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”

  1. If a horse is slightly less than a year old would it be strong enough/likely for a grown woman to be riding it? Could it pull a rig either by itself or with another horse? How old would a horse be when it’s branded? Does Taffy have anything special about her for identification? Sorry for all the questions!

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    1. No, a horse under a year old is still called a foal and is NOT strong enough to carry a grown woman. Perhaps if it’s a very well trained and gentle horse, a child could climb aboard and have fun, but not generally for any length of time.
      Branding? The sooner the better! As a foal for sure! (they brand calves at only a week or two old)

      yes, Taffy has a Circle C brandmark. She also has a white blaze on her nose and four white socks (not stockings)

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    1. @ Anonymous
      I think it would depend on where they are. Like in the east (New York for instance) they would kiss a ladies hand but out west they would just shake hands. But don’t take me advice too seriously. I’m only repeating from what I have heard in the past. Lol!!!

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      2. Oh oops. Just saw you didn’t put in a story. But anyway…. whenever u put in a story for anything, good luck!!! 😉😁

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  15. Oh cool…even the winner gets a audiobook? Nice! Have the top three stories been chosen already? Cause with the new rules, the voting starts a day early

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    1. Yes . . . well . . . I HOPE I can post the voting tomorrow. That is the plan. But I was gone ALL WEEKEND, and I have LOST the email with the top winners from the ages 9-12 entries!! I have asked the judge to scrounge around and resend them. I haven’t even had a chance to look at them I’ve been so super busy with my aging mom so I don’t even know which entry numbers she picked. I should have at least copied them somewhere. But I can’t believe I lost her email!!!!

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  23. I really wish I could see ALL the stories. Even the ones that didn’t place. I think it would be neat if we could do that.

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    2. I only post stories of those who request it. It’s way too much work to post every single story, especially without permission from the young writer. Instructions for having your story posted are given in today’s post.

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  24. Thx to all of the judges who put their time, effort and energy into reading all these stories. I say everyone give them a round of applause. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 You ladies are wonderful and we’re grateful to you!!!!

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  25. Hey, Mrs. Marlow, could you post my story as fan fiction? The story was ‘It Started with a Rope and Ended with a Trough.’ I was in the 9-12 category.

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  26. Oh, Mrs. M, I just saw your rules for fan-fiction. Do I have to post my name? My Mom wouldn’t feel comfortable with me putting that in the comments.

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      1. Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t place either. You can read my story, though. Mrs. Marlow just put it in the seasonal contest entries. (It was fun to just be in the contest, though, wasn’t it)

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  28. Oh, and side note (you probably already realized this), but whenever an anonymous person chats (comments) with you, it will probably be me, Creepy Anonymous. Sadly, I likely won’t be getting an account anytime soon.

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    1. You could still put your NAME in the “name” box. LOL Then you would not be “creepy anonymous” any longer. You do not NEED an account to comment, but a FIRST Name would be nice!

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  30. My story is ‘It Started with a Rope and Ended with a Trough.’ (I know, quite the name). It’s the first one on the seasonal contests page. Oh, and have Mrs. M. post yours soon so I can read it!

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      6. One teensy question: how many people can I tell to vote for me? I have a few Circle C fans for friends, plus some close friends. and I’d love for them to vote for me

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      7. You can’t tell others to vote for YOUR specific story. Did you not read the rules?
        You can send a link to the Story Contest Voting and ask them to read the stories and vote, but you can’t tell them which story is yours. That is unfair. (One contest, I had over 500 “votes” and most of them were for one story. Somebody told every friend and family member they knew).
        You may send this link and that’s all. You may NOT tell them the name of your story. Otherwise, I can’t have anymore “Reader’s Choice” voting and I’ll have to stick to adult judges. *sigh* And the kids SO LOVE to vote! 🙂
        Here is the link you can send: https://andicartersblog.com/current-contest/

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  32. I know…it happens to me all the time! I’ll head over to that story and read it! Look out for a comment from me in a few days!😀
    P.S. The name box is the one after the email box in the info slots under the place where you type in you comment😉

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  35. For this up coming fall writing contest (me already thinking of another contest), could we do something different? Maybe not including Andi (or Jem or history)? Just an idea. Or maybe you can do a post where every can either vote for a story suggestion for the next contest or just tell you their ideas. Just a suggestion. 😉

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    1. I haven’t decided if I’m doing a fall contest. I might go with the ANNUAL contest instead, which is a BIG DEAL and winners all get printed books. Those MUST be Circle C or Goldtown stories. That’s why it’s called a Circle C Writing Contest.

      And you can ALWAYS suggest ideas for a contest! I’m always looking for new ideas. Check out the SEASONAL CONTESTS page to see what has been done through the years. Thanks!

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  36. I’d just like something new for a change. I understand that the Annual contest must be about Andi or Jem. But i thought you’d finish off this year as seasonal then decide for next year…and even if you do Annual (which i would like), you could do it every other year. I would like to do something else other then Andi or Jem (don’t get me wrong; i love them but after a while i’d like to try something different). Just my thoughts.

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    1. If I decide to do the Annual Contest again, then I can’t afford to do yet another seasonal contest just before launching the annual one, that is very expensive for me. So, there would be an annual contest all of 2023, and then in 2024, I would go back to seasonal, beginning with Winter, but there would only be three seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, because I have to have the Fall to get prepared for the Annual. It’s a TON OF WORK. 🙂

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  37. I hope you win, Cari! If I could guess which story is yours and vote for it, I would. Unfortunately, I don’t have psychic powers 😆🤪

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  39. It’s too bad it’s too much work to do alternating years. I would love to have multiple contests, but bigger prizes are also fun, so I’m pretty much split. (although, I never win, so multiple contests might be better. Just sayin’)

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    1. I also have a story up on Seasonal contest entries if you wanna read. It’s called “A Sacrifice for Freedom”. It’s under the Spring 2022 Mystery Horse Contest Entries. 😉

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      1. Thanks, Brianna! Can’t wait to read it. Expect a comment from me in, oh, thirty minutes. Maybe less.

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  42. Mrs. Marlow, could you please post my story on Seasonal contest entries? It’s called ‘A Tight Situation’. My name is Brianna and I’m 12.

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  48. Brianna, I read both of your stories, and they were awesome! (Especially your newest one). And yes, I really do mean that. If I didn’t like them, I would say so; I’m a very tactless person.
    Also, have you read mine yet? If so, what did you think about it?

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    1. Aww…thanks. I love your story! I posted 2 comments on it, acutally, but you have to wait to see them. Keep writing! I am! (in the middle of an Andi story and several others, lol). Its okay. I’m very busy too…😋

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      2. I’m actually in the middle of a couple books right now. I hope to be published someday, and you can’t really publish fan-fiction, so I don’t write very many Andi stories. That’s one of the reasons the contests are so fun! It means I get an excuse to ride Andi stories!

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