Fall Scavenger Hunt Stop 11

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

Welcome to the Autumn 2014 Scavenger Hunt. You have arrived at Stop #11. 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 http://www.robinleehatcher.com/autumn-2014-scavenger-hunt-participating-authors-stops/ and then work your way through the sites, gathering clues and entering bonus giveaways, until you reach the final stop #35 which will also be on the site of Robin Lee Hatcher.  http://www.robinleehatcher.com/scavenger-hunt-stop-35-entry-form

The hunt ends on Sunday, October 19, 2014 at one minute before midnight (Mountain). 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…

A page with direct links to each author's post in case a site goes down or a link gets broken, make a note of the URL for the Participating Authors & Stops page so you can check back and be able to complete the hunt.

I’m pleased to introduce Judith Miller, known to her friends as Judy, and the author of more than thirty novels. Judy’s books reflect her avid research, unique settings and love of history. Before “retiring” to write full time, Judy worked as a compliance analyst for the Kansas Insurance Department. She currently makes her home in Topeka, Kansas.

You can learn more about Judy at her website: www.judithmccoymiller.com

Judy’s latest release is The Brickmaker’s Bride. Here’s a little about her book which has received a starred review from Library Journal.

Set in the clay rich hills of the newly founded state of West Virginia, two families tentatively come together to rebuild a war-torn brickmaking business.

Ewan McKay has immigrated to West Virginia with his aunt and uncle, promising to trade his skills in the clay business for financial help. Uncle Hugh purchases a brickmaking operation from a Civil War widow and her daughter, and it’s Ewan’s job to get the company up and running again.

Ewan seeks help from Laura Woodfield, the former owner’s daughter, and he quickly feels a connection with her, but she’s being courted by another man—a lawyer with far more social standing and money than Ewan. Resolving to make the brickworks into a success so he can afford to bring his sister from Ireland, Ewan pours all his energy into the new job.

But when Hugh signs a bad business deal, all Ewan’s hard work is put in jeopardy. As his hopes for the future crumble, Laura reveals something surprising. Can she help him save the brickworks, and will Ewan finally get a chance to win her heart?

Choosing a Setting

The settings for my novels is extremely important to me because it’s usually where I begin formulating my ideas for a new book. I’m drawn to places where I have a personal connection or to unique settings that captures my fancy.

When I finished my final book set in the Amana Colonies of Iowa, I knew I wanted to set a series in West Virginia. Why? Well, for a number of reasons. West Virginia is the birthplace of my father, and the state where my mother lived for many years before marrying my father. Although I grew up in Pennsylvania, I spent many a summer vacation in West Virginia and I cherish those memories of the Allegheny Mountains. I also had done enough research to know that not many novels had been set in West Virginia, and I wanted to share a glimpse of the beauty. This scenic picture was taken while I was visiting West Virginia to conduct research.

Because the series is set in the state where my father was born and lived most of his life, I decided to research some of my paternal genealogy. A little bit of time on the Ancestry.com website revealed my father’s branch of family was Scots-Irish and that they came to the United States and temporarily settled in Pennsylvania before moving into the area that was then Virginia and later, when the Civil War erupted, broke off and became the state of West Virginia. I drew upon my personal history and included some of the research in my story. Even more fun, was tying Pittsburgh into the story since my parents moved to Pittsburgh after they married and I was born and reared there. The black and white photo is a picture of my parents and brother when they lived in Fairmont, West Virginia.

Since West Virginia is so deeply tied to the coal industry, I wanted to reveal some of the other assets of the state and decided to emphasize the clay deposits. In this first book, I feature the many challenges Ewan McKay faces as he indentures himself to his uncle with the promise that he can bring his sisters from Ireland and one day have the opportunity to purchase a business of his own. A blossoming love and unexpected deceit create a fracture in the family that Ewan fears will never be healed.

Thanks so much for stopping by my site and participating in the new Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt. Before you move on to Stop #12: http://judithmccoymiller.com/scavenger-hunt-stop-12/, which is Judith Miller’s site, to pick up your next clue, be sure to write down this Stop #11 clue: the world

ONE entry per person. If we find you've registered under separate IDs, you'll be disqualified. Please, be HONEST. Because, you know, Jesus would WANT you to be. If you're an international winner, your prize will be the equivalent of what we're offering in the USA in terms of USD$$, based on that day's exchange rate, and what we can figure out in terms of online options (ex. Apple in Australia, etc.). If the Kindle Fire HDX is more expensive in your country than it is in the USA, we shall give you an Amazon gift card for the equivalent of the USD value. International runners-up winners will receive most of their books via Book Depository, and therefore, they cannot be autographed—sorry. The giveaway is open to those who are ages 15-17 with a parent or guardian's permission and to those who are 18 and above.

As an added bonus, I will draw a name for my Christmas book, Christmas at Holly Hill from those who leave a comment on this stop. If you have a copy of it, then I can send you a surprise gift. Be sure to leave your email address for the drawing.

PROBLEMS WITH INTERNET EXPLORER REPORTED: Some hunters have reported problems with a couple of sites failing to load. When they switched from Internet Explorer to another browser like Firefox, the sites loaded without a problem. If you run into trouble, try changing browsers.