Cara Brookins

The true story of a house and a family rising from the dust

Last year my kids and I hit a financial crunch and needed to reduce our monthly bills. We still needed a place to call home, a place where we would all feel safe. So we built one.

Four kids and a woman made for an unusual construction crew. We were quickly in over our heads, relying on YouTube videos, a few friends, and a construction book as our guides.

Sometime it was freezing cold; sometimes it was raining or hailing. A tornado blew by just across the street. When it was 105 degrees we were putting up siding and itchy insulation. It was the most difficult thing we've ever done. But it was also the most empowering event of our lives.

—This adult nonfiction is what currently keeps me up at night. Building a house once wasn't enough, now I'm rebuilding it chapter by chapter. I hope to have this work completed by mid 2009.

Latest!

Drew is a computer geek who loves to build things out of electronic scraps that other people throw out. He has developed an amazing new Robot that works on a unique power source — all from parts he found while dumpster diving.

Hope is a wealthy Hispanic girl with busy parents. She certainly never planned to dig in trash heaps for robot pieces — but she learns to enjoy it.

The two unlikely friends end up on a wild adventure while trying to save their sticky robot from a greedy scientist. Along the way they learn important lessons about family, friendship, and the power of skunk scent.

Available in the fall of 2008 from Goldminds Publishing!

Gadget Geeks!

Doris Free

Doris is shy, but filled with determination and creativity. Her first adventure in 'Neighbor to Neighbor' is a great introduction to life in the 1930's. Her family faces the struggled of daily life, but they also realize how fortunate they are.

When Doris unexpectedly befriends a thief, her life becomes complicated. In order to help her struggling neighbor, she must keep secrets from her family.

The pure desire to do good brings together not only Doris' family and their neighbor, but the entire town of Tomah.

Now Available!

Laugh On!

Every day, life presents us with the opportunity to laugh at ourselves. Be it mishap, misfortune, misunderstanding, mistake, or a just plain mischief, if you can laugh through the hard times – your chances of survival increase exponentially.

Laugh On is a 50-story collection of reasons to laugh at life. Stories of innocence, guilt, and bewilderment will introduce readers to the joys of daily life. Read with a light heart and leave with a grin when you recognize your own children, parents, spouse or grandparents.

Two of these stories were published in UALR's 2008 Quills and Pixels. Three additional stories will appear in the 2009 edition. I will begin mailing promotions to editors in the next couple of months.

Read a sample here! Editors, please email for additional samples.