Carol Bluestein

Carol Bluestein, aka C.L. Bluestein, is a dedicated, persistent, inquisitive, and self-empowered entrepreneur, using her energy to focus awareness on the critical issues facing our understanding of humanity and democratic republic. Through her books, she addresses many of the current events, relationships, and frustrations of living in our time. Her essays on depression, CTE (Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy), politics, self-empowerment can be found on The Good Men Project (Http://www.goodmenproject com) or go to the GMP link at CarolBluestein.com. She has also hosted GMP live calls for The Disposability of Men, The Political Landscape, and currently co-hosts Climate Change by the Elements and Covid-19.

Personal empowerment is one of the main underlying themes of her work. “I believe the heroes among us are those who persevere through difficult circumstances while showing kindness to those around them, giving unselfishly to their community, and serving as a role model to inspire others to leave this world a better place than we found it.”

Carol started her writing career after raising her family, dealing with widowhood, and serving as her parents’ caretaker. Her stories come from life experiences and situations, current events — political, cultural, and societal — and all their attendant absurdities. The plots are puzzles—how to get from here to there. She finds the entire process is challenging, fluid, and surprising.

Before publishing her first book, SEDUCTION, she was a chapter president and a regional president, one of the first two women elected to this position, with B’nai Brith International. During this time, her studies in Educational Management at SUNY New Paltz honed her skills in organizational management.

She used these skills to rejuvenate two art centers and develop tourism under I Love NY. At The Community Cultural Center, Hopewell Junction, NY where she organized local artisans to form the Hudson Valley Artisans Guild, initiated and ran the Dutchess Community College Craft Show, and the Annual Dutchess County Flower Show. Later, she resurrected the Garrison Art Center, Garrison, NY. In between these two appointments, Carol was the first Executive Director of Dutchess County, NY, Tourism, and a member of the Dutchess County Arts Council.

After these community projects, Carol followed her interests in all things computer, taught herself analysis, design, and programming as well a writing a beginner’s column for the Poughkeepsie-based IBM Computer Club. She went on to teach basic computer and basic programming at Dutchess Community College. After which, she started her own computer consulting company. Then, she was hired to work on a systems development project for the DCC Development Office, installing and running a Blackbaud Accounting System,

Carol’s computer and analytic skills caught the attention of an Albany, NY, educational computer company, Info-Ed, where she applied her skills to create a user-friendly Technology Transfer module. After this, she went to work for the New York State Office of Taxation, creating internal systems.

All during this time, Carol ran her own part-time photography business focusing on weddings, events, and portraiture. Her eye for expression and composition was her forte. Through club and convention seminars, she honed her skills. After the twin towers attack, her work cubical became suffocating. She left and did photography full time until her parents moved across the street and their caretaking took her full attention.

In 2008, on her own again, a friend enticed her to attend The International Women’s Writing Guild conference. The experience changed her life. Carol wrote her first novel’s first draft in 2010. During the next five conferences, she took seminars, worked with teachers, did Improv, and wrote nine drafts until she finished SEDUCTION in 2015. She refers to the whole process as exhausting and intense as earning a Master’s in Fine Arts.

Carol’s background in education, sales, marketing, consulting, computers, arts, theater, administration, current events photography, gardening, and caregiving (dogs and people) as well as her family (three children and seven grandchildren), gives her a rich and unique perspective evident in her thoughtful, exciting, unique, contemporary, and entertaining work.