Current Contest

📝May 1-May 31 📝

Circle C & Goldtown Fall Writing Contest (10/10 – 11/13)

Check out the winners here: FALL WINNERS > Check out all of the entries here: ENTRIES >

🖼️Fall Contest: Picture Prompts 🖼️

You may choose one of these picture prompts to jump start your imagination. Or, you may find a picture of your own to write about. Make sure the picture is historically accurate and relevant to Circle C or Goldtown. Click each image to enlarge it (and download if you want). Thank you, Anaya, Sara, and Emma for contributing to our Photo Prompts. 👏🏼

1. Why is Andi hiding in this tree?
2. Why is Jem in this flume?
3. Riley? Chad? What’s going on?
4. How did Justin get hurt?
5. Who is it? What is he up to?
6. Chad and his son Thomas
7. Fire!
8. A Broken Fence!
9. Young Carter Brothers
10. Andi in a mountain river
11. Andi at the Seashore?
12. Jem or another in a gold mine.
13. Runaways?
14. Who lives in this shack?
15. Palomino Tobiano from where?
16. Who? What? Where? Why?
17. Three Gold-hunting Boys
18. Melinda? Here? Why?

📝 Fall Contest: Word Prompts 📝

You may choose a word prompt to jump start your imagination. However, if you have your own Circle C or Goldtown idea, that’s fine too! Just make sure it’s historically accurate and relevant. You may also combine a picture with a word prompt! Whatever you want to do! Don’t forget to read the rules to see the word count and how to send your story. Read on to find three categories of writing prompts.

“What If?” Prompts

Write a new plot twist or different ending to one of these Circle C Adventures favorites.

  1. What if Andi cannot escape Jed Hatton, and he takes her to Mexico? How does she get home? (Dangerous Decision)
  2. What if Troy Swanson catches up with Andi and the kids and he snatches Betsy or Hannah and leaves. What happens next? (Family Secret)
  3. What if Ellie had obeyed and gone with Nathan back to Goldtown and Jem was left tied to the tree? How would he escape? (Badge of Honor)
  4. What if Andi, Jenny, and the little Chinese girls are not able to escape from the warehouse and end up being shanghaied to China? How do they get back to America? (San Francisco Smugglers)
  5. What if the mountain lion in Trouble with Treasure comes back the next day?
  6. What if Jack Goodwin does not have a change of heart and does not bring Taffy back in Price of Truth? Does Mr. Wilson sell Taffy? If so, how does Andi find her?
  7. What if Taffy does not die in The Last Ride?
  8. What if Riley does not find Andi and Lucy in time in Courageous Love, and they are taken to Mexico? How do they rescue baby Sammy and get home to their families?
  9. What if Jem was not able to rescue his sister, Ellie, from the River Duchess and she ended up in San Francisco lost and alone? (River of Peril)
  10. Find your own plot event from a Circle C (or Goldtown) book and write a new plot twist and/or ending.

“Point of View” Prompts

  • 11. Cory’s point of view when he heads down the mountain to get help and is grabbed by Deputy Hugh Baker. (Trouble with Treasure)
  • 12. The cowhand Toledo’s POV from any scene in Heartbreak Trail.
  • 13. Cory’s “story” after he and Andi part ways and he heads to the Hawaiian Islands and finally makes his way to Washington Territory. (“Auld Lang Syne” from Stranger in the Glade)
  • 14. Jenny’s POV from any scene in San Francisco Smugglers or Trouble with Treasure.
  • 15. Write from any character’s POV you choose from any Circle C or Goldtown book.

Other Random Story Prompts

  • 16. When Dakota ran into the ranch yard with no saddle and sweating like his hide was on fire, Andi knew something was wrong.
  • 17. The chestnut looked like she had seen cruelty her whole life. Her sides were scarred and bleeding and her head hung low, the only sign of life in her thin frame found in her deep, fiery eyes. The blond-haired girl looked from the mare to Andi. “You have to help me save her.”
  • 18. Andi and Riley (plus their children) go to the Circle C for Sunday evening supper to find everyone gone without a trace!
  • 19. The circus comes to town, and Andi Prescott is shocked to see Toledo (Heartbreak Trail) preforming with his horse, Sultan!
  • 20. Andi has found a new pet. What is it? And what adventure (or trouble) does this new pet bring?
  • 21. Come up with your own idea for a story, based on the Circle C or Goldtown stories.

🎁Fall Contest: Pick Your Prizes🎁

One winner from each of the two age categories (ages 9-12 and ages 13-17). Each winner may pick one item from each of the categories (#1, #2, #3). If you choose a tumbler (#2), you may choose which series you want it to highlight. If you choose a audiobook (#3), you may choose the audiobook. It will be delivered to you as an instant download, unless you specifically ask for the audiobook to be loaded onto a USB drive. Note: These are the last two Terrible Secret books. Of course, you can always order a copy (with the new cover) from Lulu.com >

👀 Check These Rules Before Sending 👀

👉 Include all of these on your actual story submission (None of these count as part of your word count).

  1. Name and age
  2. Email
  3. An original title for your story
  4. The number of the picture and/or prompt you used (If you did not use a prompt, say so ).

👉 Keep your story under 3,000 words (no exceptions). Note this change in word count!

👉 Two age groups: 9-12 and 13-17, one winner from each age category. Contest ends Wednesday, November 13 @ 5pm Pacific Time. Winners announced Friday, November 22.

👉 You may enter ONE story as a Word Document, a Google Doc, or in the body of your email. NO PDF files.

👉 Send your story to CircleCAdventures@gmail.com (Only to this address. Please do not send to any of Mrs. M’s other email addresses. I would feel badly if you story got lost, which will happen if stories are scattered among my various emails.

👉 I accept international entries, but I ship physical prizes to US addresses only. If the winner is international, I’m sure we can work out a deal for digital prizes. 😊

1,257 thoughts on “Current Contest”

  5. Suggestions for prizes (any age group):
    -New tote bag design? (either category)
    -Pick a mug? (either)
    -Puzzle (younger)
    -Audio books (single or series- a whole series can be the “big prize”)
    Just a few ideas! Can’t wait for the contest!

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  6. Prize ideas…
    Either age group—
    -Choice of any one thing on the Circle C store
    or -Choice of any one BOOK
    -Hat
    9-12—
    -Puzzle
    13-17—
    -Mug
    -Tote bag

    Idk…😊 All of Trinitys were great too!
    Can’t wait for July!!!

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  9. Ideas for prizes?🤔
    – Older group
    A mug of their choice
    Hat
    Tote bag
    Journal of their choice.

    Younger group
    Puzzle of their choice
    Drink tumbler
    Paper dolls
    Hat

    Just ideas!

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    2. I totally apologize! My fingers accidentally deleted ALL comments on about 15 stories. OUCH. Totally my bad. I’m hoping folks will go back and give a little lovin’ and get those comments back. I tried to CANCEL it when I notice what had happened, but AUGH! Too late! I wasn’t fast enough and the comments went into a Black Hole forever. These entries were posted on the original Fan Fiction Blog (with over 2,000 comments). The actual contest winning stories are posted on the new WordPress blog, so they were unaffected. I’m devastated because I LOVED seeing all of those comments. This happened a couple of hours ago and I’m kicking myself all over the place. At least only 15 stories were affected.

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  16. A prize idea could be… hmm 🤔
    What about the same prize as the Andi giveaway?
    (like winners Choice of one/ two things on the Circle c store.)
    Anything is awesome!! 😁😊

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    1. Yes, of course. You just can’t ask me any contest-related questions about your story until after the launch date. And if anybody sends another picture idea then of course you will miss that if you start now. But it’s up to you.

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    1. Yes! But it’s taking forever to receive my proof copy that I ordered two weeks ago! It’s still not here. But as soon as it arrives and I read through the hard copy one more time, I will order a bunch and they should be here in plenty of time for summer contest prizes.

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    1. Mrs. M… Can we start writing now, or do we have to wait until July 7th?? I didn’t know if those dates were just the times we had to send it to you by.

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  23. Mrs. M, it says in the rules “Contest runs July 7 – August 18. It ends at midnight, Pacific Time, August 18. Top three finalists announced on Monday August 22.”
    And then later on it says “Reader’s choice voting will take place from Tuesday, August 2 – Tuesday, August 9.
    Winners will be emailed and then announced on Wednesday, August 10.” Which date is correct?

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  30. Yay!!! Can’t wait to get started!!!

    Could I write this with my friend and we could enter it together? or does it have to be personal?

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  31. Sorry Mrs. M! One more question: The age groups are 9-12 and 13-17. Before the contest begins, I will be 12, but my birthday is August 10, and I will be 13 when the contest is over. Which age group would I participate in?

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  32. Aww!! 😭😭 Okay… This’ll help me grow as a writer I guess… And when you said “one thing” for the prize, could i pick ONE audio series?

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    1. If this were the huge annual contest I used to do in the past, that would be an awesome option. However, since I put on four contests a year and give away prizes every time, I can’t have the prize that “big” for all of these smaller contests. Sorry!

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    1. The runners up all win digital audiobooks.
      The top winner . . . possibly, but I would have to buy it and send it since I don’t have the rights to the ebooks.

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  35. When Trouble at the Lineshack comes out(!!), will you work on Terrible Secret? I would love to see an ending!

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  43. Just wondering about Trouble at the Lineshack…How many pages and chapters? And is it as thick as an average CCA book?

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      5. Not until I get back from the Oregon convention. We leave tomorrow (Thursday) and don’t get back until Sunday. Then I will put the books up in the Circle C store and tell everybody about them. But I can’t deal with that while I’m on the road.

        Liked by 1 person

  45. Below the tumbler pic, it says also avaliable as Goldtown. Is it talking about the tumbler or the flashlight key chain?

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  49. The runners up from this summer contest will be able to still enter in other writing contests in the same age group, right?

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