February 14, 2025 • 20 mins
Exploring Artistic Journeys: Carolee Owen
In this episode of the Open Forum in The Villages, Florida podcast, host Mike Roth delves into the rich artistic journey of Carolee Owen. Starting with her early days in Baltimore, where her drawing talent set her apart, Carolee shares her evolution from an illustrator to a writer. She discusses her first published book, 'Murder in the Haunted House,' and its unique aspect as an in-home play, along with her two children's books. Carolee reflects on joining the Writers for Kids group, which significantly honed her writing skills. She also talks about her passion for creating illustrations for her own and others' books, her experiences in writing and conducting improvised murder mystery plays, and her new project, 'Sock's Summer Vacation.' The conversation reveals Carolee’s creative process, her advice for writers, and her diverse hobbies. The episode wraps up with insights on the impact of social media on children's behavior and Carolee’s future writing aspirations.
00:00 Introduction to the Open Forum Podcast
00:28 Support the Podcast
01:31 Meet Carolee Owen: Author and Illustrator
02:15 Carolee's Journey and Inspirations
07:16 Carolee's Plays and Performances
11:22 Carolee's Hobbies and Ancestry
14:54 Writing Advice and Future Projects
20:14 Conclusion and Listener Engagement
Open Forum in The Villages, Florida is Produced & Directed by Mike Roth
A new episode will be released most Fridays at 9 AM
Direct all questions and comments to mike@rothvoice.com
If you know a Villager who should appear on the show, please contact us at: mike@rothvoice.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Donna (00:08):
Welcome to the Open Forum in The Villages, Florida
podcast.
In this show, we talk to leadersin the community, leaders of
clubs and interesting folks wholive here in The Villages to get
perspectives of what ishappening here in The Villages,
Florida.
We are a listener supportedpodcast.
There will be shout outs forsupporters in episodes.
Mike Roth (00:26):
This is Mike Roth.
Thanks for listening.
And listeners, I'm thrilled toshare with you this podcast,
which is my passion project foryou.
This podcast brings youknowledge, inspiration, and a
lot of things that people needto know about the villages and
the people living here.
Be sure to hit the follow buttonto get the newest episode each
(00:49):
week.
Creating this podcast is a laborof love.
Even though it demands moretime, I can easily spare.
Now, here's where you come in.
You can help us keep the podcastalive and thriving.
How?
By becoming a supporter.
Mike Roth (2) (01:06):
And click on the supporter button at the top of
the page or the purple supporterbox.
Even a small donation of threeto ten dollars a month makes a
big difference and you cancancel your subscription at any
time.
Your support means the world tous.
Stay curious, stay inspired, andkeep those headphones on.
(01:28):
This is Mike Roth on Open Forumin The Villages, Florida.
I'm here today with CaroleeOwen.
Thanks for joining me, Carolee.
Carolee Owen (01:36):
Thanks for having me.
Mike Roth (01:38):
Carolee grew up in Baltimore.
And first showed a talent fordrawing.
Only much later in her life didshe begin writing.
Her first published book, Murderin the Haunted House Is not only
a story, but useful as an inhome play.
We'll have to talk more of that,about that Carolee.
(01:59):
And Carolee has two children'sbooks.
Mike Roth AI 9-11-24 (02:03):
Her Next book is tentatively called
Mike Roth (02:06):
Sock's Summer Vacation.
She's an illustrator as well.
Have you illustrated the coversof your book as well?
Carolee Owen (02:12):
Some of them.
Mike Roth (02:13):
Okay, that's great.
Tell us about where you grew upin Baltimore and what talents
were nurtured there.
Carolee Owen (02:21):
Originally in elementary school A lot of my
drawings seem to be a littlebetter than the rest of the
children.
And I would do, as growing up, Iwould do a lot of things for the
other kids.
I would make paper dolls forthem to play with.
And they'd always come up to theporch and I'd draw things.
It was in maybe junior high thatI first put together A comic
(02:45):
book, actually, of worms.
Mike Roth (02:48):
Let me see if I got that straight.
Your first writing was a comicbook about worms.
Carolee Owen (02:54):
That's right.
Mike Roth (02:54):
Okay, and where did it go from there?
Carolee Owen (02:57):
It didn't happen quickly Too much as far as
writing, but the artwork did.
I carried it into my job bydoing flyers and other things
that you need in the course ofoffice work.
Banners and posters anddifferent things.
Mike Roth (03:14):
So you grew up and lived in Baltimore?
Yes.
When did you move here to TheVillages?
Carolee Owen (03:19):
Oh, about 13 years ago.
Oh.
12 years ago
Mike Roth (03:23):
You came here directly from Baltimore?
Carolee Owen (03:25):
No, we I got married and got married late at
31 and was married 50 yearsbefore my husband died last
year.
And during that time we, wemoved around because he worked
for Westinghouse and we wentfrom place to place.
I've lived in Florida before inthe 70s for a while.
And I just recently moved backto Florida about 30, 35 years
(03:48):
ago.
But I didn't move here untilretirement.
Okay.
Or my retirement.
Mike Roth (03:53):
Good.
And what helped you most in yourwriting?
Carolee Owen (03:57):
What has helped me most when I moved here to The
Villages I'd say a year later Ifound Mark Newhouse's group,
which was Writers for Kids, andI joined that group and found it
very helpful in my writing.
Most of what I'd start to writeIt would go to the people in
(04:20):
that class and they would makecomments on what they thought
was good and what could bebetter.
And it, invariably, how Istarted out my story, it would
turn around and be somethingtotally different starting out.
In a way I feel like I've justmellowed and Developed into a
different kind of writer, abetter writer, I think.
Mike Roth (04:42):
Mark's been on our show a couple of times.
And what contributed to youbeing an illustrator of your own
books?
Carolee Owen (04:49):
Being in that class, because as people would
read their different stories, Orchapters.
I would have pictures in myhead, and I would doodle them.
And the first time, one, onegirl was sitting next to me, and
she saw me draw a mermaid fromher book.
She was talking about a mermaid.
(05:11):
And she liked the drawing.
She said, I've had a lot ofpeople draw mermaids, but I
liked yours best, that was thefirst book that I did, and now I
have maybe almost a dozen thathave followed that.
Mike Roth (05:26):
Do you charge people to be an illustrator?
Carolee Owen (05:29):
Of course.
Mike Roth (05:29):
I don't know.
Carolee Owen (05:32):
It's not much.
It's not much?
It's nothing to live on, butit's something.
Mike Roth (05:36):
It's good to know we have an illustrator here in The
Villages.
Carolee Owen (05:39):
Oh, there's many of them.
Mike Roth (05:41):
I was just talking to another author who told me she
had her book illustrated bysomeone in Pakistan.
Carolee Owen (05:48):
Oh my goodness.
Mike Roth (05:49):
And she said it was very cheap.
I said look at the results.
Carolee Owen (05:52):
Now I understand they even have programs that'll
do your illustrations for you.
Mike Roth (05:57):
Oh yes, AIs will do your illustrations.
Carolee Owen (06:00):
I've noticed that most illustrators have their own
style.
And I think for someone lookingfor an illustrator, I always
tell them, I'll give you asample of my work and see if it
fits.
What you have in mind for yourbook.
Some people don't even havepictures in their mind when
they're writing.
Mike Roth (06:19):
So do you, do you use color illustrations or are they
pure?
Carolee Owen (06:23):
Some, if they Need color.
It's more expensive to makecolor.
Mike Roth (06:27):
Yeah.
Black and white that works wellwhen you're self publishing on
Amazon, they charge a lot morewhen you're going to work in
color.
Carolee Owen (06:35):
Or if you have a chapter book and not a
children's picture book youwould use black and white
children's picture book mightuse color.
Mike Roth (06:42):
What do you think is your best book?
Carolee Owen (06:44):
My best book my husband always liked A Wish for
Algae, which is a children'sbook about a fish who has
everything, but it's not enoughfor him.
And he wants to be a bird,because he thinks that's
fascinating.
But when he becomes a bird, hefinds out it's a lot different.
Mike Roth (07:04):
I would have made him a flying fish.
Carolee Owen (07:06):
But anyway, he be friends, a an owl who helps him
solve his problems.
And I won't tell you the end ofthe story.
Mike Roth (07:14):
Okay.
How many books have you writtenin total?
Carolee Owen (07:16):
If you count the plays that I've written, and
that's the murder mystery playsthat I originally said was
Murder in the Haunted House.
Mike Roth (07:24):
How many plays are there?
Carolee Owen (07:25):
I've played four, I've made four.
Four plays.
That I've played either in myhouse or in Country Club,
Atmosphere.
Mike Roth (07:33):
How many actors do you put into a play?
Carolee Owen (07:35):
As many that come.
If I have it in my house, if Ihave 24 people, I have 24
characters.
Mike Roth (07:42):
Different parts?
Different parts.
So 24 scripts?
Carolee Owen (07:44):
Absolutely.
Mike Roth (2) (07:46):
Okay.
And it's word for word?
Carolee Owen (07:48):
No, it's I give them what their character is
like.
Anything specific, if they'repart of the murder mystery
itself.
Things that they have to do orsay.
But they are.
Allowed to ad lib and dowhatever they need to do to in
The space of their character,It's an improvised play
Mike Roth (08:08):
All right has it ever been have any of the.Plays that
are improvised been produced andShown to larger order larger
audiences.
Carolee Owen (08:17):
No just The audiences that I have in the
country club atmosphere
Mike Roth (08:22):
And how many people are there at the country clubs?
Carolee Owen (08:24):
Oh, maybe a hundred.
But not all of them arecharacters.
Only in my home.
Mike Roth (08:29):
And in the country club, how many characters did
you have?
Carolee Owen (08:31):
It would be Oh, close to twenty maybe.
Mike Roth (08:35):
Twenty?
And how many different plays arethere?
Carolee Owen (08:37):
Four.
Mike Roth (2) (08:38):
Four different plays?
Carolee Owen (08:39):
Yeah.
I even have one that's The Runfor the Roses, and each, or not
each person, but a number ofpeople who come to the party
they get to be the owners of oneof the horses that's actually
running in the in the Run forthe Roses.
Mike Roth (08:56):
Run for the Roses, okay.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Dean Corbett put on a play, animprovised play like that, and
in every performance.
There was a differentperpetrator of the murder.
Carolee Owen (09:07):
You could do that.
Mike Roth (09:08):
And the thing that really made his play unique is
he had Wayne Richards playingthe part of the detective.
And Wayne can break out intosong and improvise a song that
fits into the play.
It was wonderful.
It was wonderful.
Carolee, are you working onanything new now?
Carolee Owen (09:29):
Yeah, several things.
Besides illustrations, which Ijust finished one of Mark's
books, as a matter of fact.
And I have two more books thatI'm going to illustrate coming
up.
But I've been working on severalBooks, one of them is a murder
mystery, one of the ones that Ihad made as a play.
I'm going to do the same thingas this Murder in the Haunted
(09:51):
House, where I write the story.
And then at the end, I give allthe things that you need to put
on the play in your house.
Everything that you need to giveout to the people that are going
to come.
Invitations.
And anything else?
Certificates.
You always need a certificate ifsomebody's, guess the right
Mike Roth (10:14):
Great.
We're going to take a shortbreak now and listen to a
Alzheimer's tip from Dr.
Craig Curtis.
This is Mike Roth and Dr.
Craig Curtis.
We're talking about Alzheimer'sdisease.
Let's talk about the omega 3 andomega 6.
How should people get that fromtheir diet?
Dr. Craig Curtis (10:30):
Well, primarily, you should get that
through beans and nuts andlegumes and fish.
You can take a supplement ofomega 3, omega 6s.
However, don't eat them.
Overdue the supplementation ofomega 3 specifically.
There was a large studypublished by the American
College of Cardiology a fewyears back that seemed to show
(10:52):
that people that took too muchomega 3 might have an increased
risk of a heart arrhythmia.
So my recommendation is if youbuy omega 3 supplements, take it
as written.
Warren (11:04):
With over 20 years of experience studying brain
health, Dr.
Curtis's goal is to educate TheVillages community on how to
live a longer, healthier life.
To learn more, Visit hiswebsite, CraigCurtisMD.
com or call 352 500 5252 toattend a free seminar.
Mike Roth (11:20):
Thank you, Dr.
Curtis.
Carolee Off the subject ofwriting for a moment.
What's your favorite pastime orhobby here at The Villages?
Carolee Owen (11:28):
I have many.
Which means?
As far as crafts, I like tocrochet when I'm watching
television.
I like to do ancestry.
I've done that for quite anumber of years.
And of course I go to bingo,play cards.
I play golf when I can.
Mike Roth (11:44):
What's something you discovered about your own
ancestry that surprised you?
Carolee Owen (11:47):
I guess that some of my family came from Denmark.
I didn't realize that.
I thought it was mostly Englishand German.
But I also, the name my maidenname is Russell, and I
understand that's French.
That came from William theConqueror.
They came over to Great Britainat 1066.
Yeah, and there were peoplenamed Rousseau that brought the
(12:10):
name Russell over.
Mike Roth (12:12):
Okay.
Now, if you could have onesuperpower.
What would that be?
Carolee Owen (12:17):
I'd like to have a magic wand like Harry Potter and
be able to zap things.
Mike Roth (12:22):
Some people know I'm an amateur magician.
In some place in the house Ihave a couple of magic wands.
Carolee Owen (12:27):
It would be nice.
Mike Roth (12:28):
Yeah, they are very magical when you use them
correctly.
Now, you've been a writer forwhat, 12 years?
Carolee Owen (12:35):
I started my murder mysteries back in the mid
80s.
Mike Roth (12:40):
Oh, in the mid 80s.
Carolee Owen (12:40):
Yeah, I'm very slow at doing things, until the
point that they're due, and thenI have to do them very fast.
And it's curious how I startedto do that.
I'm a very shy person, and Icould never talk in front of a
crowd.
And in Pittsburgh, where we wereliving, my husband got us
(13:01):
involved in, to a murder mysteryplay that we, that was held at a
local pub, and I was one of thecharacters.
I made myself sick, thinkingabout it, until I finally
decided that Okay, I'm not me,I'm the character, so I can do
anything I want, and don't careif people laugh at me, Which my
(13:23):
character was one that they'dlaugh at, and found out how much
fun it was to go up to somebodythat completely unaware and ask
them a question like, are youhere for the bride or the groom,
and put them on the spot, andthen I wound up having the best
time of my life.
And so when I came back home, Isaid, this can't be hard to do,
(13:45):
I thought, and that's when Iwrote Murder in the Haunted
House, where they have a seanceinvolved in the play, which is
fun.
And during a blackout, you heara gun go off, you hear a person
scream, you hear a thud on thefloor you hear a lot of things,
and when the lights go back on.
A person has been stabbed.
Mike Roth (14:07):
If one, if someone wants to get a copy of your
play, or plays, there are fourof them, or your children's
books, how do they do that?
Carolee Owen (14:16):
You can go to Amazon.
Type Carolee Russell.
You can type Carolee Owen.
You can go to Amazon.
Mike Roth (14:25):
So the books are on Amazon?
Carolee Owen (14:27):
You can find them.
I, I don't know how.
My publisher is Trafford.
At the time, they were the onlyones that I knew that did the
print on demand books, andthey'd pretty much print your
book.
Except for things they didn'twant in it, which I wouldn't put
in anyway.
And at the time, I just wantedto have a book in my hand, and
(14:49):
it was marvelous to seesomething in print with my name
on it.
Mike Roth (14:54):
Carolee, if you could give advice to the 30 year old
Carolee, now, from your vaststore of knowledge.
What advice would you give tothe younger Carolee about
writing?
Carolee Owen (15:09):
I might try to do it earlier, but I wasn't in the
frame of mind at that age as Iam now, or was when I wrote my
first book.
But I was involved in a lot ofthings.
I still have a lot of projectsgoing on that sometimes I can't
make room for other ones.
But I like to keep busy.
Mike Roth (15:30):
What are your top three recommendations for
writers?
Carolee Owen (15:34):
Listen to other people.
Number one.
I would say have someone elseread your work to you or you
read it aloud because your workis too close to you that when
you proofread it you know what'sgoing to be there so you don't
see if there's a mistake.
And let's see, third, I wouldsay Just make sure it sounds
(15:55):
right to you.
I'm a, what they call a seat ofthe pants writer.
I would recommend, though, thatyou have an idea of where your
book is going.
And, as Mark would always sayaim for the arrow, or aim your
arrow at the target.
And Which I have a littleproblem doing.
Mike Roth (16:16):
Then use a pistol instead of a crossbow.
It's much easier.
It gets there faster.
Yeah, the Shooter's Club, wehave to get someone off from the
Shooter's Club.
Carolee Owen (16:23):
That's true.
I've not tried the Bow and ArrowClub either.
Mike Roth (16:26):
Yeah, they've got a nice couple of air gun clubs
here.
As well as the Pistol Club,which, Shooting Club, which has
probably got four or fivethousand members in it.
Carolee Owen (16:36):
There are a lot of groups in The Villages that tend
to help writers and Marks isjust one of them and that's for
children plus now because ifyou've written a book for
children and then want to do anadult book, we're very happy to
help that person along withthat.
Mike Roth (16:54):
I've been told there are 17 writing clubs here in The
Villages.
Carolee Owen (16:58):
I bet there's more than that, but there's one for
about every genre you canimagine.
Mike Roth (17:04):
Wow.
Okay.
And, so is there a questionhere?
in today's show that you wish Ihad asked you, but I failed to
ask that question?
Carolee Owen (17:13):
No, I think you've covered everything.
Except that I I didn't reallyanswer your question about what
I'm doing next.
I've been writing what youcalled Socks's summer vacation.
Socks is a cat, and he hasAdventures with a bully.
Mike Roth (17:31):
A bully cat?
Carolee Owen (17:32):
A bully cat.
Oh boy.
And And as it turns out, hedoesn't believe this bully is a
bully of the heart.
Yes.
He thinks that he would prefernot to be a bully.
And although This bully hasaccidentally broken his leg.
He's still willing to help thebully get out of some trouble.
Mike Roth (17:55):
The bully broke Sox's leg?
Carolee Owen (17:56):
Yes.
Oh.
In a baseball game.
Cats can play baseball.
Mike Roth (2) (18:01):
That's why you're a writer.
You've got that imagination toput things together that most
people wouldn't think of.
Cats playing baseball.
Carolee Owen (18:10):
I do have one problem with children's books.
And that is I write as an adulttoo much.
I need to think as a child.
That happens a lot.
It happens a lot.
Mike Roth (18:22):
Why do you think that is?
Carolee Owen (18:23):
Because we're adults, we've forgotten what
it's like to be a child, and howwe spoke at that time.
And a lot of the children thesedays are a lot older than they
were when I was their age.
They act older.
Mike Roth (18:37):
Oh, you mean a child of 6 or 7 might act as a child
of 9 or 10?
Carolee Owen (18:41):
Okay.
Yeah, and that's because oftelevision and, yeah, the
environment.
Mike Roth (2) (18:47):
Television and social media.
All of those things add up.
If there's one thing you couldhave done different in your
writing career, that you thinkwould have made it a better
career, what would that havebeen?
Carolee Owen (18:57):
I think I would have written my murder mysteries
a lot earlier.
And put them in book form,because I'd been thinking of
doing that for a long time.
20 years, maybe longer.
Mike Roth (19:07):
They're not in book form today?
Carolee Owen (19:08):
One of them is.
Mike Roth (19:10):
So you have three that haven't been turned into
books yet?
Carolee Owen (19:13):
Three have been One is in galley form.
But I need to go through it,rewrite it, and correct things.
So it's not ready yet.
Mike Roth (19:23):
So one book is available through Amazon?
Carolee Owen (19:25):
Yes, that's Murder in the Haunted House.
And, I'd love to hear frompeople if they've purchased it
and tried the play at home, howthat turned out, whether that
worked for them.
Mike Roth (19:36):
How do they get a hold of you to tell you?
Carolee Owen (19:37):
I do have a website that I have neglected
terribly, which is one thing Iprobably should correct.
And,
Mike Roth (19:45):
What is the website name?
Carolee Owen (19:47):
It's Carolee Russell.
Or, It's C A R O L E R U S E LAnd,
Mike Roth (19:55):
Dot com?
Carolee Owen (19:56):
Dot com, yes.
I forget that.
And I have another one that's ARussell Riginal.
No O in the original.
Just A Russell Riginal.
Riginal.
Dot com.
Mike Roth (20:09):
We're good.
Carol, thanks for being on theshow with us.
Carolee Owen (20:12):
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Donna (20:15):
Remember, our next episode will be released next
Friday at 9 a.
m.
Should you want to become amajor supporter of the show or
have questions, please contactus at mike at rothvoice dot com.
This is a shout out forsupporters Tweet Coleman, Ed
Williams, Duane Rommrich, PaulSorgen, Kathy Loving, and Dr.
Craig Curtis at K2 in TheVillagesss.
(20:36):
We will be hearing more from Dr.
Curtis with short Alzheimer'stips each week.
If you know someone who shouldbe on the show, contact us at
mike at rothvoice.
com.
The way our show grows is withyour help.
Text your friends about thisshow if you enjoyed listening or
just tell your friends about theshow.
We thank everyone for listeningto the show.
(20:58):
The content of the show iscopyrighted by Rothvoice 2025.
Our rights reserved.
Welcome to the Open Forum in The Villages, Florida
podcast.
In this show, we talk to leadersin the community, leaders of
clubs and interesting folks wholive here in The Villages to get
perspectives of what ishappening here in The Villages,
Florida.
We are a listener supportedpodcast.
There will be shout outs forsupporters in episodes.
Mike Roth (00:26):
This is Mike Roth.
Thanks for listening.
And listeners, I'm thrilled toshare with you this podcast,
which is my passion project foryou.
This podcast brings youknowledge, inspiration, and a
lot of things that people needto know about the villages and
the people living here.
Be sure to hit the follow buttonto get the newest episode each
(00:49):
week.
Creating this podcast is a laborof love.
Even though it demands moretime, I can easily spare.
Now, here's where you come in.
You can help us keep the podcastalive and thriving.
How?
By becoming a supporter.
Mike Roth (2) (01:06):
And click on the supporter button at the top of
the page or the purple supporterbox.
Even a small donation of threeto ten dollars a month makes a
big difference and you cancancel your subscription at any
time.
Your support means the world tous.
Stay curious, stay inspired, andkeep those headphones on.
(01:28):
This is Mike Roth on Open Forumin The Villages, Florida.
I'm here today with CaroleeOwen.
Thanks for joining me, Carolee.
Carolee Owen (01:36):
Thanks for having me.
Mike Roth (01:38):
Carolee grew up in Baltimore.
And first showed a talent fordrawing.
Only much later in her life didshe begin writing.
Her first published book, Murderin the Haunted House Is not only
a story, but useful as an inhome play.
We'll have to talk more of that,about that Carolee.
(01:59):
And Carolee has two children'sbooks.
Mike Roth AI 9-11-24 (02:03):
Her Next book is tentatively called
Mike Roth (02:06):
Sock's Summer Vacation.
She's an illustrator as well.
Have you illustrated the coversof your book as well?
Carolee Owen (02:12):
Some of them.
Mike Roth (02:13):
Okay, that's great.
Tell us about where you grew upin Baltimore and what talents
were nurtured there.
Carolee Owen (02:21):
Originally in elementary school A lot of my
drawings seem to be a littlebetter than the rest of the
children.
And I would do, as growing up, Iwould do a lot of things for the
other kids.
I would make paper dolls forthem to play with.
And they'd always come up to theporch and I'd draw things.
It was in maybe junior high thatI first put together A comic
(02:45):
book, actually, of worms.
Mike Roth (02:48):
Let me see if I got that straight.
Your first writing was a comicbook about worms.
Carolee Owen (02:54):
That's right.
Mike Roth (02:54):
Okay, and where did it go from there?
Carolee Owen (02:57):
It didn't happen quickly Too much as far as
writing, but the artwork did.
I carried it into my job bydoing flyers and other things
that you need in the course ofoffice work.
Banners and posters anddifferent things.
Mike Roth (03:14):
So you grew up and lived in Baltimore?
Yes.
When did you move here to TheVillages?
Carolee Owen (03:19):
Oh, about 13 years ago.
Oh.
12 years ago
Mike Roth (03:23):
You came here directly from Baltimore?
Carolee Owen (03:25):
No, we I got married and got married late at
31 and was married 50 yearsbefore my husband died last
year.
And during that time we, wemoved around because he worked
for Westinghouse and we wentfrom place to place.
I've lived in Florida before inthe 70s for a while.
And I just recently moved backto Florida about 30, 35 years
(03:48):
ago.
But I didn't move here untilretirement.
Okay.
Or my retirement.
Mike Roth (03:53):
Good.
And what helped you most in yourwriting?
Carolee Owen (03:57):
What has helped me most when I moved here to The
Villages I'd say a year later Ifound Mark Newhouse's group,
which was Writers for Kids, andI joined that group and found it
very helpful in my writing.
Most of what I'd start to writeIt would go to the people in
(04:20):
that class and they would makecomments on what they thought
was good and what could bebetter.
And it, invariably, how Istarted out my story, it would
turn around and be somethingtotally different starting out.
In a way I feel like I've justmellowed and Developed into a
different kind of writer, abetter writer, I think.
Mike Roth (04:42):
Mark's been on our show a couple of times.
And what contributed to youbeing an illustrator of your own
books?
Carolee Owen (04:49):
Being in that class, because as people would
read their different stories, Orchapters.
I would have pictures in myhead, and I would doodle them.
And the first time, one, onegirl was sitting next to me, and
she saw me draw a mermaid fromher book.
She was talking about a mermaid.
(05:11):
And she liked the drawing.
She said, I've had a lot ofpeople draw mermaids, but I
liked yours best, that was thefirst book that I did, and now I
have maybe almost a dozen thathave followed that.
Mike Roth (05:26):
Do you charge people to be an illustrator?
Carolee Owen (05:29):
Of course.
Mike Roth (05:29):
I don't know.
Carolee Owen (05:32):
It's not much.
It's not much?
It's nothing to live on, butit's something.
Mike Roth (05:36):
It's good to know we have an illustrator here in The
Villages.
Carolee Owen (05:39):
Oh, there's many of them.
Mike Roth (05:41):
I was just talking to another author who told me she
had her book illustrated bysomeone in Pakistan.
Carolee Owen (05:48):
Oh my goodness.
Mike Roth (05:49):
And she said it was very cheap.
I said look at the results.
Carolee Owen (05:52):
Now I understand they even have programs that'll
do your illustrations for you.
Mike Roth (05:57):
Oh yes, AIs will do your illustrations.
Carolee Owen (06:00):
I've noticed that most illustrators have their own
style.
And I think for someone lookingfor an illustrator, I always
tell them, I'll give you asample of my work and see if it
fits.
What you have in mind for yourbook.
Some people don't even havepictures in their mind when
they're writing.
Mike Roth (06:19):
So do you, do you use color illustrations or are they
pure?
Carolee Owen (06:23):
Some, if they Need color.
It's more expensive to makecolor.
Mike Roth (06:27):
Yeah.
Black and white that works wellwhen you're self publishing on
Amazon, they charge a lot morewhen you're going to work in
color.
Carolee Owen (06:35):
Or if you have a chapter book and not a
children's picture book youwould use black and white
children's picture book mightuse color.
Mike Roth (06:42):
What do you think is your best book?
Carolee Owen (06:44):
My best book my husband always liked A Wish for
Algae, which is a children'sbook about a fish who has
everything, but it's not enoughfor him.
And he wants to be a bird,because he thinks that's
fascinating.
But when he becomes a bird, hefinds out it's a lot different.
Mike Roth (07:04):
I would have made him a flying fish.
Carolee Owen (07:06):
But anyway, he be friends, a an owl who helps him
solve his problems.
And I won't tell you the end ofthe story.
Mike Roth (07:14):
Okay.
How many books have you writtenin total?
Carolee Owen (07:16):
If you count the plays that I've written, and
that's the murder mystery playsthat I originally said was
Murder in the Haunted House.
Mike Roth (07:24):
How many plays are there?
Carolee Owen (07:25):
I've played four, I've made four.
Four plays.
That I've played either in myhouse or in Country Club,
Atmosphere.
Mike Roth (07:33):
How many actors do you put into a play?
Carolee Owen (07:35):
As many that come.
If I have it in my house, if Ihave 24 people, I have 24
characters.
Mike Roth (07:42):
Different parts?
Different parts.
So 24 scripts?
Carolee Owen (07:44):
Absolutely.
Mike Roth (2) (07:46):
Okay.
And it's word for word?
Carolee Owen (07:48):
No, it's I give them what their character is
like.
Anything specific, if they'repart of the murder mystery
itself.
Things that they have to do orsay.
But they are.
Allowed to ad lib and dowhatever they need to do to in
The space of their character,It's an improvised play
Mike Roth (08:08):
All right has it ever been have any of the.Plays that
are improvised been produced andShown to larger order larger
audiences.
Carolee Owen (08:17):
No just The audiences that I have in the
country club atmosphere
Mike Roth (08:22):
And how many people are there at the country clubs?
Carolee Owen (08:24):
Oh, maybe a hundred.
But not all of them arecharacters.
Only in my home.
Mike Roth (08:29):
And in the country club, how many characters did
you have?
Carolee Owen (08:31):
It would be Oh, close to twenty maybe.
Mike Roth (08:35):
Twenty?
And how many different plays arethere?
Carolee Owen (08:37):
Four.
Mike Roth (2) (08:38):
Four different plays?
Carolee Owen (08:39):
Yeah.
I even have one that's The Runfor the Roses, and each, or not
each person, but a number ofpeople who come to the party
they get to be the owners of oneof the horses that's actually
running in the in the Run forthe Roses.
Mike Roth (08:56):
Run for the Roses, okay.
Yeah.
That's pretty cool.
Dean Corbett put on a play, animprovised play like that, and
in every performance.
There was a differentperpetrator of the murder.
Carolee Owen (09:07):
You could do that.
Mike Roth (09:08):
And the thing that really made his play unique is
he had Wayne Richards playingthe part of the detective.
And Wayne can break out intosong and improvise a song that
fits into the play.
It was wonderful.
It was wonderful.
Carolee, are you working onanything new now?
Carolee Owen (09:29):
Yeah, several things.
Besides illustrations, which Ijust finished one of Mark's
books, as a matter of fact.
And I have two more books thatI'm going to illustrate coming
up.
But I've been working on severalBooks, one of them is a murder
mystery, one of the ones that Ihad made as a play.
I'm going to do the same thingas this Murder in the Haunted
(09:51):
House, where I write the story.
And then at the end, I give allthe things that you need to put
on the play in your house.
Everything that you need to giveout to the people that are going
to come.
Invitations.
And anything else?
Certificates.
You always need a certificate ifsomebody's, guess the right
Mike Roth (10:14):
Great.
We're going to take a shortbreak now and listen to a
Alzheimer's tip from Dr.
Craig Curtis.
This is Mike Roth and Dr.
Craig Curtis.
We're talking about Alzheimer'sdisease.
Let's talk about the omega 3 andomega 6.
How should people get that fromtheir diet?
Dr. Craig Curtis (10:30):
Well, primarily, you should get that
through beans and nuts andlegumes and fish.
You can take a supplement ofomega 3, omega 6s.
However, don't eat them.
Overdue the supplementation ofomega 3 specifically.
There was a large studypublished by the American
College of Cardiology a fewyears back that seemed to show
(10:52):
that people that took too muchomega 3 might have an increased
risk of a heart arrhythmia.
So my recommendation is if youbuy omega 3 supplements, take it
as written.
Warren (11:04):
With over 20 years of experience studying brain
health, Dr.
Curtis's goal is to educate TheVillages community on how to
live a longer, healthier life.
To learn more, Visit hiswebsite, CraigCurtisMD.
com or call 352 500 5252 toattend a free seminar.
Mike Roth (11:20):
Thank you, Dr.
Curtis.
Carolee Off the subject ofwriting for a moment.
What's your favorite pastime orhobby here at The Villages?
Carolee Owen (11:28):
I have many.
Which means?
As far as crafts, I like tocrochet when I'm watching
television.
I like to do ancestry.
I've done that for quite anumber of years.
And of course I go to bingo,play cards.
I play golf when I can.
Mike Roth (11:44):
What's something you discovered about your own
ancestry that surprised you?
Carolee Owen (11:47):
I guess that some of my family came from Denmark.
I didn't realize that.
I thought it was mostly Englishand German.
But I also, the name my maidenname is Russell, and I
understand that's French.
That came from William theConqueror.
They came over to Great Britainat 1066.
Yeah, and there were peoplenamed Rousseau that brought the
(12:10):
name Russell over.
Mike Roth (12:12):
Okay.
Now, if you could have onesuperpower.
What would that be?
Carolee Owen (12:17):
I'd like to have a magic wand like Harry Potter and
be able to zap things.
Mike Roth (12:22):
Some people know I'm an amateur magician.
In some place in the house Ihave a couple of magic wands.
Carolee Owen (12:27):
It would be nice.
Mike Roth (12:28):
Yeah, they are very magical when you use them
correctly.
Now, you've been a writer forwhat, 12 years?
Carolee Owen (12:35):
I started my murder mysteries back in the mid
80s.
Mike Roth (12:40):
Oh, in the mid 80s.
Carolee Owen (12:40):
Yeah, I'm very slow at doing things, until the
point that they're due, and thenI have to do them very fast.
And it's curious how I startedto do that.
I'm a very shy person, and Icould never talk in front of a
crowd.
And in Pittsburgh, where we wereliving, my husband got us
(13:01):
involved in, to a murder mysteryplay that we, that was held at a
local pub, and I was one of thecharacters.
I made myself sick, thinkingabout it, until I finally
decided that Okay, I'm not me,I'm the character, so I can do
anything I want, and don't careif people laugh at me, Which my
(13:23):
character was one that they'dlaugh at, and found out how much
fun it was to go up to somebodythat completely unaware and ask
them a question like, are youhere for the bride or the groom,
and put them on the spot, andthen I wound up having the best
time of my life.
And so when I came back home, Isaid, this can't be hard to do,
(13:45):
I thought, and that's when Iwrote Murder in the Haunted
House, where they have a seanceinvolved in the play, which is
fun.
And during a blackout, you heara gun go off, you hear a person
scream, you hear a thud on thefloor you hear a lot of things,
and when the lights go back on.
A person has been stabbed.
Mike Roth (14:07):
If one, if someone wants to get a copy of your
play, or plays, there are fourof them, or your children's
books, how do they do that?
Carolee Owen (14:16):
You can go to Amazon.
Type Carolee Russell.
You can type Carolee Owen.
You can go to Amazon.
Mike Roth (14:25):
So the books are on Amazon?
Carolee Owen (14:27):
You can find them.
I, I don't know how.
My publisher is Trafford.
At the time, they were the onlyones that I knew that did the
print on demand books, andthey'd pretty much print your
book.
Except for things they didn'twant in it, which I wouldn't put
in anyway.
And at the time, I just wantedto have a book in my hand, and
(14:49):
it was marvelous to seesomething in print with my name
on it.
Mike Roth (14:54):
Carolee, if you could give advice to the 30 year old
Carolee, now, from your vaststore of knowledge.
What advice would you give tothe younger Carolee about
writing?
Carolee Owen (15:09):
I might try to do it earlier, but I wasn't in the
frame of mind at that age as Iam now, or was when I wrote my
first book.
But I was involved in a lot ofthings.
I still have a lot of projectsgoing on that sometimes I can't
make room for other ones.
But I like to keep busy.
Mike Roth (15:30):
What are your top three recommendations for
writers?
Carolee Owen (15:34):
Listen to other people.
Number one.
I would say have someone elseread your work to you or you
read it aloud because your workis too close to you that when
you proofread it you know what'sgoing to be there so you don't
see if there's a mistake.
And let's see, third, I wouldsay Just make sure it sounds
(15:55):
right to you.
I'm a, what they call a seat ofthe pants writer.
I would recommend, though, thatyou have an idea of where your
book is going.
And, as Mark would always sayaim for the arrow, or aim your
arrow at the target.
And Which I have a littleproblem doing.
Mike Roth (16:16):
Then use a pistol instead of a crossbow.
It's much easier.
It gets there faster.
Yeah, the Shooter's Club, wehave to get someone off from the
Shooter's Club.
Carolee Owen (16:23):
That's true.
I've not tried the Bow and ArrowClub either.
Mike Roth (16:26):
Yeah, they've got a nice couple of air gun clubs
here.
As well as the Pistol Club,which, Shooting Club, which has
probably got four or fivethousand members in it.
Carolee Owen (16:36):
There are a lot of groups in The Villages that tend
to help writers and Marks isjust one of them and that's for
children plus now because ifyou've written a book for
children and then want to do anadult book, we're very happy to
help that person along withthat.
Mike Roth (16:54):
I've been told there are 17 writing clubs here in The
Villages.
Carolee Owen (16:58):
I bet there's more than that, but there's one for
about every genre you canimagine.
Mike Roth (17:04):
Wow.
Okay.
And, so is there a questionhere?
in today's show that you wish Ihad asked you, but I failed to
ask that question?
Carolee Owen (17:13):
No, I think you've covered everything.
Except that I I didn't reallyanswer your question about what
I'm doing next.
I've been writing what youcalled Socks's summer vacation.
Socks is a cat, and he hasAdventures with a bully.
Mike Roth (17:31):
A bully cat?
Carolee Owen (17:32):
A bully cat.
Oh boy.
And And as it turns out, hedoesn't believe this bully is a
bully of the heart.
Yes.
He thinks that he would prefernot to be a bully.
And although This bully hasaccidentally broken his leg.
He's still willing to help thebully get out of some trouble.
Mike Roth (17:55):
The bully broke Sox's leg?
Carolee Owen (17:56):
Yes.
Oh.
In a baseball game.
Cats can play baseball.
Mike Roth (2) (18:01):
That's why you're a writer.
You've got that imagination toput things together that most
people wouldn't think of.
Cats playing baseball.
Carolee Owen (18:10):
I do have one problem with children's books.
And that is I write as an adulttoo much.
I need to think as a child.
That happens a lot.
It happens a lot.
Mike Roth (18:22):
Why do you think that is?
Carolee Owen (18:23):
Because we're adults, we've forgotten what
it's like to be a child, and howwe spoke at that time.
And a lot of the children thesedays are a lot older than they
were when I was their age.
They act older.
Mike Roth (18:37):
Oh, you mean a child of 6 or 7 might act as a child
of 9 or 10?
Carolee Owen (18:41):
Okay.
Yeah, and that's because oftelevision and, yeah, the
environment.
Mike Roth (2) (18:47):
Television and social media.
All of those things add up.
If there's one thing you couldhave done different in your
writing career, that you thinkwould have made it a better
career, what would that havebeen?
Carolee Owen (18:57):
I think I would have written my murder mysteries
a lot earlier.
And put them in book form,because I'd been thinking of
doing that for a long time.
20 years, maybe longer.
Mike Roth (19:07):
They're not in book form today?
Carolee Owen (19:08):
One of them is.
Mike Roth (19:10):
So you have three that haven't been turned into
books yet?
Carolee Owen (19:13):
Three have been One is in galley form.
But I need to go through it,rewrite it, and correct things.
So it's not ready yet.
Mike Roth (19:23):
So one book is available through Amazon?
Carolee Owen (19:25):
Yes, that's Murder in the Haunted House.
And, I'd love to hear frompeople if they've purchased it
and tried the play at home, howthat turned out, whether that
worked for them.
Mike Roth (19:36):
How do they get a hold of you to tell you?
Carolee Owen (19:37):
I do have a website that I have neglected
terribly, which is one thing Iprobably should correct.
And,
Mike Roth (19:45):
What is the website name?
Carolee Owen (19:47):
It's Carolee Russell.
Or, It's C A R O L E R U S E LAnd,
Mike Roth (19:55):
Dot com?
Carolee Owen (19:56):
Dot com, yes.
I forget that.
And I have another one that's ARussell Riginal.
No O in the original.
Just A Russell Riginal.
Riginal.
Dot com.
Mike Roth (20:09):
We're good.
Carol, thanks for being on theshow with us.
Carolee Owen (20:12):
Thank you.
My pleasure.
Donna (20:15):
Remember, our next episode will be released next
Friday at 9 a.
m.
Should you want to become amajor supporter of the show or
have questions, please contactus at mike at rothvoice dot com.
This is a shout out forsupporters Tweet Coleman, Ed
Williams, Duane Rommrich, PaulSorgen, Kathy Loving, and Dr.
Craig Curtis at K2 in TheVillagesss.
(20:36):
We will be hearing more from Dr.
Curtis with short Alzheimer'stips each week.
If you know someone who shouldbe on the show, contact us at
mike at rothvoice.
com.
The way our show grows is withyour help.
Text your friends about thisshow if you enjoyed listening or
just tell your friends about theshow.
We thank everyone for listeningto the show.
(20:58):
The content of the show iscopyrighted by Rothvoice 2025.
Our rights reserved.
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