Carolyn Johnson
Writer
Carolyn Johnson writes thought-provoking Middle Grade
fiction. If you like the other-world adventures of C.S. Lewis’s
Narnia series, the resourceful children of Grimm’s Fairy
Tales or the heart-wrenching dilemmas of Jean Little’s
novels, you’ve come to the right place. Adam and the Witch
Queen and As Tall as the Sun Is Bright are about real-life
kids who end up in strange worlds where they are stretched
to the limit as they try to find their way home again. These
well-written novels please young and old readers alike.
About Carolyn
Carolyn Johnson is a native of Toronto, Canada. As a child, she
spent several formative years in France and now speaks French
fluently. As a teen, she’d rollerblade to the public library and browse
the stacks for hours. Favourites at the time were John Steinbeck,
Anthony Burgess and Chaim Potok. At university, she studied
linguistics and classics and went on to teach academic ESL for
several years. When her son started school, Carolyn also returned to
the classroom to teach French. She has taught students from
kindergarten to Grade 12 in public and private schools.At a seminar in 1999, Carolyn first felt the pull of novel writing, but it
wasn’t until 2018 that she would complete a first draft which she
promptly shelved. Then, in 2019, a project designed for a Grade 7
French immersion class led to the idea for Adam and the Witch
Queen, or as it was first titled, Les trois épreuves d’Adam Maillard
(The Three Trials of Adam Maillard). In 2021, Carolyn took a break
from teaching and wrote Adam and the Witch Queen. She also
redrafted the first novel she had written, As Tall as the Sun is Bright,
as the second title in the Adam and Rosalyn series.Carolyn reads constantly and stops at nearly every Free Little Library
she passes. She blogs about the Bible and some of the books she
reads at outside-of-a-dog.weebly.com.
Adam And The Witch Queen
Ever since his dad went missing two years ago, Adam just can't seem to concentrate in school.He spends most of his time making paper airplanes instead. When one of the planes starts a fire in the cafeteria, Adam gets suspended. At home, his frustrated mother loads him with chores. But while getting out the lawn mower, he discovers a mysterious trap door in the floor of the shed. To his amazement, it leads to a strange city, where he soon finds himself in trouble...again.This time, he's in good company - he gets snatched from danger by a group of rebels. Their goal? Take down the Witch Queen. Adam's goal? Get home. Unfortunately, it looks like he'll have to help the rebels before they can help him.
Kids' Q & A
Click on the question to find out the answer!
Where were you born? Where do you live?
I was born in Toronto, Canada, and I that's where I live. However, I spent three years living near St. Germain-en-Laye, France, as a child, and six years in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in my twenties.
What made you decide to become a writer?
I’ve always loved reading, but it wasn’t until I attended a workshop at my university where a woman spoke about her work as a Christian writer that I began to wonder if maybe I could write, too. But I fell into teaching instead and the only writing I did for years was in my journal.Then one summer I did a massive tidy of my apartment. I’d accumulated a ton of craft supplies and I remember looking at my knitting machines, debating whether to keep them. The thought came to me like a bolt of lightning: Am I going to spend all my time and energy learning to use the knitting machines? Or am I going to get down to writing?I realized shortly afterward that I had to write. It was like a pot about to boil over. I took a break from teaching in 2021 and wrote two novels that year.
What other jobs have you had?
French teacher, ESL teacher, swim instructor, lifeguard, seamstress, shop clerk, Sunday school director.
Where do you get inspiration for a novel?
It’s different every time. But often, I go back to the very oldest stories of Western civilization and I ask, what would it look like if we were telling that story today for the first time? For instance, Queen Belya in Adam and the Witch Queen is a “type” of witch you find in many old tales out of Eastern Europe, called Baba Yaga. Her house is made of old bones and skulls and she tries to capture children and eat them.
Do you have any hobbies?
I love to make things— whether it’s a gourmet meal or a pair of socks. Recently, I got my motorcycle license, so I’ve been taking rides on our Vespa or our Kawasaki Vulcan cruiser.
Do you have a family?
I am married to Jeremy and we have a young adult son, Miles. And a cat—Mr. Wolf.
What are you working on now?
I’m writing a third novel where Adam discovers an underground cave in Mr. Colombo’s yard. He persuades Rosalyn, his new neighbour, to check it out and soon they realize that the way back is blocked. How will they get home? How will they ever learn to get along with each other? Subscribe to the newsletter for updates.I’m also writing a non-fiction book on food in the Bible.
What’s your favourite book?
You might be surprised by my answer. It’s the Bible, because it’s full of thrilling stories, beautiful poetry and great advice for life. I read it every day and never grow tired of it.Some of my favourite books for young people are L.M. Montgomery’s Anne books, and Erich Kästner’s Emil and the Detectives and Lottie and Lisa. The first grown-up book I read and loved was Chaim Potok’s The Chosen. I'd better stop there. I’m looking at my bookshelf and seeing hundreds more stories I love!
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