Campfire: Fourth Evening

The fire is warm, and though the hour is rather late, I have marshmallows and cookies for anyone who is interested! A toasty campfire on a summer night - a perfect place for some story-sharing, wouldn't you say?

I just wrote a short scene for my WIP (Historical Romance), and I thought I'd share a few lines in honor of "writing day" here at Camp Humility:

A shiver racked her body as the wind swept through Seven Mile Canyon. Sally pulled her shawl more tightly about her shoulders, longing to leave the wretched scene but held in place by the rhythmic beating of desert sand and dirt being flung onto a pathetic casket. Joe and John took turns filling up the hole in the ground, neither man saying a word. What could any of them say? John’s wife left this world mere days before his brother brought his new bride to the ranch.

The scene is rather somber - sorry about that!

But now it's your turn! If you'd like an extra entry in this week's giveaway (click the button in the sidebar to enter if you haven't already done so!), just leave a comment sharing a line or a few lines from some writing that you've done recently - a poem, a scene from your WIP, or anything! Let's celebrate writing and get excited about our stories! =)

(P.S. I had a wonderful time enjoying the outdoors today with my mom and a dear friend - so be sure to stop by tomorrow for our hike here at Camp Humility, complete with freshly taken pictures!)

Mystery Week: Conclusion!!!

Wow, this has been a fun week! I loved reading your responses, and I really appreciate your enthusiasm! I had a great time writing this story, so I'm glad to hear you had a good time reading it. ;)

I'll extend the suspense a little longer by starting with my acknowledgments. I want to thank my wonderful daddy for helping me edit my story so that it was a little cleaner and a little less sinister (go ahead--ask me about that one!). Thank you, Daddy!

I also want to thank my grandpa for all the work he has done to help maintain the actual nature trail in our home county. It's a beautiful trail, and I'm sure I'm not the only who has been inspired by it! Thank you, Grandpa!

And thank you to the generous friend who donated the books for this giveaway. You know who you are. ;) Thank you for being the kind, sweet person you are!

Now, for the winner! There were a couple of great responses, but the person who was the closest to the correct response (who officially entered the contest) was . . . ARIEL! Congratulations, Ariel! I hope it's alright if I share her response with you later on, so you can see just how close she actually was. Great detective work!


Thank you to all of you who shared your thoughts. You are all so clever! And both of the people who guessed about the T.V. show I based my characters' names off of were correct. That would have been an extra entry for both of them if I had needed to do a drawing.

My characters' names were from The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries show (the one from the 1970s)! Here's a look behind the names:

Callie: She's a friend of Frank and Joe Hardy. From what I recall, she mostly shows up at the beginning of the first season.

Ned: This was probably the name that clued most people in to what show I was referring to. ;) Ned is the name of Nancy's love interest in the Nancy Drew episodes (again, primarily in the first season from what I've seen so far).

Pamela: This one's a little bit trickier. The actress who played Nancy Drew was Pamela Sue Martin.

Parker: The actor who played Frank Hardy was Parker Stevenson. Oh, those blue eyes! (Note the reference to "bright blue eyes" in the fourth installment of the story!)

Carson: Read the conclusion to the story below to find out who Carson is in The Nature Trail. Carson was the name of Nancy's father in the show.

And the moment you have all been waiting for has arrived! Here's the final installment of The Nature Trail:


The Nature Trail (Conclusion)
By Amber Stokes

“Ned!” The man in shadows emerged to reveal her boyfriend, looking quite dashing in a black suit. Callie’s gaze shifted from Ned to her brother, hoping that someone would explain what was going on. But Parker led her straight to Ned and handed her off to him, giving them both a wink before heading back the way they had come.

"Ned?"

“Simplicity really is best, Callie. I should have listened to you when you told me that on our first date. Do you remember?”

“Yes, I remember.” But that didn’t answer any of her questions. Or did it?

“I wanted to take you out to the fanciest restaurant, go to the best show at the theater, and bring you jewelry and flowers, because I thought that would show you how much I love you. But all you wanted was simplicity—simple love, right?”

“Yes,” Callie whispered.

Reaching out, Ned stroked her long, curly ponytail. “Why didn’t I listen to you?”

“I don’t know.” Her words were so quiet that she wasn’t sure he heard her.

“I thought doing something elaborate would impress you. I tried to have a friend set up a scavenger hunt for you, like looking for buried treasure.” He smiled, a smile that matched the soft yellow light over the bay. “But you caught him before he could finish.”

“The necklace…?”

“It was meant for you. I bought it for you, Callie.”

Callie wasn’t sure whether she wanted to giggle or sob.

“So then I got the bright idea that it would be rather romantic to set up a candlelit path to the nature trail, starting in your driveway. Of course, you caught poor Carson again and he almost burned up your yard.” Ned grimaced. “I’m so sorry, Callie. I was waiting at the entrance to the trail, so I saw the whole thing. I should have known it was a stupid idea.”

Tears did start to fall then, but a strange laugh flowed out of her mouth, too.

“So now here we are, standing in your favorite spot on the trail. Nothing fancy, but it’s fitting, don’t you think?"

His fingers caressed her cheek, and then her lips. But just as he leaned in to kiss her, she asked, “Who’s Pamela?”

Ned jerked back. “What?”

“I got a rather intriguing letter from a girl named Pamela. I tried my best to ignore it.”

Laughter rumbled from Ned’s throat. He tilted his head back and laughed hard.

“What is so funny?” But Callie found herself smiling despite her words.

“Pamela is one of my co-workers. She had already sent the letter as planned before I could let her know that the first phase of my scavenger hunt had failed. I waited at the marsh for you anyway, just in case you showed up there for the second phase. But I like the way this turned out much better.”

“You’re ridiculous,” Callie said with a small smirk as she wiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater. Looking into Ned’s dark eyes, she asked, “But what is all of this for, anyway?” In the last bit of light from the sun for the evening, Callie repeated, “What have you been planning?”

“This.” Pulling a ring out of his front pocket, he knelt before her. In the white gold setting the lone diamond and the lone emerald, sitting snugly together, shined expectantly. “Our birthstones,” he explained as he held the ring out to her.

“Oh, Ned.”

“Will you marry me, Callie?”

The serene silence of nature was broken when Callie flung herself into Ned’s arms and said, “Oh, yes!”

Yes, the nature trail in the woods near her home was Callie’s favorite place in the world.



So now I want to know your final thoughts! Did you enjoy the story? Were you surprised by the ending, or did you see it coming the whole time?

Here is what Ariel (the winner) e-mailed me about her thoughts on what would be the conclusion of the story:

"For the ending, I think that Ned is going to propose to Callie, and give her the necklace, but something happened and the brother and mysterious man were supposed to help make it romantic and messed it up. The necklace was supposed to be buried and she would find it as a surprise, and the candle was also part of the romance. Just my thought :)"

She was pretty close, don't you think? ;) Again, great job, Ariel, and the rest of you who shared your guesses with me!

Hope you've enjoyed "Mystery Week!" I recently posted my review of a cozy mystery, so be sure and check that out, too!

Mystery Week: Part Four

This is it! This is the last installment of the story before I reveal the conclusion! Which means that this is the last day for you to send me an e-mail with your thoughts on the final outcome. Some questions you might want to answer include:

• Who do you think is behind all of this? Do you think it's the "mystery man" (from the first and third scenes), Ned, Pamela, Callie's brother, or someone else yet to be mentioned?
• What do you expect to happen in the final scene? What are the reasons behind this whole mystery?

Don't forget that if your answer is close enough to be counted as an entry for the drawing, you can get an extra entry by correctly guessing the show that I got the names of the characters from!

E-mail entries will be accepted until midnight tonight. For a complete list of the rules, click HERE. Can't wait to read your responses! Remember that the prize is a three-book series!!!


The Nature Trail (Part Four)
By Amber Stokes

It was time to walk the trail. The rest of Callie’s dinner ended up in the garbage can she had righted outside, uneaten. For an hour or so, while the sky brightened with the sunset, Callie had cowered in her living room, paying little attention to the T.V. she had turned on. Instead, her mind had been consumed with doubts, and so now she decided she would go out on the nature trail and discover what she could. If anything, she would hopefully be able to relax.

Putting on her green University sweater and her comfortable sneakers, she walked outside and locked the front door behind her. Cynically, she wondered why she bothered. It probably wouldn’t be standing when she got back anyway, all because of an insignificant and unexplainable necklace.

Light still touched the edges of the sky, but once Callie entered the woods, the darkness spooked her. The familiar curves of the pathway as it wound uphill seemed to be hiding fearful future encounters from her view. She shivered and placed her hands in the one large pocket in the front of the sweater.

A branch snapped somewhere behind her then, but before she could scream a hand covered her mouth. Terror caused her to claw at her captor, and it took several moments for the sound her captor emitted to register in her mind. Why, he was laughing!

Wriggling out of his grasp, she came face to face with her brother. “Parker!"

Deep chuckles emanated from his mouth, seeming to increase in direct proportion to her frown. “I’m sorry, Callie. I couldn’t help it—you were always so jumpy. Can’t a brother have some fun?”

Apparently seeing the confusion on her face, Parker asked, “You did get my letter didn’t you? I told you I was coming to visit. Ned invited me to stay with him for a few days.”

It was then that Callie remembered the letter she had set on the passenger seat of her car. She was upset to think that it was still sitting there, unopened. When was the last time she had forgotten to open a letter from her brother?

“I’m sorry, Parker. I set it aside and never got around to opening it.”

Parker’s blonde hair flew about him as he shook his head in mock frustration. “I see how much I matter to you.” His bright blue eyes betrayed his amusement, though.

“You know I’m always glad to hear from you. I’ve just been…preoccupied…lately.”

Suddenly, Parker’s demeanor became serious. “Uh, would you like to take a walk with me? We could catch up on each other’s news.”

“I thought you didn’t like to go for walks.”

“I’ll make an exception for you. But you’ll owe me.” He smiled and set off down the path.

After reaching the summit of the trail, they began walking downhill through more redwoods. Callie found herself laughing at Parker’s stories of college life in Southern California. But she also found her mind wandering occasionally, flitting about from thoughts of the beauty of the trilliums on the trail in the springtime (which she was greatly anticipating, even though it was only the beginning of fall), to thoughts of the mystery she had become entrenched in. Now that Parker was here, though, she figured he would help make things right.

So she thought. But when they got closer to the view of the pastures and the bay at dusk, Callie’s favorite spot on the trail at Callie’s favorite time of day, she was startled to see a shadowy figure near the bench. And Parker was leading her straight for the silhouetted form, determination noticeable in his grip on her arm.

To Be Continued...

Mystery Week: Part Three

Welcome to the third day of "Mystery Week!" For those of you who are just joining us today, please read Monday's post for a list of the rules for the giveaway/contest, as well as the first part of the story. Then you can read yesterday's post for the second part. Soon you'll be all caught up! ;)

Before I get to the latest installment of the story, I wanted to add a chance for you to get an extra entry in the contest. If your answer in the e-mail is close to the actual conclusion of the story (and you're not the only one who is close to the correct answer, which means I'll have to do a drawing), then you can get an extra entry by telling me what show I got the name of my characters from. It might be easier to guess after reading tomorrow's installment of the story. Please include your guess in your official e-mail entry. Hope that makes sense! If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments section.

And now, for another part of the story:


The Nature Trail (Part Three)
By Amber Stokes

Her day went by unfulfilled. No word from Ned, and no answers to her questions. To console herself, Callie picked up Chinese food after work. Surely Kung Pao chicken, steamed rice (never fried rice), and a fortune cookie would make her feel better.

Of course, she preferred to eat Chinese food with Ned, but that would have to wait for another day.

At home, she grabbed a paper plate, dished out large portions of food, and ignored all of the uncertainties in her mind. Until she heard a noise outside, that is. Quickly shoving another bite of the chicken into her mouth, she pretended that it was simply a raccoon or a fox rummaging through the trash. Although a human could just have easily knocked over the garbage can…

Fine. She would check outside, and then go back to her dinner. Pulling back the curtain in her living room, Callie was startled to see someone in the yard near the gravel driveway. It was that man from the nature trail! He had a medium-sized cardboard box near his feet, and he was once again crouching over something.

Placing a hand over her heart, Callie ran to the front door. Hastily unlocking it, she rushed around to the driveway and yelled, “What are you doing here?” Was this simply déjà vu?

The man jumped and dropped something, but before she could call out to him again, he grabbed the box and ran down the road.

Callie’s heartbeat seemed to be racing with his retreating form. About to return inside and lock the door, her eyes landed on a spark in the grass where the man had been kneeling. No! The spark became a flame, and her heart came to a halt. She couldn’t think, couldn’t move.

“Callie!”

The voice spurred her into action. “Ned! The grass—it’s on fire!”

Ned came running from across the road where there was a path that connected to the nature trail. She ran to meet him, and watched as he took off his jacket and started to beat out the fire. In a matter of moments, the flame had disappeared.

Had he arrived any later, Callie didn’t want to know what would have happened.

“Oh, Callie.” Ned opened his arms and she threw herself into his embrace, letting the sobs break free from her terrified heart.

“That man could have set the whole yard on fire! My beautiful land…”

“Shhhh,” Ned comforted her, rubbing her back gently. “I hate to think what could have happened.”

Gulping, Callie pushed away from him, confused by the remorseful tone in his voice. His hand shook slightly as he grabbed his singed jacket from the ground. His almost black hair looked burnt in the soft light of early evening, and his face was rather red, like he was the one who had been set on fire, rather than her yard.

“What were you doing on the nature trail, Ned?”

His gaze met hers, and he shook his head. “I was just taking a walk, Callie.”

“I’m going to go finish my dinner. We can talk more later.” She didn’t care if she sounded absurd. She would be safe inside—at least, safer than out here.

And with that she turned around and headed back around the house to the door. But when she looked back once, she saw Ned crouched over the same spot where the other man had been. He looked sad as he picked up an item and walked down the driveway toward the road. Before he put the item in his pocket, she got a glimpse of it. It looked very much like a candle.

To Be Continued...

Mystery Week: Part Two

Welcome to the second installment of The Nature Trail, the mystery story I wrote in five installments specifically for this week. If you're just joining us today, please take a look at yesterday's post, as it includes all of the rules for the giveaway. Plus, you'll want to read the first part of the story before moving on to this second part, unless you really want to be thoroughly confused!


The Nature Trail (Part Two)
By Amber Stokes

He hadn’t answered. When was the last time Callie had called and Ned hadn’t answered? She couldn’t recall, and the disappointment together with the fear had kept Callie awake most of the night, afraid she would throw up. Maybe she had caught the flu from a co-worker. It was that time of year, right?

In any case, the morning found Callie more nervous than a tree would be in a lightning storm. But as she grabbed a breakfast bar from the cupboard to go along with her cup of milk, the phone rang. Finally. A small smile relaxed her face, and she reached for the phone. “Hello?”

It wasn’t Ned. “Ummm…I…”

“Hello?”

“The necklace…”

Callie stopped breathing for a moment. “What about the necklace?”

“It’s yours now. It’s supposed to be yours.” The man sounded uncertain, as if there was more he needed to say.

“What? Why? I don’t understand.”

But the man hung up without another word.

Why, oh why, didn’t she have caller ID? Not that it would have helped this time. What would she have done with an unknown phone number? The man could have called from anywhere.

Frustration surged through her as she unwrapped her breakfast bar, and she bit off a piece with vengeance. The fake food taste didn’t really make her feel any better. Maybe she should have had cereal instead.

After finishing her speedy breakfast, Callie decided to go to the post office. She could make it there before she was needed at work. And she was hoping to get a letter from her brother any day now, which would calm her troubled heart for sure. Her brother was always able to make her laugh and let go of her troubles.

Five minutes later and Callie was grabbing the mail from her box. Two letters were there, and one was indeed from her brother. Smiling with relief as she got back into her green Honda, she set that one on the passenger seat to savor later. Not seeing a return address written in the upper left hand corner of the other letter, she tore that one open.

It was from a woman named Pamela. Callie leaned back into the gray seat, searching her mind for any recognition. Unsuccessful, she finally scanned the letter once. And then again. Words raced through her mind, a veritable windstorm of confusion:

The necklace is just the beginning…go to the marsh during your lunch break on Tuesday…await instructions there…he’ll be waiting…

What craziness had she stumbled into? And how was it possible for this woman to know that Callie had the necklace—in enough time to send a letter, no less! Who was Pamela, and who would be waiting for her at the marsh? One thing was for sure, Callie didn’t intend to find out. She would rather take her chances staying far away from the whole mess.

Trembling, Callie threw the letter onto the backseat and started the car. She would drive to where she worked at the Foundation and hope that somehow all of this would go away. Maybe Ned would contact her at work. Maybe all of the questions she had would get answered. But most likely, neither of those desires would be fulfilled.

To Be Continued...

Mystery Week: Part One

Was it the reader with the book in the library? Or perhaps the blogger with the heavy laptop in the hall? Yes, dear readers, today is the first day of "Mystery Week," and I've got something different in store for you, which will require your participation! So grab your magnifying glass and notebook and join me in this five-part story of intrigue!

Rules:

• During the next five days, I will be sharing a mystery story I wrote, divided into five parts so as to give only one piece of the "puzzle" each day. The story is set at an actual place in my home county, a nature trail which I love to walk on with my family--especially my grandpa, who recently had a bench dedicated to him because of his work on the nature trail. (Click HERE to read a post from the summer about his bench.) However, the story is a work of fiction.
  

• This is not your traditional giveaway. That is to say, you will not be entered into the giveaway simply by leaving a comment on this post. In fact, while I encourage you to leave comments and share your thoughts, the only way to be entered into the giveaway is to e-mail me at: stokes[dot]a[at]suddenlink[dot]net.

• You must e-mail me on or before Thursday, September 16, 2010. No entries will be accepted after Thursday (PDT).
  

• Your e-mail must include your best deduction as to the conclusion of the story I will be sharing with you over the next several days. The answer closest to the correct conclusion will be the winner. If more than one person is close to the actual conclusion in their description, I will do a drawing from those names. The final part to the story will be revealed on Friday, September 17, 2010, along with the name of the winner.

• Why ask you to e-mail rather than simply comment? Well, I do want to hear your thoughts through the comments, but I really want everyone's final "guesses" to be confidential, so that each person can come to their own conclusion without feeling like they are simply copying someone else or were influenced by someone else, if the person so desires.

What is the prize? Excellent question! Thanks to a very generous donation from a dear friend, I have all three books of the "Brides of Bonneterre" series by Kaye Dacus to give away!!! The books are gently used but still in great condition. One person will receive all three books--a whole series to add to the winner's bookshelves!


One more thing: I am opening up this contest to readers from the United States and Canada! So I'll be looking for your e-mails within the next few days--anytime before Friday when you feel confident in giving your best guess.

Following is the first part of the story. Let the detective work begin!


The Nature Trail
By Amber Stokes

The nature trail in the woods near her home was Callie’s favorite place in the world. She loved going there in the early evenings especially, when dusk settled upon the trees and made the world come to life like a page from a mystery novel—both engaging and a tad foreboding.

Unfortunately, the setting sun she loved so dearly was hidden this particular evening by thick clouds, and darkness was stealing away her beloved bewitching-hour. Ned would hate it if he knew I was out here at night. Of course, now that fall was approaching, Ned would just have to deal with her need for some form of relaxation after a long day at the Foundation. And it only made sense to walk the nature trail that stretched between the Foundation and her home rather than get a ride that would take all of five minutes.

Breathing deeply, Callie felt her whole body relax as she emerged into the clearing. Not too much farther to go, and then she would be able to call her boyfriend from the safety of her home while eating a few peanut putter Dove chocolates. There was no better way to end a day.

The smile that had slowly softened her face at that thought disappeared faster than the last remnants of daylight. Someone else was on the nature trail, up ahead a ways, coming out of the orchard that was heavily guarded by some small pines. That place was so overgrown; what would anyone be doing there? A transient. Of course. This county was filled with homeless people, and one of them thought he could stroll right into her refuge and take over. No way.

Calling to his now crouching form, she said, “You—what are you doing here?” As soon as the bold words left her mouth, Callie wished she wasn’t all alone, in the descending dark.

The man stood and turned to her. Even across the short distance his body registered panic. He dropped something he had been holding and bolted into the woods.

Callie stood as still as the trees that hid the man from view, clutching Ned’s jacket tighter around her. What had she just seen? After a moment, she walked down the narrow path of wood chips in the field, veering to the right when she saw the object the man had dropped. Kneeling in the grass, she picked up a small box. She shot a glance to the woods, wondering if she should satisfy her curiosity or simply leave the box for the man to pick up later. What if it was drugs? Shouldn’t she take something like that to the sheriff?

Swallowing hard, she let her hand hover over the lid. Odd. She pressed her lips together as she studied the elegant white box. It looked more like something someone would bring home from the mall, instead of a box used to house an illegal substance. One more look around and she opened the lid. She inhaled sharply as she lifted a beautiful necklace from the soft cotton it lay on. The pendant looked to be composed of diamonds and emeralds alternating in the shape of a teardrop. Grasping it tightly, questions raced through Callie’s mind. As her eyes lifted, she saw the entrance to the orchard. Standing up, she placed the necklace back in its box and held it as she pushed past the tree branches that worked as a door to the hidden place.

Sure, the place was covered with even more weeds, and the grass was browner and taller than it had ever been. But just as she was about to give up, Callie saw a newly dug hole not far from where she stood. Upon closer inspection, the hole appeared to be just the right size to hide the box she held in her hands. The man had been planning on burying the necklace!

Running her tongue across her bottom teeth, Callie walked out of the orchard and thought about what she should do. Was the necklace stolen? Was it the last keepsake of a love gone wrong? But why had the man run away if it was as innocent as that?

Callie frowned, but decided to carry the box back home with her. Ned would know what to do. Uncertainty rushed her steps as she tried to outrun the complete darkness of night along with the unanswered questions that hounded her.

To Be Continued...

The County Fair Week Contest!

Welcome one and all to County Fair Week here at "Seasons of Humility!" I'm so excited for all this week has in store, and I hope you are, too!

As many of you know, county fairs are filled with contests--with quilts, livestock, poetry, and so much more being judged. So in honor of County Fair Week, I'm going to host a fun contest for all you writers out there! Before I get into the rules, let me tell you about the prize package:

The winner will receive my gently used copies of Love Finds You in Romeo, Colorado and A Name of Her Own, along with some fair goodies I'm hoping to pick up at my own county fair this week. =) Here are the descriptions of the two books:

From Summerside Press: "Can one woman's tragedy turn into happily ever after? Claire Caspian is a first-rate professor, teaching even the most cynical student to find beauty in literature. But with her own personal story, she isn’t as successful. Having recently lost her husband, Claire returns with her young son to the tiny desert town of Romeo, Colorado, where she grew up. There she settles in with her feisty old Abuelita, the richest woman in the county, and attempts to rebuild her life. But love comes searching for Claire in the form of attractive local doctor Stephen Reyes. Will another tragedy prevent her from accepting love the second time around? Or will she embrace her new Romeo and finally find a happy ending?"

From WaterBrook Multnomah: "Based on the life of Marie Dorion, the first mother to cross the Rocky Mountains and remain in the Northwest, A Name of Her Own is the fictionalized adventure account of a real woman’s fight to settle in a new landscape, survive in a nation at war, protect her sons and raise them well and, despite an abusive, alcoholic husband, keep her marriage together.

With two rambunctious young sons to raise, Marie Dorion refuses to be left behind in St. Louis when her husband heads West with the Wilson Hunt Astoria expedition of 1811. Faced with hostile landscapes, an untried expedition leader, and her volatile husband, Marie finds that the daring act she hoped would bind her family together may in the end tear them apart.

On the journey, Marie meets up with the famous Lewis and Clark interpreter, Sacagawea. Both are Indian women married to mixed-blood men of French Canadian and Indian descent, both are pregnant, both traveled with expeditions led by white men, and both are raising sons in a white world.

Together, the women forge a friendship that will strengthen and uphold Marie long after they part, even as she faces the greatest crisis of her life, and as she fights for her family’s very survival with the courage and gritty determination that can only be fueled by a mother’s love."

Also, Ashley from After All....... Tomorrow is Another Day has offered to give away a personalized, homemade bookmark like the one pictured left to the winner! (And if she enters and wins, then the bookmark will go to the second place winner!) ;)


So what do you need to do to enter this contest? Here are the rules:

• Write a clean and appropriate romantic scene that involves some fair attraction, such as a ride or contest of some sort.
  

• Please keep the scene under 300 words if possible. I will still consider longer entries, but it would probably be easier on Blogger if we could keep the entries short and sweet. ;)

• Leave your e-mail address in your comment along with your entry, so I have a way to contact you if you win!
  

• If Blogger will not let you leave a long comment or if you would like me to check your scene's content to see if it works for this contest, feel free to e-mail your entry to me at: stokes[dot]a[at]suddenlink[dot]net.

• Entries will be accepted through Friday, August 20. The winner will be announced on Saturday, August 21.
  

• You must have a U.S. mailing address. (I apologize to any of my friends from other countries; this is due to higher costs. But feel free to share a scene with us anyway if you'd like!)

• Entries will be judged by me and one or two other people of my choosing.

Thank you to Tina from Seekerville for letting me "borrow" her contest idea! A couple of weeks ago they had a similar contest for "Slacker Tuesday," and Tina gave me permission to use a similar idea.

And I told you last week that I would give you my own example. I used the same characters from my entry for the "Slacker Tuesday" contest, so feel free to click HERE and read my entry for that contest in the comments section, if you're interested. Now, here's my example:

“What do you see?”

Looking into the multiple mirrors around her, all Christine saw were accusations and disappointment. Why did they call this place a “fun house”? Her dreams of being published were as unreal as the image she had seen in that wavy mirror a ways back.

“Would you like me to tell you what I see?”

She nodded. Let Rich try to put into words what she couldn’t bring herself to say. “I see a girl who doubts God.”

The images in the mirrors blurred, and Christine whirled around to face him. “What on earth do you mean?”

“I mean that you’re so worried about getting published that you’ve forgotten it’s all in God’s hands. If it’s His will, it will happen. If not, then maybe He’s just using this time to prepare you for something else that will be even better for you in the end. Why are you so worried, Christine?”

A tear fell, but Christine didn’t look up. She didn’t want to see the rainstorm brewing around her in her reflections. Rich placed both of his hands gently on her face, forcing her gaze to him. A rush of warmth shocked her. Those blue eyes…

Suddenly, a bunch of giggling kids ran past, practically thudding into the mirrors as they searched for the way out. Rich and Christine parted, glanced at each other, and laughed.

“Come with me?” Rich offered his hand, and Christine took it. Slowly, he guided her through the mirrors and out into the painful but beautiful light of daytime at the fair.

According to Microsoft Word, my example is 261 words long, and the scene takes place at a "fun house" (or "house of mirrors") at a fair. Hope you enjoyed the scene!

Now it's your turn! I can't wait to read your entries! And remember to tune in every day this week for some fun interviews and fair stories. (It's quite possible there will be a separate giveaway going on this week sometime, so this is my hint that you should keep checking in on a regular basis!)

Campfire: Winners and Our Story!

What a week this has been! Our official farewell will be tomorrow (we'll save our packing until then), but I just wanted to let you know that I've had a wonderful time with all of you! You're a lovely bunch of campers!

Grab some smore fixings and grab a seat while I share the winners of the two giveaways.

First, thank you to all of you who entered! I loved reading all of your comments!

Now, here are the winners:

Angie!

Casey!

Congratulations to the winners! Be looking for my e-mail. You have until Monday morning to reply so I can get those books off to you soon! (If I don't here from you by then, I'll pick another winner.)

I also told you I would share our completed story (from the night game around the campfire Wednesday night), so here it is for your reading enjoyment:

Separating from the group in order to take a picture of an adorable bunny was not Ruth's best idea. She had been thrilled to join a hiking club for the summer, but the thought of getting lost had never crossed her mind. With the sun already falling rapidly down the western half of the sky like an autumn leaf being detached from its high place, a shiver of nervous, not-quite-complete fear ran through her. Too bad she had such a horrible sense of direction. Back at home she couldn't even find the store she had worked at for months on her own--she needed to follow her neighbor (who happened to be one of her co-workers) to work every morning. But the only creature she could follow right now was the bunny, so when it hopped into some bushes she set off after it.

She hadn't planned on coming face-to-face with a giant blue horse! He had the most beautiful silver mane. He stood staring at her like he was expecting something. She reached out to touch him, and he turned, and walked to a nearby tree stump, which was rotten with age. He seemed to be asking her to get on his back, so she jumped onto the stump, praying it didn't crumble beneath her, grabbed onto his neck and jumped on.

Just then, he took off at a lighting speed. Ruth held on with all her might, thankful she knew how to ride a horse. As the horse galloped through the woods Ruth realized it was headed straight for a huge tree. Bracing herself for the impact Ruth clung to the horse and closed her eyes.

Ruth heard a whoosh and opened her eyes to see the horse gliding up along a rainbow! Ruth gasped as she realized the ground was falling beneath them. The rainbow sparkled and glittered, and the horse began to change rainbow colors with it.

She watched as the rainbow led them straight to the land of Oz! But after meeting the scarecrow, the tinman, and the cowardly lion, she decided that enough was enough. Ruth desperately tried to click her heels together, wishing she had a pair of ruby shoes.

"Ruth! Wake up!" Startled, Ruth sat straight up to find herself in a tent, surrounded by a few of the concerned girls from her hiking group. "That must have been some dream!"

As Ruth nodded, she thought she saw a rainbow-colored horse gallop past the tent. She simply smiled and said, "Where are we going today?"

Thank you to all my fellow contributors: Bluerose, Angie, and Ariel! It turned out to be quite an interesting story!

I'll close out the final campfire meeting of Camp Humility with 1 Peter 5:5-6, "Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time."

Campfire: Night Game!

Gather around the campfire! We're on our third evening of Camp Humility, and I hope you've been having fun!

Tonight is our night game. As much fun as it would be to play flashlight tag or some crazy organized team game, I have something different in mind tonight. But I'm going to need a lot of participation from all of you!

For our game, I thought we could do a story continuation. I'm sure many of you have done something like this before, but I'll give you a quick explanation so everyone is on the same page:

I'm going to start us off by writing a beginning paragraph for a story. (We'll try to stick to the camping/nature theme if we can!) The next person to leave a comment takes up the story where I left off, writing the next paragraph. Then another person continues the story with a paragraph after that. And so on and so forth. Feel free to be as creative (and crazy!) as you want! The length of the paragraphs is not very important, but try not to go over 7 sentences or under 3 sentences (just as a guideline). Tomorrow when I do the "mail call," I'll share the complete story with everyone. Now, let's get writing!

The Beginning of the Story:
Separating from the group in order to take a picture of an adorable bunny was not Ruth's best idea. She had been thrilled to join a hiking club for the summer, but the thought of getting lost had never crossed her mind. With the sun already falling rapidly down the western half of the sky like an autumn leaf being detached from its high place, a shiver of nervous, not-quite-complete fear ran through her. Too bad she had such a horrible sense of direction. Back at home she couldn't even find the store she had worked at for months on her own--she needed to follow her neighbor (who happened to be one of her co-workers) to work every morning. But the only creature she could follow right now was the bunny, so when it hopped into some bushes she set off after it. She hadn't planned on coming face-to-face with . . .

Now it's your turn! Who'll start off the next part of the story for us?