THANKS FOR STOPPING BY, and thanks for all your great letters and e-mails. It means a lot to me that you love my books. I love writing them. You may be able to tell that I especially like to write cliffhangers at the end of chapters so you want to keep reading.

Now some good news. I can't count the number of e-mails and letters I've received asking about the Adventures of the Northwoods series.  These best-selling novels will be coming out with new covers.  The first novels--The Disappearing Stranger and The Hidden Message--are scheduled for publication on Feb. 28, 2009.  Two or three novels will be released each month until the final two--Mystery of the Missing Map and Disaster on Windy Hill--will come out the end of May, 2009.  Watch here, and I'll tell you more as soon as I have covers to show you. 

When I finish the study guides for the Viking Quest series I'll let you know about that too.  If you're using the novels for schooling, or if you're just plain curious, you'll be able to go behind the scenes to find out more about the people, places, and times I write about.

Here an awesome opportunity.
Focus on Your Child publications (part of the Focus on the Family organization) has reviewed Raiders from the Sea, the first Viking Quest novel. Right now, you can follow the link below to their Book Report and read discussion questions that are important for our time in history. Written by Beth Naylor, these questions especially fit the first novel. However, you may want to return to them as you talk about other Viking Quest novels. After a time, Book Reports are archived and available to Focus on Your Child subscribers. http://www.family.org/foycbenefits/bookreports2/A000004047.cfm

AND MORE GOOD NEWS. The first annual Moonbeam Children’s Book Awards received 862 entries from 45 U.S. states, 6 Canadian provinces, and 7 countries overseas. Out of that great number of entries, the fifth Viking Quest novel, The Raider’s Promise, received a bronze medal in the Multicultural Fiction, Young Adult category.  In that book, the characters you know and love come to America. Click here to read the first chapter. The book is available in retail and online stores.

You'll want to read the Viking Quest novels in order.  The first book, Raiders from the Sea, begins with Bree, her brother Devin, and Mikkel in the Glendalough area south of Dublin.  From there they travel to what is now Northern Ireland, Bergen, Norway, the Aurland Fjord, and Trondheim.  Then on to Iceland and Leif Erikson's family in Greenland.  Facing many kinds of danger, Bree, Devin, and Mikkel sail with Leif from Greenland to establish a settlement in what is now North America.  Will they find the COURAGE TO WIN? Discover the answer in The Raider's Promise!

If you have comments or questions, send me an e-mail. I'll answer your most often asked questions in You Asked About It. Come back often to see what's up. We're sharing some of your great letters at  You've Written to Say.

Meanwhile, remember that each book I write is a special letter from me to you. MY WARM BEST WISHES FOR YOU TO HAVE AN AWESOME LIFE!