“Isasnora Snores” book cover
Carol L. Paur
When she was a child, snoring was a source of embarrassment for Carol L. Paur.
Now she’s turned it into her first children’s book.
“Isasnora Snores,” which was released in December, is about a girl who snores so loudly she is banished from her kingdom.
After living in exile in the forest, she becomes important in the battle to save her country.
Paur — a University of Wisconsin-Parkside graduate — said she was “teased so much about my snoring when I was little that I was afraid to go on sleepovers.”
As an adult, she writes short stories, which she gives as gifts to friends and family members.
“I never tried to publish those stories,” she said during a phone interview Friday from her home in Walworth County.
This story was originally called “Snoring Beauty” and was a gift for Paur’s youngest daughter, Monica.
“She told me to try to get it published,” Paur said. “But the whole publishing process is so daunting.”
Paur went to a writing conference in Milwaukee “where you could meet with book agents and discuss your book idea,” she said.
Their advice was “to drop the ‘Sleeping Beauty’ reference, so I changed it a bit and started to send it out.”
She still didn’t have any success until finding out about — and joining — the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
“The group really helped me with the learning curve of publishing a children’s book,” she said.
A busy writer
Paur had previously self-published books — including two novels geared toward adult women and a devotional book called “Praying for the Enemy: Your 911 to Peace” — but, this time, she wanted to go the traditional route.
“Isasnora Snores” came out in December from Black Rose Writing, out of Texas. It’s a “middle-grade” book, aimed at children ages 8 to 13.
Paur has already written a second “Isanora” story and is working on a YA novel called “Pigeon Car” (about a girl who buys a very old car that proves to be a magnet for pigeons), some picture books for very young children and a book for adults. She also writes plays and screenplays and is a freelance writer whose articles have been published in the Lake Geneva Regional News and the Resorter.
Writing fiction, however, allows her to be creative.
“My mind is constantly churning,” she said. “I can drive by a park and see people sitting there, and a little story comes into my mind. Writing allows me to be creative. Not every idea becomes a book, but sitting down and writing is a great way to release that creativity.”
She’s also had to be creative in trying to market her book during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I did some author talks, but then everything shut down,” she said. To reach out to potential readers, Paur has written scripts from chapters of the book, which actors read on her YouTube channel. You can access her blog and YouTube channel through her website at www.clpaurauthor.com.
“Isasnora Snores” is available from Black Rose Writing (www.blackrosewriting.com/home) and also from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Much More Than Books: The Evolution of the Kenosha Public Library
Libraries are much different now than they were even five or 10 years ago. Whereas they used to be places to find books and do research, now they are community hubs, offering all manner of activities for all ages while still adhering to their purpose.
Here is a collection of photos from our “Much More Than Books: The Evolution of the Kenosha Public Library” three-day series that was published in the Kenosha News that looks at the changing role of the library in the community and shows how it is more relevant now than ever before.
SALEM — The Salem Community Library is becoming a hub of home-school activity thanks to new daytime programming geared toward the needs of non…
While books remain an important focal point of the Kenosha Public Library’s day-to-day operations, they have become a fraction of what occurs …
Alexa. The Echo Dot. Google. Smartphones. The Internet.
Kristin Kornkven leads the Social Justice Book Club as it meets at the Northside Library on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.
Dani Lockwood, left, David Lockwood discuss their reading during the Social Justice Book Club as it meets at the Northside Library on Tuesday.…
Dani Lockwood, left, David Lockwood, Ellie Gross discuss their reading as Kristin Kornkven, right, leads the Social Justice Book Club as it me…
Dani Lockwood discusses her reading during the Social Justice Book Club as it meets at the Northside Library on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.
Kristin Kornkven leads the Social Justice Book Club as it meets at the Northside Library on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.
St. Joseph Catholic Academy Lower Campus fifth-grade teacher John Roscioli, top middle, with his students, including Tommy Otto, lower left, a…
The Kenosha Public Library’s Bookmobile makes a stop at St. Joseph Catholic Academy Lower Campus on Tuesday, January 8, 2019.
Janet Frieman, a customer services specialist at the Northside Library, logs hold items after they are sorted by the library’s new automatic m…
Marcia Siehr instructs a class on Windows 10 at the Northside Library on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019.
Marcia Siehr instructs a class on Windows 10 at the Northside Library on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2019.
Marcia Siehr, left, helps Patsy Klein, center, and Bernie Baumiester during a class on Windows 10 at the Northside Library on Wednesday.
Theresa Seidel, left, a librarian at the Twin Lakes Community Library, reads to preschoolers Marty Best, Charlie Best, Nicholas and Michael Kn…
Theresa Seidel, a librarian at the Twin Lakes Community Library, reads to children during the preschool story time last Thursday.
Theresa Seidel is a librarian at the Twin Lakes Community Library. Seidel was waiting for children to arrive for a preschool story time at the…
Preschoolers Marty Best, left, and Charlie Best listen as Theresa Seidel, a librarian at the Twin Lakes Community Library, reads during the pr…
Theresa Seidel, a librarian at the Twin Lakes Community Library, reads to children during the preschool story time. Thursday, January 10, 2019.
From left, Destiny Jones, 10, Lola Bruns, 10, Noah Beeal, 8, Lisa Rivers, and Issac Shailer, 10, do a breakdown cheer at the end of the Discov…
Isaac Shailor, 10, center, shares drawings of things he likes during the Discover Theater Class at the Southwest Library on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Lola Bruns, 10, shares that reading is her favorite thing to do as Isaac Shailor, 10, looks on during the Discover Theater Class at the Southw…
Isaac Shailor, 10, acts out "confused" during the Discover Theater Class at the Southwest Library on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Lola Buns, 10, puts gestures to "confident" during the Discover Theater Class at the Southwest Library on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Lisa Rivers, left, motions as students from left, Noah Beeal, 8, Issac Shailor, 10, and Lola Bruns, 10, act out emotions during the Discover T…
Kenosha Public Library employee Lisa Rivers, left, motions as students, from left, Noah Beeal, 8, Issac Shailor, 10, and Lola Bruns, 10, act o…
From left, Destiny Jones, 10, Isaac Shailor, 10, Noah Beeal, 8, Lola Bruns, 19, and Lisa Rivers create a story out to act out during the Disco…
From left, Isaac Shailor, 10, Noah Beeal, 8, Destiny Jones, 10, and Lola Bruns act out specific words from a story theyc created during the Di…
Noah Beeal, 8, center, gestures typing as he plays charades during the Discover Theater Class at the Southwest Library on Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019.
Matthew Moon, 11, reads a book to Ellie and her handler, Dave Jouppi at the Southwest Library on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
Hayden Stanis, 7, reads to Ellie and her handler, Dave Jouppie, at the Southwest Library on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
Ryan Moon,9, reads to Otis and his handler, Joan Davies, at the Southwest Library on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
Matthew Moon, 11, reads a book to Ellie and her handler, Dave Jouppi at the Southwest Library on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
Matthew Moon, 11, reads a book to Ellie and her handler, Dave Jouppi at the Southwest Library on Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019.
Gamers play Ticket to Ride during Game Club at the Southwest Library on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
Brothers Dakota, left, and Jasper Kane look at their cards as they strategize during Game Club at the Southwest Library on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
From left, Rob Nunez and brothers Dakota and Jasper Kane play a game called Ticket to Ride during Game Club on Thursday at Southwest Library.
Rob Nunez, head of collection services, looks at his cards as he plays Ticket to Ride during Game Club at the Southwest Library on Thursday, J…
From left, Don Kresch, Rob Nunez and Dakota Kane play Ticket to Ride during Game Club at the Southwest Library on Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019.
For generations of children, public libraries across the U.S. have been synonymous with storytimes and other reading-related activities.
With bright, vibrant, imagination-inspired images covering its body, the Kenosha Public Library’s Bookmobile is hard to miss.
It might be smaller in scope and serve fewer patrons, but the pair of Community Library branches serving residents in western Kenosha County h…
Liz Snyder
Features/GO Kenosha