A week of great news!

Now, I know this blog is starting to turn into an outlet for me to toot my horn and I apologize for that. I promise to start providing something of worth to my faithful readers. I need to add a few more nostalgic moments and I'm thinking of some other great ideas to post for future published authors. That's all in the works once I get back from a little trip to the Happiest Place on Earth. Yep, Canada. Okay, I'm not going to Canada (though I'm sure it's lovely and hope to one day visit), I'm going to Disneyland!!! I'm so excited. I can't even sleep and I know I'm going to be driving a ton while everyone else dozes in the car. I need to find a way to get some shut-eye because I don't want another duck incident on my conscience.

So I promised to stop tooting my horn, but I just have to tell you three little things and that's it... for now. :)

1. I just turned in my 3rd Hashbrown Adventure, Hashbrown Winters and the Phantom of Pordunce, to my publisher this morning. Man I'm excited for this one. There's a ghost, a girl, and someone might be moving away. Drama. Suspense. A little horror maybe? And, of course, there should be plenty of moments where you'll blow snot laughing. At least I hope you will. And this will all depend on whether or not my publisher likes it. Please keep your fingers crossed for me.


2. I just signed the contract with Cedar Fort for my newest novel, The Guardians of the Tebah Stick. Holy cow! I'm just so thrilled that they liked it and are going to publish it. Here's a short synopsis of the book. Let me know what you think!


Fifteen-year-old Amber Rawson has a passion for archaeology with a particular talent for deciphering ancient codes. So when Dorothy Holcomb, Amber’s beloved archaeology instructor, is kidnapped by a shadowy organization called the Architects, Amber is determined to unravel the mystery. With the help of her sarcastic friend, Trendon, and a slew of other strange clues and peculiar characters, Amber embarks on the hunt for the Tebah Stick; a Biblical artifact capable of global destruction.




That's the one paragraph synopsis which, by the way, is one of the hardest things to write for an author. Trying to condense a 300+ page novel down to a few measly words is brutal. This is the first in what I plan to be 3 maybe 4 books in the series. I can't wait to write the rest. You can probably expect to see this one out in book stores in late fall of 2010, possibly early 2011. I'll let you know of a more exact release date once I find out.


3. Lastly, I attended Cedar Fort's annual awards banquet last night at the very lovely Springville Museum of Art. It was an awesome opportunity to mingle with tons of other amazing authors and eat some great food. To top off the evening, I received an unexpected award. The Adventures of Hashbrown Winters was named Cedar Fort's Bestselling Fiction of 2009! I couldn't believe it. I'm incredibly grateful and flattered by this award and now I realize I've got to get to work on selling book 2, Hashbrown Winters and the Mashimoto Madness. For all you aspiring authors out there, I strongly encourage you to submit your best work to Cedar Fort. They are an incredible publisher and I owe so much of my success to their amazing team. I consider myself lucky and very blessed to be published by Cedar Fort.


So, you heard me, I need to get the ball rolling for Hashbrown Winters and the Mashimoto Madness. I need your help. Over the next week and some change, I'm holding another contest. I just recently spent over an hour in my office chatting with one of our nation's bestselling children's authors, Gary Paulsen. This guy has written and published more than 200 books. He has won the Newberry Honor 3 times. And his most famous novel, Hatchet, is currently ranked #87 on the top 100 bestselling books of all-time (yeah, that list includes the Bible.) I think it has sold more than 20 million books over the past 20 years. I finished reading Hatchet the other night and I must say it is one of my favorite books ever. It's such a great book and I'm putting up my autographed copy for grabs. That's right, if you win this contest, I'll give you an autographed copy of Hatchet.


There are many ways to enter to win this prize. If you do a review on Amazon.com about Hashbrown Winters and the Mashimoto Madness, I'll give you an entry. If you convince someone else to follow my blog you'll get two entries (and of course they'll get one as well.) If you're a newcomer following my blog I'll give you an entry. If you become a fan on Facebook of my fan page, I'll give you an entry. If you buy Hashbrown Winters and the Mashimoto Madness on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Deseret Book.com, I'll give you 10 entries. Or, if you already own the book and you convince someone else to go buy it on one of these sites, I'll give you 10 entries as well.


You've got to let me know in the comments when you do any or all of these things. Rally all your friends and family! Make a tee-shirt if you want. I recommend anything with Whiz on the front. And let's spread the word of Hashbrown!!!