Hello dear friends! January is racing to a close and I wanted to award the THREE giveaways I offered in my last post.

Question #1: When did I purchase the outfit I wore for our Fall 2025 family photo?
This was obviously a really challenging question – partly because I didn’t provide the answer in the post. Many of you guessed the 80s or 90s when there was a resurgence of pleated mini skirts. And some of you guessed that I bought it when I was in college, which would have been 1963-1967. I actually purchased it in 1968 when my husband and I, on summer vacation after our first year of teaching, took a trip to Gananoque, Ontario and the Thousand Islands. The skirt has weathered exceedingly well, I think…and me, too, I hope.

Since no one guessed the actual year, I put names of folks who came pretty close into a hat and picked out:

SUSAN SCHIPPER – Congratulations, Sue…I’ll email you and we can see what manuscript you’d like to send me for feedback.

Question #2: When was the first #50PreciousWords, how many entries did we get, and who won?
The answers for this question were mentioned in the post and lots of folks got that answer correct…so I had to put those names in a hat and picked two winners of the 30-minute Ask Me Anything chat who are…

ROSE CAPPELLINI – Congratulations, Rose. I’ll email you and we can set up a time to chat.

ROBIN CURRIE – Congratulations, Robin…I’ll email you and we can set up a time to chat.

Question #3: Who is the editor and who is the illustrator for ONE GIRL’S VOICE?
The answers for this question were also found in the post – and LOTS and LOTS of folks got this one right…I shuffled up their names to find the winner of a signed copy of one of my books and picked out…TWO WINNERS…

VICKI HAMMOND – Congratulations, Vicki…I’ll email you to get your mailing address and to see if you want me to personalize it.
By the way…our wonderful #50PreciousWords logo was created by Vicki back in 2018, I think…huge thanks, Vicki!

LINDA HOFKE – Congratulations, Linda…I’ll email you to see if you want me to personalize it to your niece.

That’s it for the giveaway…but I also wanted to share that we’ve got SO MANY INCREDIBLE PRIZES lined up for #50PreciousWords this year! Please let writer friends know about the contest…the Heads-Up-The-Contest-Is-Coming-Soon post will go live on February 7th…so please stay tuned!

And please stay tuned for a COVER REVEAL on February 4th for my upcoming book, PIPPA’S HANUKKAH HUNT (illustrated by Jill Weber & published by Holiday House) which launches September 29.

And there’s more…a Triple Book Birthday post on February 2 for THREE brand-new Board Books from three dear friends.

And don’t leave yet…I’ll be finding out the results of the SCBWI Golden Kite Awards on February 6th and will include that info in the Heads-Up contest post. I’m honored that ONE GIRL’S VOICE: HOW LUCY STONE HELPED CHANGE THE LAW OF THE LAND, illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon and published by Calkins Creek/Astra, is a FINALIST! And it has won other accolades as well during last year. But one thing it has not received are…

REVIEWS!
Yes, sadly, even though this amazing book has been out since last February, it only has 35 Amazon reviews. That’s right…35. Even though I have almost 2000 blog followers and almost 4000 Facebook friends plus I host a contest that attracted almost 600 submissions last year.
Believe me…I totally understand how busy our lives can get. But if you can find a few minutes and you love the book, I’d really appreciate your help. The review doesn’t have to be long-winded…just a sentence or two. Here is the link for the Amazon page: https://www.amazon.com/One-Girls-Voice-Helped-Change/dp/1662680457/?

And as always, thank you for spending your precious time with us. Your support means the world to me.