Carole Marsh Longmeyer

ABOUT CAROLE

Carole Marsh is an entrepreneur, author, and founder of Gallopade International. She is the creator of Carole Marsh Mysteries, hundreds of other books series, author of thousands of titles, winner of numerous awards, and a Georgia Author of the Year.

Born in Marietta, Georgia, Carole was raised in Atlanta and is a "proud product of Atlanta's Public School System." She attended Henry Grady High during the Civil Rights Movement, the Kennedy assassination, and the Vietnam War. During those years, she discovered her passion for political science, history, and literature.

As a young, divorced mother, writing seemed the perfect job for Marsh. After beginning her career as a freelance writer, Carole soon started Marsh Media at her kitchen table. Her quickly growing list of clients loved that she wrote "high interest" and "plain English" so that everyone could understand the message they shared. Simply put, she wrote for fourth graders—what we each are when we learn something new.

Spending her days writing for others, Carole had the idea to create a book of her own, a children's mystery about her two children. "One book," she thought –– but a phone call in the middle of the night would change everything. A boy who read her book found her number and called to ask when the next story would be available. In the years that followed, Marsh would write over 100 educational and fun adventure mysteries for children.

Those first stories introduced a new chapter-book style, featuring real places with real kids as the lead characters, which was wildly popular with young readers who could imagine themselves in the story. She then expanded to other favorite topics: American history, African American history, and various books about the US states. Along with her new husband, Carole visited each state to conduct research, visit historical sites, take photos, purchase reference books, and learn about the places and people. 

The demand for books continued to grow, and Carole gave up Marsh Media to start Gallopade. Having helped their mom with her business growing up, after graduating from college and starting their own careers, her children rejoined her at Gallopade. Together they established a team of researchers, writers, artists, and other professionals passionate about education and helping children think for themselves.

Carole still approaches life as a "fourth-grader forever" – when our minds are at their most formative and electric, still eager to learn, share, and be challenged. She immerses herself in every experience to find joy, mystery, and inspiration­­­ in every person, place, and thing.  More than the awards and accolades received, Carole treasures the notes from parents and teachers sharing how a child's life was changed by her books, learning that they love to read, love to learn, or have discovered that they want to become an author themselves. ­­­

After more than 40 years, Carole is still writing new stories. In 2021, she created Gallopade Graphics to introduce a new graphic novel series that incorporates history and science to educate and entertain a new generation of young readers.

Visit Gallopade.com and CaroleMarshBookClub.com to discover more about Carole's work and her books!