mansfield, CT.   http://www.mansfieldct.gov/content/11140/default.aspx         Pre-K through 4th grade came… Continue Reading

Mike Lockett :Tales and Fables East Meets West

Mike Lockett :Tales and Fables East Meets West

  Another incredible collection of stories from Mike Lockett. Plenty  of time to down load this from CD Baby ( www.cdbaby.com ) for a gift for the holidays or for the long car ride over the river and through the woods. Dr. Mike Lockett of Normal, Illinois is the Normal Storyteller Find info on where to see him… Continue Reading

making a commercial break

making a commercial break

I’m having fun making my own commercials. I use my Flip camera for video and a regular digital camera for still shots. Looking for something fun and catchy and connecting it into one of my projects is the quest. Going viral is the dream! I don’t have viral quality material yet, I think it will be like… Continue Reading

Keith Munslow NO Token NO Milk

Keith Munslow NO Token NO Milk

It was a perfect summer day,sunshine, blue sky, breeze and  a Library Summer Reading Program  sponsored by Richmond Library and held in Marlborough Senior Center, Marlborough Connecticut.Just down the road a little way is the turn we have taken so many times for the 4-H Horse camp at Marlborough, I know the way like I was… Continue Reading

Whale of a Tail, or is it Tale?

Whale of a Tail, or is it Tale?

The Whale Tail Fountain in New London, CT. New London was first a colonial port city with the river and harbor deep and safe from storms. The fishing in the area was abundant and the forest provided wood for an early shipbuilding  business. Later in New London history came the whaling industry the  third largest fleet… Continue Reading

Robin’s Alive –  Game & Story from Ages Past

Robin’s Alive – Game & Story from Ages Past

Game and a Story to Share Children’s Games Played in Streets, School Yards and Camps for Centuries, often were related to events and stories of our history and peoples. Here is  an adaptation to Robin’s Alive to be played by a group of children or youth. There is also a story to correspond with the… Continue Reading

Barn Guests – The Barn Swallows

Barn Guests – The Barn Swallows

Carolyn Stearns Storyteller hosts some Barn Guests,  The Barn Swallows The Barn Swallows arrive each spring, they come with the warm breeze and the first bugs.  Swallows are voracious bug eaters sweeping over the pastures for the  unlucky flies and mosquitoes. For this reason they were a welcome guest the first year they arrived. We… Continue Reading

The Connecticut Charter Oak

The Connecticut Charter Oak

The Connecticut Charter Oak, what a story! Spring rain on the leaves of a young descendant of the CT. Charter Oak It is Memorial Day weekend and I am reminded  that we are celebrating freedoms earned my many Connecticut citizens. I am in awe of the strength, ingenuity, wit and talents of the Connecticut people.… Continue Reading

New Images

New Images

I was privileged to attend and share the day yesterday with a program called New Images under the direction of EastConn Educational Services.The youth attending  were all from a middle school seventh and eighth grade. They had gone on field trips produced digital photography, developed  photoshop edits which included adding their own Haiku poetry to… Continue Reading