Play What Am I

Yes, this is a copy and paste from the email newsletter that went out this morning.

BOOK TWO IS AT THE STARTING GATE!

Here we go again. This stage is both the most exciting and the most nerve‑wracking. And yes–you’re probably thinking, “Wait… you never showed us Book One’s final cover, and now we’re voting on Book Two?” You’re absolutely right. I have good news and bad news.

• GOOD NEWS: You spoke loudly (200+ votes!), and my publisher listened. They agreed with the photorealistic direction you all seemed to want to go, and the sample covers you helped choose. They created the final cover. I love it. I think you will too.
• BAD NEWS: I’m dying to show you that final cover. But my marketing manager says I can’t reveal it until the first week of December. Hang tight, because that’s also when you’ll be able to preorder Trouble in Tacoma on Amazon. I think that will be amazing and will show my publisher just how excited you are about this new series.
• MORE BAD NEWS: I am not going to show you the book 2 covers or ask you to vote, after all. I think my publisher would prefer I keep it as a surprise, so I took down the rest of this post about the book covers. Besides, I have changed a bunch of stuff since I put the draft covers up here (I added a very cool FOG cover, which I think I like best). Sorry for changing AFTER I posted, but it couldn’t be helped.

But I will at least give you a brief Book Two summary.

The dangerous Narrows current sweeps Jenny, Micah, and Gideon far from home and leaves them stranded on a remote beach beneath towering cliffs. With no safe way back—and sudden, unwelcome visitors—the kids must climb, hide, and outsmart danger in a high‑stakes adventure that tests their courage at every turn.

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Play WHAT AM I?

Are you ready to be stumped? (ha-ha. I can’t seem to stump you). This month’s prize is either some cute “horse” socks and a light-up Circle C flashlight, or gold and fool’s gold (choose one or the other).

👉 NOTE: For those who might have missed the “memo” last month . . . Have I ever made it clear that this is a game where you MAY NOT use “Google lens” or the Internet to get hints? That’s actually not considered playing fair. This is supposed to be a fun brain-teaser to help you exercise your observation and thinking skills. If you just “look it up,” now where’s the challenge in that? Thanks for playing fair!

Guess Here!

Last month’s mystery object was a basketball! Kudos to the 69 of you who guessed correctly (out of 124 total entries). Finally! A tough one but not impossible. A number of you guessed “football,” and I had to dig deep to find out if I could accept that answer. But apparently, the patterning (more than the color) definitely limits this mystery object to a basketball. JOSHUA I. won the drawing. He chose the gold and fool’s gold packet. Congratulations, Joshua, and thanks, everyone, for playing!

Here’s the difference. Even I learned something today!