Carolyn began writing astronomy- and space-related books in the 1990s. Her latest, The Discovery of the Universe, was released in 2020. Space Exploration: Past, Present, Future was released in 2017. Her popular book Astronomy 101: From the Sun and Moon to Wormholes and Warp Drive, Key Theories, Discoveries, and Facts about the Universe is in its second edition, published by Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.

In 1992 and 2002, Carolyn and co-author Jack Brandt published Hubble Vision and Visions of the Cosmos respectively, through Cambridge University Press in England. She also served as co-editor on The New Solar System, published jointly by Sky Publishing Corporation and Cambridge University Press. Her first kids' book in science, Jupiter, created with artist Don Davis, was published in 1989.

Carolyn also publishes her work on her blog, The Spacewriter's Ramblings.