We're excited to become part of your student's story!
Dr. Daniel Schwabauer, Th.D. – “Mr. S.”
A lifelong fascination with the power of Story led Daniel to become an award-winning author, as well as a speaker and beloved writing teacher. He is the creator of The One Year Adventure Novel, Cover Story, and Byline Language Arts programs, and the author of the recent military sci-fi novel Operation Grendel and the young adult novels in The Legends of Tira-Nor series. His newest novel, Maxine Justice: Galactic Attorney, released in March 2022 from Enclave Publishing.
Daniel’s professional work includes stage plays, radio scripts, short stories, newspaper columns, comic books and scripting for animated TV. He graduated with honors from the University of Kansas with a Master’s in creative writing in 1995 under the guidance of science fiction writer James E. Gunn. In 2023, he earned a Doctorate in Theology in semiotics from Kairos University.
A favorite story: The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, Jr.
Carrol Schwabauer – “Mrs. S.”
While Mr. S. is the face of Clear Water Press, Mrs. S. does almost all the graphic and web design involved in our programs, as well as a lot of the filming! She’s also a painter! Her favorite medium is oils and she loves to paint in the middle of the night, free from daytime distractions, with an ear out for owls.
Mrs. S. is a major part of the annual Summer Workshop. Without her special brand of stand-up comedy, Workshop just wouldn’t be Workshop. She especially enjoys designing the Workshop t-shirts. The theme of the workshop is always a secret, so seeing students unfold their event shirt on the first day is super rewarding!
This interview on our blog is a few years old now, but is a fun way to get to know her a bit.
A favorite story: Life Is Beautiful, 1997 film—she says watch it in the original Italian!
Rachel Garner – “Nairam”
Rachel Garner became a member of Clear Water Press staff in 2010 because of her compulsive habit of answering questions on the OYAN Student Forum. Known as “Nairam” in the extended OYAN community, her main work now is administrating the OYAN Student Forum, helping coordinate the Summer Workshop, and judging the annual Student Novel Contest. She loves young writers and nurturing the kind of communities that made her time as an OYAN student so special.
After homeschooling, she earned an honors in history at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a postgraduate certificate in Cultural Heritage Management at the University of York, England. Her “IRL” job is on the Guest Experience team at a historic hotel. She currently spends her days organizing anything she can get away with, laughing and crying over medieval people, talking too much about the TV show Lost, and reading a metric ton of children’s picture books.
To see some of Rachel’s thoughts on writing and stories, check out A Secret to Historical Fiction that Won’t Make Historians Cry, How One Smart Scene Can Pull the Weight of Many, and Telling a Religious Story Without Being Preachy.
A favorite story: The many faces and forever expanding adventures of Robin Hood
Kelly Howard
If you call us on the phone, Kelly’s is the voice on the other end! Kelly joined us in 2019. She runs Customer Service, and coordinates our Summer Workshop for teen writers. She is an amazing administrative talent! What drew her to join the team was our vision to unlock creativity and curiosity in the young people who take our courses. She loves getting our immersive learning experiences into the hands of new families.
Kelly graduated from Wichita State University in 1998. In 2001, she earned a masters degree in professional counseling from Colorado Christian University. Kelly and her husband are based in Kansas City. One of her favorite things to do is take her work to coffee shops—she’s in the right city!
A favorite story: The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien
Sarah Noé
Sarah works with us seasonally, helping to coordinate the Cover Story contests and our Summer Workshop. Sarah is a piano accompanist at Mid-America Nazarene University. Music and Story have been a part of Sarah’s soul since childhood. She had the rare chance to take The One Year Adventure Novel live, in 2009, and loves connecting today’s teen writers to the program that transformed her writing. In 2014, she graduated from the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance with a bachelor of music in piano performance.
Her few spare hours are filled with handicrafts, nerdy TV shows, reading, and writing her steampunk novel. You can enjoy her writing on our blog: When Words Stop Coming, A Girl and Her Goggles: Tips for Writing Steampunk, and A Writer to Her Younger Self.
A favorite story: 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson
Carolyn Kirkman
Carolyn Kirkman has worked with the Clear Water Press team since 2022. While she helps out at the OYAN Summer Workshop and the Student Novel contest, she primarily assists in marketing the writing programs and “bullying” Daniel Schwabauer into creating content on his social media platforms. As a former One Year Adventure Novel student, she thoroughly believes in the value of Clear Water Press and enjoys finding creative ways to spread the word.
Carolyn graduated from UNC Greensboro in 2020 with full honors in Arts Administration. She’s taught Christian apologetics and worldview to high school and college students since 2021 and was commissioned as a Colson Fellows in 2023. She served as a Chapter Director with Ratio Christi at UNC Greensboro until 2025 before becoming a stay-at-home mom. Together with a love of fiction instilled by One Year Adventure Novel and a fascination with Christian theology, she continues her creative writing journey by drawing inspiration from the stories of spiritual abuse victims. She lives in North Carolina with her husband and children.
A favorite story: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Rosey Mucklestone
Rosey packs and ships out our curriculum orders, helps judge the One Year Adventure Novel Student Novel Contest and the Cover Story contests, as well as helping coordinate the Summer Workshop.
She’s a homeschool graduate, lifelong lover of books and aspiring hobbit. In 2023 she graduated from Mr. S.’s basement with a masters degree in box packaging.
Rosey currently lives in Kansas City with her OYANer roommate and her insane but lovable dog.
A favorite story: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Megan Mestel
Megan has been an active part of the One Year Adventure Novel community since 2012, and now she works closely with the students by moderating the Student Forum, judging the OYAN Novel Contest, and planning Summer Workshops. She’s also a part of the marketing team.
Megan is a lover of stories of all mediums: novels, movies, video games, music, comics, and TV series, to name a few. She graduated from Purdue Polytechnic University Summa Cum Laude in 2021, with a double major in Animation and Game Design, which are two of her favorite mediums of storytelling. When she’s not chasing after her big fluffy dog, Megan operates a Taekwondo school with her husband in Southern Indiana.
A favorite story: anything and everything Star Wars
