In the Author Spotlight ...
Carol Sue Shride,
Author of
Lucy Dakota:
Adventures of a Modern Explorer

Carol Sue Shride has always wanted to be an author. Whether it was poetry, teenage angst in journals, or travel tales, she has regularly written for years. In her new series of Lucy Dakota Books, Carol shares her life adventures to inspire young women to discover and own their strengths and dreams.

"Someone once asked me why I am the ideal author for the Lucy Dakota series of books," says Carol. "I told them it is because I lived the adventures Lucy goes through. During my career as a high altitude mountaineer and international adventure guide, I experienced some amazing adventures."

Carol grew up in the western suburbs of Denver at the foot of the mountains. Like her main character Lucy, she felt alone and unsure of herself during her middle-school years. "I rarely, if ever, ventured forth into the nearby hills," she explains. "My pleasures were derived from armchair and bed-top adventures achieved while reading my favorite novels."

In high school, Carol discovered one of her lifelong passions, high-altitude trekking and mountaineering, which led to her first career as the owner of a multi-million-dollar adventure travel company. For the next 20 years, she would orchestrate, conduct and lead thousands of clients through the mountains of Nepal and the wildernesses of South America. She spoke to dozens of audiences each year on the joys and beauty of traveling to remote areas of the world. After selling her travel business, Carol went back to school and began her second career as a classroom teacher. "My love of learning and sincere desire to share with and help youth led me to go into teaching and mentoring," she says.

When Carol started teaching, her urge to write a book became stronger. "At first I thought I would write romance novels based on my years of dating experience and some recent adventures in online dating," she explains. "However, I found my heart was not in it. So then I thought I would write an autobiography mostly for my own learning and edification but the publishing bug got me and I started thinking, 'who in the world would want to read about my life?' So, I used my life adventures as the inspiration for Lucy Dakota."

Carol began to go back through her old journals to see what had happened and what she was going through emotionally through her formative years. "I double checked topographic maps of the routes I had followed and reviewed dozens of photographs so Lucy could accurately trace my footsteps," she says. Right now I am researching old maps, photos, letters, and journals for Book 2-Journey to Nepal.

"Book 1-Rocky Mountain Beginnings took me about a year to write and another six months to edit and publish", Carol continues. "I anticipate Book 2-Journey to Nepal to take about a year total because my team and I are have smoothed out most of the rough spots and have a good system going. The hurdles in Book 1-Rocky Mountain Beginnings were different from those I am experiencing in Book 2-Journey to Nepal. Mostly with Book 1-Rocky Mountain Beginnings the hurdles had to do with self-acceptance and feelings of self worth and discovering and overcoming my entrenched habits of self sabotage. In Book 2-Journey to Nepal the hurdles are more a matter of juggling being a single mom to an 11-year-old with promoting and marketing Book 1 and disciplining myself to sit down and write daily when there is so much else demanding my attention."

Carol plans on continuing the Lucy Dakota series for at least eight books. "Rocky Mountain Beginnings is the first in a series. Book 2-Journey to Nepal is already in the works for a spring or summer 2012 release. Book 3 sees Lucy in Africa while Books 4 has her returning to Nepal and exploring Australia and the Great Barrier Reef. Books 5  & 6 follow her adventures in South America," she explains. "My vision is for Lucy to be on young people's minds as much as Harry Potter was with the difference being that Lucy's story is based on real life events. My dream is that she and her life will inspire young women to go out and live authentic, inspired lives, letting nothing hold them back."

When not writing, Carol continues to enjoy the outdoors with her 11 year old daughter. "I ski, bike, swim, walk, jog, garden, read, write, and study spiritual matters. Part of the inspiration to write these books was to be able to share some of my life and my adventures with her." She continues to promote her book series, holding various book signing and workshops. She also writes a weekly blog for both the Lucy and CS Shride websites and keep in contact daily with fans via Facebook and Twitter.
 

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To purchase your copy of Lucy Dakota, please visit
http://www.atlasbooks.com/marktplc/03337.htm

For More Information on Carol Sue Shride and Lucy Dakota, visit his websites:
http://lucydakota.com/
www.CSShride.com
and www.MyPieceofthePuzzle.com

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