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April 5, 2009

Walters author has fan base in Duncan

‘Magnificent’ series inspired at home

Jayne Boykin

DUNCAN — When Carole Mumford of Walters set out to write a series of novels, she didn’t have far to go for inspiration. Her cast of characters was in her own back yard — literally.

“The Magnificent Six series characters are based on my grand and great-grandchildren and my friend’s grandchildren. Their adventures are based on my life experiences and imagination. My grandchildren, my children, my grandparents, my parents and my friends are my true inspiration. It is exciting and fun to build a character from someone you know and care about,” Mumford said.

One of those inspirations is her mother, Aurelia Carman of Duncan, who has lived here with her husband, Ed, for more than 30 years. Mumford is a frequent visitor to Duncan, and recently brought the cover of her first published novel, “The Magnificent Six: Their Yellowstone Adventure,” to show to her mom. At that point, the book had not even been released yet.

“I was kinda surprised, but I’m really proud of her for doing that,” her mother said. “I know it was something she wanted to do for a long time.”

Mumford grew up in Temple and graduated from Temple High School. She attended Cameron University for two years, working for the government each summer. In 1968, she and her college sweetheart, Jim Mumford, were married and she went to work full-time for the federal government as a management analyst — a career that lasted 36 years. The last 24 years of her service was as chief of the Business Analysis branch of the Resource Management Division of Reynolds Army Community Hospital at Fort Sill.

Her retirement almost six years ago gave her the opportunity to do something she had wanted to do for a long time — write.

“Why did I start writing? I had such a demanding job for the government and everyone kept asking me what I was going to do with myself after I retired. I was fortunate that when I was in school, I had good teachers who challenged me to explore ideas. I had always wanted to write children’s books, so I started this first one right after I retired. I got so busy with other things in my life that I put the book aside for five years. Then one day, I decided to start working on the book again, and finished it several months later.

“By that time I was on a roll, and wrote the second book in the Magnificent Six series. It is at the publishers and will be printed this summer. I have started the third book in the series, but sometimes life just interferes with writing,” Mumford said.

Mumford and her husband have two children. Brent and his wife, Lisa, live in Walters. Daughter Jana and her husband, Brian, live in Lake Jackson, Texas. The couple has four grandchildren: Ashley, Heather, Brandon and Braxton, and three great-grandchildren: Crue, Cash and Creed.

“The first book grew out of a trip we took to Yellowstone. It’s fictional, but fact-based. It was a fun trip and fun writing about it. I used the children’s real first names in the story,” she said.

The second book in the series, “Christmas Vacation in Colorado: A Magnificent Six Adventure,” takes the children skiing and snowmobiling in Durango, Colo.

After her series is complete, Mumford plans to write an individual book for each of her grandchildren.

With a growing family, and a big fan club among her Duncan relatives, Mumford’s writing career is, as she said, on a roll.

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