I was cleaning out my file folders (on the computer) and found a whole slew of questions that don’t look familiar. So, here are another 12 questions and answers. I hope they are not repeats. LOL Enjoy! Remember: if you want to ask a question, great! But make sure the question has not already been answered in one of the other previously posted parts 1-7.
1. Why did you make Andi (who’s the least ladylike and not interested in boys) get married just when she turned 18 and made Melinda(who had many suitors and love affairs) 21 when she was married(which is pretty old)? (Anonymous)
That’s a really good question. The truth is, I never intended to write any books when Andi was old enough to court or even be married. That was the farthest thing from my mind. But . . . when Andi fans got into their teens, they kept bugging me about continuing Andi’s adventures as a teen and hoping she would marry. Many of the original fans from years back wanted Andi to marry Cory. That had always been in the back of my mind until I realized that he and she would not make a good match. And that’s when I resurrected Riley from the Circle C Beginnings and brought him back to end up being the man Andi eventually marries.
Melinda didn’t get married earlier mostly because she was such a minor character in the big scheme of things in the books that I did not hardly remember to “write her into the story.” It’s like . . . she was almost “window dressing” and didn’t have much personality anyway. It would not make sense to have the stories take a sudden turn (since Andi is the main character) and spend time following Melinda and seeing her get married. I finally decided to do that after Price of Truth. I wanted a familiar character, and not that horrid Jeffrey Sullivan, whom Andi refers to off and on in the earlier books. So Peter Wilson suddenly became a serious beau for our blond beauty. (Actually, Melinda plays more of a role in the Stepping Stones books, when Andi is age nine.)
2. Did society look down on the boys (Andi’s brothers) because they were not married? (Anonymous)
Not at all. Men could pretty much do what they wanted. Many easily remarried when their wives died in childbirth. It’s the women who seemed to get the brunt of the deal. “Old maid” at age 21 was not very nice.
3. Did Toledo kiss Andi because he liked her, or did he do it to intimidate/anger her? (Laura D.)
I think it was a combination of both–he clearly was attracted to her, but also he knew that what he did would cause trouble for the Carters, and he wanted to give Andi’s brothers a “goodbye” irritation as he made off with their cattle.
4. Is Andi pretty and attractive? (Laura D.)
Well, sure! What author creates an unattractive main character for an entire series, right? So, yes. Andi’s pretty cute, right from the start–blue eyes, wavy black/brown hair, a splattering of freckles, and a sunny smile.
5. In Family Secret, why was Mitch so excited (and spun Andi around) about Kate in front of Andi? Didn’t he have to keep it a secret from her? Or did he think that Andi had already found out from Mother about Kate? (Laura D.)
Nobody said Kate was a secret, at least it’s not in the book. Mitch was so excited that he couldn’t help himself, anyway, even if it might have been a secret. Readers might think it was as secret when Chad doesn’t tell Andi about Kate when she asks what’s going on, but mostly Chad’s thinking it’s a “whoa, that’s above my paygrade” kind of reaction, like he does not want to be involved in such an earthshattering revelation and would rather leave that to their mother.
6. Is Andi close with Kate? (Laura D.)
Andi is close with Kate now . . . (post-Family Secret), or at least as close as she can be with Kate living in San Francisco. Once Andi had that long talk with Kate in the library during Family Secret, there was no going back for Andi. She finally accepted Kate as her sister and learned to love her just as much as she loves the rest of her family.
7. Does Andi ever feel bad that she can’t be like Melinda and ladylike, and does she lash out her anger on Melinda? (Anonymous)
Andi has no desire to be ladylike, and the only time she wishes she was more like Melinda is in the Fan Fun Extras book, Terrible Secret, where she bemoans to Justin that she is always getting into scrapes, and why does she have dark hair and Melinda is blond and so pretty, etc. But nothing like that comes up in the core series.
Are there times when Andi “lashes out” at Melinda? Maybe in her thoughts, but the closest she comes to doing this is in The Last Ride, when all Melinda does is think about her wedding plans with Peter. Andi teases her horribly (I guess she takes after her brother Chad for that), but she is quick to apologize.
8. Does Andi ever feel left out in her family? (Anonymous)
Andi used to feel left out all the time, and she especially felt like this after Kate returned home. She and the boys brought up many memories of when they were children together, and Andi could hardly stand listening to it. I think this would be similar to all youngest children, especially if the older ones start talking together about the fun things they did before the younger ones were born.
In my family, my two older kids (Kristel and Chad) are nearly as far apart in age from the two younger boys (Andrew and Ryan, AKA “Cory” on the Trouble with Treasure cover) as Justin and Chad are from Andi. The older kids grew up camping and waterskiing with their cousins every summer, something the younger boys never remember doing, as they were toddlers and have no memory of those fun days. So, if my two oldest spent lots of time talking about it when Andrew and Ryan were Andi’s age (12 or so), there might have been resentment and feelings of being left out.
As Andi grew older, she left these feelings behind and contented herself with making her own fun memories.
9. Where did you get the idea to have Mitch and Andi very close in Heartbreak trail? Are they in general very close like Justin and Andi? I never saw it in any other books. (Anonymous)
The “author” answer is pretty straight-forward. It was time to focus on Andi’s relationship with Mitch. Sometimes, it’s like . . . Mitch is in the background. It’s hard to give all the siblings equal time in the story, and Melinda always gets the short end of the character stick. For Heartbreak Trail, I figured it was time for Andi and Mitch to get much closer and together “save the day,” so to speak. So, I wrote Chad out of the book (that’s why he got shot. So he would have to leave). Chad gets a lot of “screen time,” between him and Andi clashing so much, and I wanted to pave the way for Mitch to take over and shine.
And Justin gets plenty of screen time too in the books, so he stayed home from the cattle drive for sure.
But as far as saying you never saw it in other books, there’s a nice scene in Price of Truth, where Andi and Mitch really share some heart issues with each other. And Mitch shows his closeness by promising not to say anything in court that might contradict Andi’s testimony. So, that kind of sets the stage for the camaraderie in Heartbreak Trail. And I made sure it was Mitch who was left home in the short story, “Specter from the Past,” (when Chad and Riley went on the cattle drive) who finds and comforts Andi after that disaster.
1o. What does a typical day on the ranch look like for the Carter family? (Caroline S.)
The Carter family rises before dawn. As Chad says, “This is a working ranch,” so nobody gets to lie around in bed. I can just see Chad yelling at lazy family members who might occasionally sleep in. (Andi has had water spilled on her face more than once in her life, when she didn’t want to get up at five am.) Chad is very similar to the character (Nick) in this 2-minute clip from The Big Valley, and he’s just about as loud. (Keep scrolling down the page for the rest of the family’s day).
Justin works in town, so he is the official driver to get Andi (and Melinda, when they were young) to school every day, so he leaves between 6:30 or 7:00 am. It’s a full hour to Fresno from the ranch, and school begins promptly at 8:00. He spends the day in town at his law office. He works until 4:00pm, when he picks Andi up from school and drives her home. That’s typical, but occasionally he has to stay later, and Andi must hang around in town.
For Andi, a typical day is being stuck at school. But if it’s summer or Saturday, her typical day is filled with an early breakfast, early ranch chores and then anything she can do to help around the ranch, like brand calves (in the fall and spring), flush out strays, etc.
A typical day for Melinda is an early breakfast and helping Mother run the house. Melinda loves to bake, so she’s in the kitchen with Luisa and Nila quite often. A couple times a week, Melinda rides to town (usually in the buggy, and yes, she can hitch up her own buggy) for her various Missionary meets and helping at the county’s orphanage.
Chad and Mitch’s typical day is whatever they have to do to keep the Circle C running and making a profit–foaling, branding, flushing strays, checking fences, and managing the hired help (ranch hands). There is also managing the vineyards, cutting and baling hay in season, overseeing their orchards, and in general working from dawn until dusk. They have quite a few foremen to do the actual work, but Chad, especially, is hands-on and is constantly checking things or getting Mitch to check on things. The forge is always busy with repairing various implements, shoeing horses, and other things. And that’s every day of every week. Ranching is hard work!
Mother’s typical day involves overseeing the management of the house and also (thought it’s never brought out in the books, because I can only highlight so much) seeing to the workers’ wives and children. She ministers to the Mexican field and orchard workers when they come to harvest and makes sure they have plenty to eat and the children have enough to wear. If they get sick, she makes sure they get help and medicine. All in all, Mother’s day is filled to the brim, just like her family’s.
I hope you enjoyed this latest Ask Mrs. M post! You may ask more questions for another Ask Mrs. M post, but first . . . you need to read Parts 1-9 so that you don’t ask questions I have already answered. Thanks!
Andi Carter's Blog 
Oh this was such a fun read! I love reading your answers to these questions!
Thanks for the post! 😀
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Is Andi her brothers (Justin, Chad, and Mitch). favorite. It seems like it, they’re very protective of her.
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Not sure what you are asking. It seems cut off a bit.
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I meant, do Andi’s brothers (Justin, Chad, and Mitch) favor Andi more than the other sisters: Kate and Melinda.
It just seems that way since they are always very protective and watching out for her, even in the Last Ride?
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They would protect Melinda too, if she were the MC and had lots of misadventures. 😉
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OOPPS, I wanted to to ask is Andi really the real name or short fort something, if it’s short for something then what is Andi short for?
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It’s short for Andrea!
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interesting, I have a younger sister named Andrea and to my knowledge she’s never been called Andi
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If you have read any of the books, you know the answer to this. *smile*
Actually, you just have to read the titles of any of the books to figure this one out.
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Andi is sort for Andrea
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These questions and answers are so interesting. Thanks, Mrs. M.
Colleen L. Reece
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Love it!
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Thanks for doing this Mrs. M! It’s fun to read these questions and answers!
I liked the closeness between Mitch and Andi in Heartbreak Trail and Price of Truth! I think you can also see it in Trouble with Treasure and especially in Trouble at Line Shack.
Mitch is also one of my FAVORITE characters!! 😊
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how old was Andi when she got saved?
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I don’t know. The books don’t say.
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How much money do you get a year from your books?
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It varies greatly. I get two royalty checks from my publisher, one every six months, and those have been increasing nicely. I used to get quite a lot from sales on my website, but those have dropped off considerably since I put Amazon buttons on my site as an option.
I also used to do well at homeschool conventions. But I’m not going to do those any longer.
Sorry, I can’t give you actual figures.
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How does the game of ante – over work?
Did Miss Hall die?
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Here’s a short description:
There are two teams, one on each side of the barrier. A player on the team that starts with the ball throws the ball over the barrier to the other team, yelling some version of “Ante Over” to warn them that it has been thrown. If the other team fails to catch the ball before it hits the ground, then they will yell “Ante Over” and throw it back. If the team that is thrown to catches the ball, then the player holding the ball and this team run around the building and attempt to hit one of the members of the opposing team with the ball. Players are “safe” if they succeed in running around the building without being hit. If a player is hit, they then join the team of the player who hit them with the ball. Play continues until one team has all of the players or just one is left.
I suppose Miss Hall died eventually. Everyone does, but I don’t know when. Probably Andi doesn’t know either.
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why did you only want to write stories for yourself, and not publish them?
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Because I was shy…..
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When is your next QandA coming up? I’ve got lots of questions!!!
-Hannah Y
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Well … Send me your questions….. 👍
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Ok thanks! Here are a few of mine and also some questions that i saw on the comment section of your blog that I would be interested too…
Thank you so much Mrs. M
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Thx. Did you read all of the other Ask Mrs M posts to make sure you are not duplicating the questions? Some of these seem familiar and I don’t want to keep answering the same questions. Also, I’m sorry to say, a good many of these questions are unanswerable because I’ve never thought about it and they have not a lot to do with the stories themselves and go beyond FICTIONAL characters. News flash: These are NOT real people, so some of the questions don’t really matter. I will answer the ones I feel are relevant without having to create massive character biographies as if they were real. I hope that makes sense.
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In fact, I think I will answer the questions I can right here since I have not been posting much.
1. Given the fact that they were in the 1800s, and the fact that women were treated differently back then as to now, did Andi’s brothers, ranch hands, and male townsfolk, treat her and her sisters and mother nicely? YOU SHOULD BE ABLE TO ASCERTAIN THIS ANSWER BY READING THE BOOKS. AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY “TREATED DIFFERENTLY” IN THE 1800S? DIFFERENT HOW? I BELIEVE THAT WOMEN WERE TREATED WITH WAY MORE RESPECT BACK THEN THAN THEY ARE NOW IN MANY WAYS. AND THROUGHOUT THE AGES, TRUE CHRISTIANS ALWAYS TREATED WOMEN BIBLICALLY–AS EQUALS, ETC.–AND IT’S ONLY THE CULTURE THAT WOULD HAVE US THINK DIFFERENTLY.
2. I’m not finding fault, but why does Andi always seem to receive the harsh scoldings. Even when she’s older, why is she always so immature and stubborn? Especially in the Last Ride and also in her marriage with Riley. I WOULD SAY THAT IS A MATTER OF READER OPINION. AND WHAT HARSH SCOLDINGS ARE YOU REFERRING TOO? ANY IMMATURITY AND/OR STUBBORNESS QUALITIES HAVE BEEN TAKEN FROM REAL LIFE, I.E. WHAT I SEE IN REAL FAMILIES. I DON’T HIDE THE FACT THAT HUMANS SIN . . . BUT HOPEFULLY LEARN AND GROW. AND THE BOTTOM LINE? IF ANDI IS PERFECT, THE STORY IS BORING. NO CONFLICT, NO INTEREST, SO I HAD TO HAVE CONFLICT AND I PICKED CHAD TO HAVE THAT CONFLICT WITH. I DO NOT LIKE TO READ STORIES WITH PERFECT HEROINES (LIKE … WELL… NO NAMES HERE) BUT PREFER SPUNKY ONES LIKE ANNE OF GREEN GABLES WHO NEVER SEEMS TO LEARN . . . EVER . . . AND TAKES THE ENTIRE SERIES (dvd) TO FINALLY FORGIVE GILBERT. NOBODY COMPLAINS ABOUT HER BEING TOO STUBBORN OR IMMATURE.
3. What are some good character qualities that Andi has and that her family recognizes and appreciates? THIS SHOULD BE INFERRED FROM THE BOOKS. READERS COULD PROBABLY WRITE THEIR OWN BIOS OF ANDI’S CHARACTER STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES.
4. I know Mother did, but did Andi’s siblings care for her and Were Andi’s brothers and Melinda emotional about almost losing her in the Last Ride? YES. NOT SURE I NEED TO EXPOUND. COMMON SENSE ANSWERS THAT, BASED ON THE CHARACTERS’ GOOD CHARACTER. Did Kate, her kids, and Rebecca know what happened? AGAIN, COMMON SENSE WOULD ANSWER YES. WHY WOULD THEY NOT?
5. Why didn’t andi have an older brother who was only like say 2 to 5 years older, so that she could actually confide, play with, and be really close and have fun with when she was a child to a young woman. I THINK I ANSWERED THIS ALREADY IN ANOTHER COMMENT OR EMAIL. PLUS . . . THE STORIES WERE ORIGINALLY FAN FICTION BASED ON THE BIG VALLEY, AND EVERYBODY THERE WAS ALREADY GROWN UP.
All her older brothers are at least 10 years older than her, and mainyl appear to be always scolding her. AGAIN, THAT IS A SUBJECTIVE OPINION AND AGAIN NO CONFLICT, NO INTEREST. Or maybe… was she really close with them and confide and have fun???? A BOOK BASED SOLELY ON “FUN” WOULD SOON GROW WEARISOME TO THE READ AND TURN INTO A LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRE SERIES . . . A COLLECTION OF EVENTS THAT ARE INTERESTING BUT NOT EXCITING.
6. How would the Last Ride ended if you had used your original(Chad’s POV)? Would Andi have forgiven her brothers sooner?) YES. IT ACTUALLLY DID END THE SAME WAY. EVERYTHING WAS THE SAME EXCEPT I TOOK THAT POV SCENE OUT. Are her brothers and Mother mad and annoyed when she didn’t forgive them or were they sympathetic and understanding? THAT SHOULD BE EVIDENT FROM THE BOOK, ESPECIALLY A COUPLE OF SCENES WHEN RILEY TELLS HER EXACTLY HOW CHAD VIEWS THE WHOLE THING. DID YOU MISS THAT SCENE? Does Mitch try talking to Andi during that time? THE BOOKS DON’T SAY AND I NEVER THOUGHT ABOUT IT. I DOUBT IT, SINCE IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A ONE-WAY CONVERSATION SINCE SHE WASN’T TALKING TO THEM.
7. Are Melinda and Andi close? YES
8. Do Mitch and Andi have a special close brother-sister bond? What about Chad and Andi? YES TO BOTH. THEY ARE ACTUALLY A NICE FAMILY WITH THEIR SHARE OF REALITY AND CONFLICT. MY DAUGHTER’S GIRLS (TEENS NOW, 4 GIRLS OUT OF 8 KIDS) GIGGLE AND SHARE AND SOMETIMES ARE UP LATE AT NIGHT, FACE-TIMING THEIR SISTER AWAY AT COLLEGE. BUT . . . I KNOW THE REALITY (HAVING LIVED 5-6 MONTHS OUT OF THE YEAR RIGHT THERE FOR MANY YEARS) AND THEY CAN FIGHT LIKE CATS AND DOGS AND BE MEAN TO EACH OTHER. AND BE DEFIANT AND FULL OF DISAGREEMENT–AND STUBBORN–IN WAYS MY DAUGHTER WAS NEVER DEFIANT TO ME OR HER DAD. THAT IS HOW I TRY TO PORTRAY ANDI. NOT ALL OF THE “BORING” SWEET FEELINGS PART BUT CONFLICT. THAT’S WHAT MOST READER WANT. AND HOW THE CONFLICT IS EVENTUALLY RESOLVED. Also, why is there a big age difference between Andi, and her brothers, and just in general, all her siblings? SEE PREVIOUS QUESTION ABOUT WHERE I ORIGINALLY BASED MY STORY.
9. when Mitch’s birthday came right before Andi’s 16th, did they celebrate his or were they too worried about how Andi might die? DIDN’T I ANSWER THIS ONE ALREADY? AND TO MAKE THINGS EASIER, I AM GOING TO CHANGE HIS BIRTHDAY TO AFTER ANDI’S. lol I CAN DO THAT WITH FICTION CHARACTERS, YOU KNOW. 🤣
10. Did Mitch enjoy taking Andi to school (according to the Last Ride)? WELL, SURE. WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO GET OUT OF A COUPLE OF HOURS OF RANCH WORK A DAY AND HANG OUT WITH YOUR YOUNGER SIBLING? I BET THEY HAD GRAND TIMES. HERE’S THE THING. I COULD HAVE EXPOUNDED ON HOW MITCH AND ANDI ENJOYED GREAT BROTHER-SISTER TIMES DURING HER RIDES TO SCHOOL AND HOW DANIEL WAS NOW GOING TO DISRUPT THAT…AND ANDI COULD HAVE DRIVEN HERSELF TO SCHOOL BY THEN…BUT I DO HAVE A WORD COUNT AND CAN’T HAVE A 100,000 WORD MANUSCRIPT. I HAVE TO DECIDE WHAT TO LEAVE OUT TO KEEP THE STORY MOVING, AND WHAT TO ADD TO KEEP IT RICH. ALL THAT BACKSTORY ABOUT HOW THEY SHARED, ETC. WOULD NOT MOVE THE STORY ALONG. SADLY.
11. Were the Carters real born- again Christians or were they just religious church goers? tHE REAL DEAL. “BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM,” JUDGED ON THEIR ACTIONS AND HOW THEY LIVE. How did they become saved? I HAVE NEVER EXPLORED THAT, SINCE AGAIN, BACKSTORY SLOWS THE ACTION DOWN. AND SINCE THEY ARE NOT REAL PEOPLE, I DON’T HAVE ANY ANSWERS FOR THAT.
12. When Riley and Andi started courting does that mean that right then they were engaged to be married? YES How is it different then now? OH, IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS! Did he never propose? (In my church, courting is still there, but the girl does get proposed too) WHAT DO YOU THINK COURTING IS? IT’S OFFICIALLY ENTERING INTO A RELATIONSHIP THAT LEADS TO MARRIAGE. AND YES, RILEY DID “PROPOSE” AT THE END OF COURAGEOUS LOVE IN SO MANY WORDS. HIS ANNOUCING THAT HE ASKED AND RECEIVED PERMISISON TO COURT ANDI IS BASICALLY THE SAME THING AS BECOMING ENGAGED. AND ANDI ‘ACCEPTED’ AFTER HE RESCUED HER AND AS THEY ARE RIDING AWAY TO MEET THE POSSE. SHE KNEW EXACTLY WHAT IT MEANT WHEN RILEY WANTED TO COURT HER. AND SHE ALSO KNEW WHAT CORY’S INTENTIONS WERE WHEN HE WENT TO JUSTIN EARLIER. THAT’S WHY SHE WAS SO SAD ABOUT CORY. SHE LIKED HIM, BUT SHE KNEW COURTING MEANT GETTING MARRIED, AND SHE DIDN’T WANT TO MARRY CORY.
COURTING IS NOT A MODERN-DAY REPLACEMENT WORD FOR “DATING.” IT’S SOMETHING ENTIRELY DIFFERENT.
HOPE THAT ANSWERED YOUR QUESTIONS.
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I think it would be really cool for Andi Carter to go to Alaska.
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Thanks for answering all these questions, Mrs. M!!!
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Thanks for answering all these questions, Mrs. M!!!
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12. The courting is with the intent to marry, but of course, if the couple find they are not compatible or change their minds, it’s not like a legal thing, like in the Bible days, where an engagement (i.e. Mary and Joseph) was a legally binding situation, which required divorce to sever.
And why a whole year, if she already knew him so well? Mostly to “prepare a place,” build the house, etc. But that would not have taken a full year. Maybe Riley wanted to save up his wages for quite a while. Many reasons could be state.
But in the long run, it was an author/writing decision. I wanted them to marry in June, on my own parents’ wedding anniversary. See? When you’re the author you can do whatever you want . . . pretty much! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
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ohhhh thx! and i guess your author liberty has now inspired me to be one too 🤣🤣😜
can u answer my other questions pls?
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You mean #8?
I don’t know with whom Andi is closer.
And I have four kids: Kristel (the one with all the kids, homeschools, and has Taffy and Dakota on Painted Acres ranch), Chad (whom I named Chad Carter after, and whose son, Levi, is the model “Jem” on the last two Goldtown books, and on the new revisions of the covers), Andrew (where I got the idea that Riley and Andi who were friends as children, met again after 8 years — Andrew and Jane met again after 10 years— and married. And Ryan, who is “Cory” on the cover of Trouble with Treasure at age 14.
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Well… would andi not be close to chad at all, nor Mitch, except for justin??
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awesome
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