The Oneida County Library had the honor of hosting local writer Carolyn Twede Frank, who has authored more than twenty books in a variety of genres including romance, young adult, historical fiction, and fantasy.  

 Frank spoke with the crowd about her history as a puppet maker, an author, and a resident of the west.  

Oneida County Library director Kathy Kent, who introduced Frank, stated that “I get a real kick out of Carolyn.  Her biography talks about a journalism professor who gave her a hard time when she was starting out.  He told her to get out of the writing business.  Luckily, she didn’t!”

Indeed, Frank has become a well-recognized writer and a very successful author of a number of series with large followings.  Her historical novel “The Hitler Dilemma” has been cited by a number of people as an important and influential work in the genre.  Books such as Where Her Heart Lies, Heart of the West, Under the Stars, and The Prospector and the Widow have been betsellers on Amazon, and Frank continues to be a popular writer in the romance and LDS communities.  

While Frank is mostly known as a novelist today, her background actually also includes a significant history as a puppeteer and craftsperson involved in the creation of the puppets used in conjunction with the Brite Music franchise during the 1980s.  After taking a number of puppetry classes during her college years, Frank realized that one of the things she was best at was writing the scripts for performances, which rekindled her love of writing.

After an experience in a local book club, she said to herself “I could definitely write a better book than this.”  She decided to write a book in 2006, and had it initially published in 2012, which is a fairly fast turnaround in the industry.  

Frank is currently working on publishing a book co-written by an inmate she met through correspondence.  “I’ve had at least three inmates contact me to say that my book had touched their lives.  One of them said he wanted to write a book, and we’ve been working on it together,” she said.  

Frank had a room full of fans, as most of the people present were somewhat familiar with her work.  “I write the kinds of books I like to read,” Frank said.  “I don’t want them to be overly complicated, and I want to like the characters.”  Many in the audience agreed that the characters were the strongest part of Frank’s work.  

The library brought in Frank as part of its series of events to keep the public involved in the world of literary and cultural awareness.  Those present expressed a great deal of gratitude for the author for her time, and the library for arranging the event.  Frank presented a signed copy of her first book, “Promises,” to everyone in attendance.