WINNERS IN THE SCAVENGER HUNT ARE AS FOLLOWS:

KINDLE FIRE HDX

 Erin Connor

 33 BOOKS BY THE AUTHORS

 Heather Hart and Lynne Tidel

WINNERS IN MY PERSONAL DRAWING:

Megan Williamson, Laura Hix and Marianne Barkman

Welcome to the Autumn 2014 Scavenger Hunt. You have arrived at Stop #12.

Follow the clues for a Chance to win a Kindle Fire HDX or 30+ novels!

The hunt begins at noon (Mountain Time Zone) on October 17, 2014. You may have arrived here before the start which could mean all of the sites aren’t ready quite yet. Once the official start has begun, you should go to Stop #1  and then work your way through the sites, gathering clues and entering bonus giveaways, until you reach the final stop which will also be on the site of Robin Lee Hatcher.

The hunt ends on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at one minute before midnight (Mountain Time). That means you have all of the weekend to finish it, so take your time. Enjoy reading the exclusive content the authors have prepared for you. You will collect a CLUE IN RED at each stop. Write them down as you go. At the end of the hunt, you will enter the clues into a Rafflecopter form. (The answer will make sense, even if you aren’t familiar with the quote.)

The hunt is open to international entries.

The grand prize is a Kindle Fire HDX.

Two runners-up will receive a new release from each of the participating authors.

IN CASE YOU FIND A BROKEN LINK…

Robin Lee Hatcher has prepared a “cheat sheet” with direct links to each author’s post in case a site goes down or a link gets broken. We hope there will be no such issues, but just in case, please make a note of the URL for the Participating Authors & Stops page so you can check back and be able to complete the hunt.

Meet Vickie McDonough, one of the sweetest gals I know. If you love history, you’ll love Vickie. We share a love of history and her books reflect her passion for the Old West!

 Bestselling author Vickie McDonough grew up wanting to marry a rancher, but instead she married a computer geek who is scared of horses. She now lives out her dreams in her fictional stories about ranchers, cowboys, lawmen, and others living in the Old West during the 1800s. Vickie is the award-winning author of thirty-four published books and novellas. Her books include the fun and feisty Texas Boardinghouse Brides series, and End of the Trail, which was the OWFI 2013 Best Fiction Novel winner. Whispers on the Prairie was a Romantic Times Recommended Inspirational Book for July 2013.

 A little about Song of the Prairie:

Janie Dunn’s dream of being an opera singer suddenly fades when, at her dying cousin’s request, she flees Boston with her cousin’s newborn son to protect him from his abusive father. She moves to Kansas to live with her brother, but life takes another dire change when he is suddenly killed. Is a marriage of convenience the answer to her problems? Is Kansas far enough away from Boston that they are safe from the baby’s vengeful father?

The following are links where you can purchase Song of the Prairie: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, CBD, or your local bookstore!

HERE’S SOME FUN INFO FROM VICKIE THAT I’M SURE YOU’RE GOING TO ENJOY:

I have always had a love of the bygone days of the 1800s, probably because as a kid growing up in the 1960s, I watched cowboy show after cowboy show with my dad:  The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Rawhide, Maverick, Bonanza, and my favorite, The Big Valley. It was during those day that I fell in love with cowboys and the Old West. I guess it stands to reason that when I started writing, that the majority of my books would be westerns. But even though I like writing about those days, I’m not so sure I’d like living back then. Life was very hard for most people.

It took over 250 years from the first settlement at Jamestown until 1870 to turn 400 million acres of forests and prairies into flourishing farms. The Homestead Act opened up the lands of the western frontier to white settlers, and the second 400 million acres took only 30 years to settle, from 1870 to 1900. When a family arrived at their new homestead on the prairie, the first thing they often did was to build a sod house, so today I thought I’d give you the steps involved in that.

At first settlers used a spade to cut sod, but in the 1880s, a tool called a cutting plow was invented. It had a set of adjustable rods to cut the sod into rows about three to six inches thick and at least a foot wide. The rows were then cut into long bricks.

The sod was laid with the grass side down, in side-by-side rows, like bricks.

Three rows would make a thick wall that could support the weight of the house. Seams between the sod bricks were staggered to keep the walls as tight as possible.

Door and window frames made of wood were put in position as the walls went up.

Last came the roof. In early sod homes, tree branches would support more sod bricks. Later, cut wood was available and a proper roof was often installed.

A sod house may not sound very glamorous, but they were provided shelter and safety and were a home to many of the pioneers.

 

The Scavenger Hunt Skinny:

Thanks so much for stopping by my site and participating in the new Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt. Before you move on to Stop #13, which is Vickie McDonough’s site, to pick up your next clue, be sure to write down this Stop #12 clue: IF YOU DO NOT LIKE IT,

Also, please note: Many of the authors use Rafflecopter for their giveaways. Rafflecopter requires JavaScript to work. If you can’t see the form, please turn JavaScript on in your browser in order to enter. Rafflecopter sometimes doesn’t work on mobile devices. If you are on a mobile device and can’t see the entry form, then you’ll need to find a computer.

BONUS GIFTS…

Before you go–I’m giving away bonus gifts to three people and I’m giving you three choices of how you can be registered to win. You can upload the cover of The Brickmaker’s Bride to your Facebook page with a few words about the beautiful cover.  You can use the link provided for the cover (just scroll down a bit to see the cover) or any other picture of the cover that you find on the web. OR you can sign-up for my newsletter if you’ve not signed up previously. OR ‘like’  me on Facebook if you’ve not ‘liked’ me before. Leave a comment telling me which option you chose. First prize is this cute replica of an ink pot, quill and vintage notes. Second and third prize winners receive a copy of The Brickmaker’s Bride. Due to mailing costs, this portion of the contest is open only to those living in the United States.