Jun. 5, 2009
Today (Friday) Only!
Posted in Giveaways and Contests
Go on over to The Christian Pulse, who are giving away a free, autographed copy of Andrea Carter and the San Francisco Smugglers Friday, 5! I'm even including a little Chinese doll with the book.
Here's the link with instructions on how to enter to win: THE CHRISTIAN PULSE
May. 15, 2009
Real-life photos from the past
Posted in Photo Gallery
It's great fun when you can find pictures of real kids from history and can use the pictures without worrying about copyrights. Going through old family pictures, we found these real-life relatives that work well to depict a couple of the characters. First, here's Andi at age 9, courtesy of my real-life great-aunt Nada. And a great picture of Chad, courtesy of my grandfather Hubert (Nada's brother).
Just for fun!
Apr. 21, 2009
We Have a Winner!
Posted in Giveaways and Contests
Yesterday I printed out and cut up all the entries for the cover contest. Then my grandson folded all the little strips up. I put them in a bowl, and he drew out one name. Ready? Drum-roll:
The winner is Felicia Straley!
Congratulations, Felicia! I will send you
The Trouble with Treasure last next fall (hopefully before Christmas), along with a vial of real gold flakes.
Thanks, everyone, for playing along. I sent my publisher a summary of your feedback (Taffy on the cover had a 2 to 1 lead). As soon as Kregel decides on the cover (yes, they get the final decision), I'll post the cover here.
Again, I hope you had as much fun entering as I had reading your responses! Go here to read the rest of the responses:
RESPONSES.
Apr. 9, 2009
Book 5 cover contest!
Posted in Giveaways and Contests
The draft covers for Circle C Adventures Book 5- Andrea Carter and the Trouble with Treasure are here. You can vote for you favorite cover by leaving a comment. Everyone who leaves a comment will be entered into a random drawing to win a copy of the new book when it is released late next fall. The lucky winner will also receive a small vial of REAL gold flakes. Why gold flakes? Well, Andi's friend Cory gets hold of an old survey map of the mountains, which shows gold diggings. Together with Andi's older brother Mitch, Andi, her new friend Jenny, and Cory head for the hills. But instead of finding gold, they find a heap of trouble!
Take a look at the covers, and then read the "Rules" below to enter:
Mar. 31, 2009
The Ten Commandments . . . Old West Style
Posted in Life in the Old West
The Ten Commandments . . . Old West Style
1. There's just one Trail Boss . . . God.
2. Don't be hankering after other gods.
3. Watch yer mouth, partner!
4. Get yourself to Sunday meetings.
5. Honor yer ma and pa.
6. No killin' two-legged varmits. Let the law do it.
7. Don't be sparkin' another fella's gal.
8. Don't stick your brand on your neighbor's horses or cattle.
9. No tellin' tall tales or gossiping.
10. Don't hanker after another rancher's water, stock, or fancy spread.
~ loosely translated from Exodus 20 by Andi Carter
Feb. 26, 2009
Circle C Roundup e-zine for February
Posted in Future Books
If you're not on my E-zine list and want to read the latest news, click on the graphic. I've finally figured out how to post my e-zine on my website:
Feb. 16, 2009
Will Book 6 Become a Reality?
Posted in Future Books
Well, some very interesting developments have occurred over the last couple of weeks. But I want you to go here to read about it.
http://circlecadventures.blogspot.com/
And then try commenting because I want to see if it's easy for you to do it. HSB has been so SLOW lately that it's hard to load my pages!
I want you to tell me what you think of the background over there, too.
Jan. 30, 2009
Will Wonders Never Cease?
Posted in Young Andi Stories
Well, this is a surprise! My publisher has decided they want to go ahead with 3 books for an Early Chapter books series, based on the characters from the Circle C Adventures. Sort of like an Adventures of Andi and Taffy. I think I'll call the first one
Pony Trouble and write the story of how Andi first gets Taffy. This series would be for ages 6-8, kids learning to read. If anybody has any ideas for other books, feel free to share them. I have ideas for the first three books, but if they do well, there will sure to be more. I even have a potential illustrator (these books for younger children have black and white illustrations throughout the book). Wow. Excitement builds.
Of course, these things take time, so don't start looking for the books yet. I will probably do updates about this fun little series on the
Andi Stories blog.
And what does Andi say to all this? "I think it will be fun for little kids to read about what I did in the Old West when I was young. I'll try really hard to remember the adventures I had!"
Jan. 26, 2009
Book giveaway!
Posted in Giveaways and Contests
Howdy, partners! It's time for the quarterly Bloggy Giveaway Carnival. This carnival is so much fun! Click the graphic to join us! This time around, instead of telling you which book I'm giving away, I'm going to give you a chance to pick the book you want. Haven't read the latest adventure,
San Francisco Smugglers? Here's your chance to win a copy. Never read the series? You can choose to start with the first book,
Long Ride Home. However, since each book is a stand-alone adventure, it doesn't really matter which one you start with.
Click the rotating book below to read summaries and sample chapters to help you choose:
The contest rules: Please leave
your e-mail address in a comment below. It is much easier for me to pop off an e-mail to the winner, rather than paste your URL blog address into my browser to track you down. I will post the winner of the contest here, also, when the contest ends.
Oh, and if you are already a reader of the Circle C Adventures series, take a moment to participate in the informal poll on the sidebar!
Thanks!
Jan. 19, 2009
Winners of the e-zine book giveaway
Posted in Giveaways and Contests
There were 80 entries for the Circle C Roundup e-zine book giveaway! Random.org chose these two lucky winners: jls_wss2003 and kawaiineko2008. I sent them a congratulations e-mail, but I thought I'd announce it here so those of you who did not win (this time) will realize that there really ARE winners and that the e-zine contest is over.
However . . . never fear! Next Monday (January 26), the quarterly Bloggy Giveaway starts. I am going to give away a couple more books for that, so try, try again!
P.S. Don't forget to participate in my informal poll (see the right sidebar)!
It's great fun when you can find pictures of real kids from history and can use the pictures without worrying about copyrights. Going through old family pictures, we found these real-life relatives that work well to depict a couple of the characters. First, here's Andi at age 9, courtesy of my real-life great-aunt Nada. And a great picture of Chad, courtesy of my grandfather Hubert (Nada's brother).
