The release of my first middle grade fiction book, What About Barnaby? (A Gumshoe Crew Mystery), took place on April 1st. No, it wasn't an April Fools' joke! But it was a quiet launch, so I wanted to take a few minutes to introduce you to some of the characters in the book and give the kids a challenge at the end of this post.
Barnaby Q. Percival is a crazy mutt, at least that's how Zeke describes him. He never goes anywhere without his squeaky toy... well, never until today. Oh, no, Barnaby has disappeared and he's left his squeaky toy behind!
Zeke is a neighbor of Barnaby's and his owner, Mr. Jensen. Like most kids, he thinks life in his little town is just plain, old boring. The mystery of Barnaby's disappearance is just the thing to bring adventure to his little corner of Hedgewood.
Scotty is Zeke's best friend. He's definitely a "unique individual" and you'll see just how as you read What About Barnaby? Scotty teams up with Zeke to try to decipher the mystery of the missing mutt.
Then there's Mrs. Peyton, one of Zeke's favorite people. She's a sweet old lady who bakes the most delicious chocolate chip cookies in the world. She knows something that will help Zeke and Scotty with their detective work but they don't know it yet... and they'll really be surprised when they find out!
The kids work tirelessly to find Barnaby. They make some new friends along the way who pitch in to help solve the mystery. I hope you'll come along on their adventure. Who knows, they may even ask you to be a member of The Gumshoe Crew!
What About Barnaby? (A Gumshoe Crew Mystery) is available for the Kindle.
Okay, kids, here's your challenge. Can you decipher the secret code below? If you can, email the answer to me at [email protected]. [NOTE TO PARENTS: The safety of your children is important to me. Please supervise children when they are on-line.]
I will pick one correct entry, at random, to win a free Kindle copy of What About Barnaby? With parent's approval I will announce the winner's first name here on Friday, April 12, 2013.
SECRET MESSAGE:
Zeke's Tree House has some cool features!
Here are a few clues:
e = E
h = H
t = T
Here's another clue: Pigpen
Good luck and as always... stay cool!
Martha
18 Comments on What About Barnaby?, last added: 4/29/2013
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Congratulations Martha on your new book. I am so excited for you. I am delving into writing middle grade mysteries at the moment, so snaps to you. I wish you all the best and thanks for linking it in to the Kid Lit Blog Hop.
Cheers Julie Grasso
Much success with What About Barnaby? Martha. It certainly looks like a fun read! :0)
All the best to you, too, Julie! Thank you for sponsoring the Kid Lit Blog Hop. It's always fun to see who is there!
Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Donna!
Thank you so much for stopping by, and for the well wishes! Your book, Lucci - The No Smoochie Poochie looks adorable. All the best to you!
Martha
Hi Martha! Big, big congrats on the release of your new book - it sounds fabulous! I'm going to show this to my daughter and see if she can figure out the secret message. I'm looking at it and I can't figure it out! lol
Thanks, Renee! LOL! Here's another clue, which I'll add to the post as well. Look at the book cover. There's a sneak peek of the code there! ;)
Ok, I understood the pigpen part (I've designed entire treasure hunts around them!) - I'm pretty sure my daughter will get this (I'm not entirely convinced I will though!) lol
HA!! Okay, good luck to her! Please spread the word if you can. I'd appreciate it! :)
Congrats Martha on your new book! What a great idea the challenge is for the kids!
Hi Micheal,
Thanks for stopping by! I hope the kiddos will take the challenge. Thanks for helping to spread the word through Facebook. :D
Congratulations on your new book! It's looks great!
Thanks for sharing with the Kid Lit Blog Hop!
Hi Katie,
So glad you stopped by! Thank you for your kind words. I hope the kiddos enjoy my book!
Maybe we haven't been eating our daily vegetables, but we both are really stumped. lol I need to reconsider this at a different time of day. ;)
LOL! Quick, find some broccoli!! No worries, the good part is that you can still enter with Rafflecopter without having to figure it out. :)
I saw you review/giveaway on Mother Daughter Reviews. But you have me stumped on the code. The fox in the pigpen??? The fox at the movies
Hi Vera!
So glad you stopped by!
Hmmmm. Maybe I've made it a little too difficult. I will begin revealing the answer one letter at a time to see if that helps.
Remember, you can still enter with Rafflecopter and you don't even have to decipher the message!
Hope my sweet tweets will help gather some interest in your book.
I did put it on my Kindle Wish List. Might be quite the book for my Godson when he gets a little older.
He still remembers the Broccoli part in A Reel Cool Summer.
Hi Lynn! Thank you for being here and for tweeting about the giveaway!
LOL! I love the broccoli part. It's just so silly. Thanks for reading A Reel Cool Summer to your Godson.
Always appreciate your support!
Martha