A First Novel
Always Holds a Special Place
In the Heart of an Author


The Multiple Award-Winning Novel,
This Is the Place


“When you live amid beauty sometimes you don’t recognize discrimination,
and, if you do, you prefer not to acknowledge it.”

~Quotation from This Is the Place

A young journalist realizes that because she is half Mormon and half Protestant she is not suitable material for love. She delves into her Mormon heritage and journals her way through prejudice indo redemption. She learns to mend her own life when she finds she cannot mend her world. This novel, set in Salt Lake City in the 50s, reveals not only complexities of the heart but the secrets of what some consider a mysterious place and culture.

"Howard-Johnson strengthens her novel with behind-the-scenes details of
Mormon life and history in a book suitable for all collections,
particularly those where . . . Orson Scott Card's religious books are popular"
~ Library Journal

“[This Is the Place] instills the conflicts of Mormonism so gracefully and incisively.”
~ James W. Ure, author of Leaving the Fold

“It's been a week … and still the characters fight for attention in my thoughts.”
~ Warren Stucki, author of Boy’s Pond

Available used (and very frugally) in paperback - Buy Now!


Learn More
About
This Is the Place Here

For reviews of This Is the Place, complete with permission to reprint.
For an excerpt from This Is the Place.
For a growing list of links about tolerance.
For the study guide included in This Is the Place.
Rebecca Brown of RebeccasReads.com said, "
At the end [of This Is the Place]  there is a Reading Group Guide of questions for serious discussion, which transforms this novel into a textbook about closed societies & their impact."
For Carolyn's personal essay "Beating Time at Its Own Game."
It includes the path taken through denial and cancer to This Is the Place.

For a sample of Carolyn's Short Stories.


Tip

Genealogists abound in Utah. I urge fellow lovers of family history everywhere to follow their leads; in fact, go one step farther than most of them do. Turn that history into a biography, a memoir, or fictionalize it -- just as I did with This Is the Place and Harkening. Records may be preserved but the history brought alive in a book lives on forever.

 Find at least one tip on writing, promotion, or tech on every page of this Web site. 


Mini Biography
For Carolyn Howard-Johnson

 

(Searching for something more complete?
Check out the links on this page for an assortment of focused media kits.)

Carolyn Howard-Johnson’s first novel, This Is the Place, won eight awards. Her second literary book, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered is a book of creative nonfiction. It won three. She was an instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program for nearly a decade where her book The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won’t was recommended reading for her classes. It was named USA Book News’ “Best Professional Book," and was given the coveted Irwin Award. Her second book in the How To Do It Frugally series is The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success. It won USA Book News and Reader Views Literary Awards and the campaign for it won New Generations Marketing Award. The third is this multi award-winning series is How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically. Her chapbook of poetry Tracings, was named to the Compulsive Reader's Ten Best Reads list and was given the Military Writers' Society of America's Silver Award of Excellence. Her chapbook series coauthored with Magdalena Ball have won multiple awards.

Carolyn is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community's Character and Ethics Committee awarded her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly's list of 14 "San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen." You may want to refer to her growing list of resources on Utah and tolerance on this Web site.

Media Kit for Program Directors for Radio, TV, Conferences, Radio Shows

Media Kit for Book, Entertainment and Feature Editors

Media Kit for Reviewers

Media Kit for Poetry, Literary

Media Kit for Retail Professionals

Recent Media Releases

 


Buy Links for Carolyn's Books

Great Fiction
Purchase THIS IS THE PLACE
and
HARKENING at Amazon in their new and used feature.
Both of these books are out of print. They are available only on Amazon's New and Used feature for about $1.

Great Poetry
Purchase TRACINGS (Finishing Line Press) at Amazon.
IMPERFECT ECHOES: Writing Truth and Justice with Capital Letters,
lie and oppression with Small

Give the gift of poetry with a chapbook from Magdalena Ball's
and
My Celebration Series

CHERISHED PULSE: Unconventional Love Poetry
IMAGINING THE FUTURE: Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions
SHE WORE EMERALD THEN: Reflections on Motherhood
BLOOMING RED: Christmas Poetry for the Rational
DEEPER INTO THE POND: Celebration of Femininity
SUBLIME PLANET: Celebrating Earth and the Universe
 

HowToDoItFrugally Series for Writers
Purchase THE FRUGAL BOOK PROMOTER,
THE FRUGAL EDITOR
Second Edition
GREAT LITTLE LAST MINUTE EDITING TIPS FOR WRITERS
GREAT FIRST-IMPRESSION BOOK PROPOSALS
HOW TO GET GREAT BOOK REVIEWS FRUGALLY AND ETHICALLY

Survive and Thrive Series of HowToDoItFrugally Books for Retailers
A RETAILER'S GUIDE TO FRUGAL IN-STORE PROMOTION
RUGAL AND FOCUSED TWEETING FOR RETAILERS
YOUR BLOG, YOUR BUSINESS

Most of Carolyn's books are also available for the Kindle reader.
Did you know that with the Free app, Kindle can be adapted to any reader--even your PC!
 

 "Careers that are not fed die as readily as
any living organism given no sustenance." 
~
Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Studio photography by Uriah Carr
3 Dimensional Book Cover Images by iFOGO
Logo by Lloyd King

 

Frugal E-Book Tip

Kindle E-Books Aren't
Just for Kindle Anymore

Did you know that Amazon’s Kindle e-books are a low-cost/no-cost way to access books even if you don’t have a dedicated Kindle reader? You can read Kindle's e-books on smartphones, desktop computers and any e-device in between. You can even store the books on the Amazon cloud.

~ Quote from Diana Schneidman, author and marketer

To subscribe to Carolyn's FREE online newsletter send an e-mail.

Learn more about Carolyn's newsletter and blog.

Read past issues of Carolyn's Newsletter.


Other Links

 

Carolyn's Commercial Acting

 


 Celebration Series of Poetry Chapbooks
 

 

This is the Place, a novel

 

Speaking

Tracings, a chapbook and memoir in one

Harkening, true short stories

Carolyn's Poetry

Helps For Retailers

Helps For Writers

Full Published Works Almanac

Travels and Poetry

Published Books



Find Carolyn on the Web

  writers retailers

Published Works Almanac


Carolyn's Awards


Other Interests

Acting
Speaking
Travel

Tolerance


Carolyn's Poetry

Tracings
Imperfect Echoes
Celebration Series
Travel


Carolyn's Literary Works

This is the Place
Harkening
Published Shorter Works


Carolyn's How to Do it Frugally Series

For Writers
For Retailers


Carolyn's HowToDoIt Frugally Series for Writers

Getting Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically New!

The Frugal Book Promoter

The Frugal Editor

 
Great Book Proposals in 30 Minutes
(Booklet)

Last-Minute Edits and Word Trippers

(Booklet)


Carolyn's Awards

Awards for Carolyn's Books, Blogs and More

The New Book Review
Named to
Master's in English.org Online Universities'

101 Essential Sites for Voracious Readers

Writer's Digest 101 Best Websites
for
Sharing with Writers blog.

 


Best Book Award for The Frugal Book Promoter (2004) and The Frugal Editor (2008) and the Second Edition of The Frugal Book Promoter (2011).

 

Reader Views Literary Award for The Frugal Editor

New Generation Award for Marketing and Finalist for The Frugal Editor

Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award

Military Writers Award of Excellence for
Tracings, A Chapbook of Poetry.


A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotion wins author Military Writers Society of America's Author of the Month award for March, 2010

 

Gold Medal Award from Military Writers Society of America, 2010. MWSA also gave a nod to She Wore Emerald Then, a chapbook of poetry honoring mothers.

The Frugal Editor Named #! on Top Ten Editing Books list.

Finalist New Generation Book Awards 2012, The Frugal Book Promoter; Finalist 2010 The Frugal Editor;
Winner 2010 Marketing Campaign for the Frugal Editor


The Oxford Award
recognizes
the alumna who exemplifies the Delta Gamma precept of service to her community and who, through the years, devotes her talents to improve the quality of life around her.

The Frugal Book Promoter is runner-up in the how-to category for the Los Angeles Book Festival 2012 awards.

Glendale City Seal
Winner Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts
Glendale California's Arts and Culture Commission and the City of Glendale Library,
2013

And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry. See the awards page on this site.


Tips


For a list of resources on tolerance related movies, books, organizations, and more, click here.

Find tips on writing, promotion or tech on every page of this Web site. 


Endorsements

"Howard-Johnson's lyrical prose graces every page."
~
Marilyn Ross, author, speaker, publishing consultant


"What a wonderful read! I can see why [This Is the Place] won a number of awards."
~ Normal Sundberg


“This author’s words set me free.” 
~ Sona Ovasapyan, Student at Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic