Here is the text from today’s newsletter/email that I just sent out. Most of the time I remember to copy and paste it here, but sometimes I forget. To keep up with everything, you might want to join my email list: https://sendfox.com/circlecbooks
Keep reading to learn about this month’s contests!
Flash Fiction Story and Look-a-Like Contest
Jun 02, 2026 3:41 pm
I wanted to start out with our Bible verse for the month of June. I love this verse, and I learned it long ago in a . . . song. Scripture songs are absolutely the very best way to memorize Scripture. Sometimes the words differ a bit from the translation you are used to, but the point is. You are hiding God’s Word in your heart. I hope you are learning these monthly verses. And yes, I found a song to make it easier to memorize! Click the image above or this link to listen to it.
I hope you have been looking forward to this month’s contest. I’m really excited about the two story prompt images (which you can see further down in this email). And the brand-new component, the Look-a-Like piece. So, are you ready? Keep reading!
June’s Flash Fiction writing contest opens with a pair of unusual (perhaps mysterious?) prompts—one set in the attic, the other shimmering underwater. You can choose whichever scene sparks the strongest “what happens next” impulse and spin it into a 1,000‑word tale.
April’s entries came to me via various emails, and one story even got forgotten (to post) in the confusion. From now on, I’m making it simple. You and other family members can easily submit your ONE ENTRY EACH story by clicking the blue button, which takes you to the Google Form. Siblings can simply click the “submit another response” link and dive right in with pasting their own story. The judge and I will take it from there!
Deadline: Tuesday, June 30th at 5pm Pacific Time. Please don’t wait until the last day to turn in your story. I enjoy them much more if I can read one or two a day during the month of June instead of ten all coming at me at once during the last hour of the last day. 🫣
Anyone may enter, ages 8-18, from any country, as the winner receives an Amazon gift card that can be used at their country’s Amazon online store. I need 10 or more entries to run this portion of the contest.
- Rainy Day Discovery. While searching the attic one Sunday afternoon, Andi uncovers a small, painted cradle tucked beside a trunk–witih a baby’s name handwritten on the side, a name she had never heard anyone in the family mention.
- The Swimming Hole. Will Sterling claimed he could stay undersater longer than anyone alive. Jem was determined to prove him wrong–until Will showed Jem what was hidden beneath the deepest part of the swimming hole.
Next up: The Look-a-Like Contest. It’s loads of fun.
Kids from 8 to 18 who would rather use their phone camera than their keyboard can jump into June’s Look-a-Like Contest, where absolutely any character from the Circle C or Goldtown books is fair game. Dress up as your favorite book’s hero (or villain) or even stage a scene with more than one character. Grab a costume, a prop, a sibling, (or a pet sidekick) and recreate a moment that makes us smile. It’s pure fun, pure creativity, and a perfect way to join the monthly contests without writing a single word.
Go HERE to see past Look-a-Like Contests.
Note: Choose one contest or the other. You may not enter both. I need 10 or more entries to run the Look-a-Like contest. Deadline June 30, @5pm Pacific Time.
For the Look-a-Like contest, you have two options.
1) GOOGLE FORM. If you have a Google Account, it’s super easy to upload your image to the Google Form. Just click the button.
2) If you or your family do not have a Google Account, then the only way to submit your image is by emailing to THIS ADDRESS ONLY and uploading your image: SusanKMarlow@CircleCBooks.com
I can’t accept any images sent to my various Gmail addresses, because honestly . . . I will forget they are there, and your entry will lose out on being part of the contest. And that would be sad. 😪
Happy Writing & Happy Photographing!
Mrs. M
I love the new writing contest, I’m kinda disappointed about the look-a-like contest, but I guess the majority wins the vote.
What are you disappointed about it? It’s the exact same look-alike contest that I’ve done three other times in the past. What were you expecting?
I mean about having a look-a-like instead of an art contest.
Oh! Yes…. I’ve done an art contest before and it’s very very complicated and I’m afraid that I would not be able to get enough entries for it
This looks fun and I love the story prompt pictures! I might try writing a story off the Andi prompt and entering! 🥳🥳🥳🥳
Yes yes yes!