Finding Huckleberry Contest (AND re-posting the winner of The Transporter DVD!)

(Psst…Kacee? Did you miss that little announcement that you are the winner of The Transporter DVD? It was mixed in with the Pumpkin Cookie recipe blog! Ha ha!)

For years and years and years, I've wanted to write a sort of autobiographical book for you called Finding Huckleberry.  I just envisioned it as being a compilation of short stories (romantic stories)…you know…romance and drama experiences I lived through that eventually not only made me who I am now, and inspired me where my books are concerned…but that allowed the reader to follow my yellow brick road to finding my Mr. Perfectly Imperfect, Kevin!

However, with the demands of being a novelist and still putting my husband, kids, grandson and love for sugary desserts first…there just is never time for me to sit down and write that book.  As time has rolled on, I began to really, really worry that I'd never get to tell my story of Finding Huckleberry (a.k.a. Kevin) and it bothered me.  I finally just gave up on the idea and figured my kids would just have to try and remember the life experiences I'd shared with them and that you would just have to guess at which scenes, events, etc. in my books may have been inspired by actual events.

BUT…(and thank goodness my mind works best at 3 a.m.)…then I woke up one early morning with a little tickle of an idea.  If it worked, it would allow me the time to write my Finding Huckleberry memoirs thingy, AND not interfere too much with my regular fiction writing schedule.

Back in the olden days (like 1980-something) there used to be a thing called an Installment Publication.  (I even think Scott Card told me he did this with one of his novels a few years ago.  I think.  But I'm not sure.)  The type of Installment Publication I remember usually ran in the newspaper.  I remember when one of the Albuquerque newspapers ran part of the first Star Wars book this way…each day or week, there would be a new installment of a story or book in the newspaper.  Well, I don't really like the word installment (it sounds like a money/loan/stress thing to me).  But I do like things that come in episodes…like TV series, trilogy books and movies, etc.

Therefore, at 3 a.m. that particular morning, I sat up in bed and thought, "Hey!  I could write Finding Huckleberry a chapter at a time and let the publisher release it as an "Episode Publication!"  That way I can still work on it without throwing off my current writing schedule AND I can share it with my friends/readers as I go so they get to read it, too!"

Furthermore, since I've been getting so many e-mails about "why can't you write faster" and "I need something that you've written to read between books"…I thought this Finding Huckleberry project my serve as something silly, fun and romantic to read for you, too!  E-Books used to be the "Quick Fix" between novels…but obviously that was before the world caught on to the e-book thing, making e-books as a "Quick Fix" archaic and impractical.

And you know me…always nostalgic…always wishing things weren't quite so fast-paced and techy!  So why not combine the best of both worlds and have an Episode Publication that is electronic, right?

Therefore, as you know, I have begun my writing adventure of Finding Huckleberry: Memoirs of a Romance Novelist for you, my family and myself!  The first episode is up and available and I want to thank you all for the great responses and encouragement!  I'm glad you're enjoying it!  (Whew!)

And since I am starting at the very beginning with my Finding Huckleberry tales…I thought it might be just perfect to include a little blog contest this week that sort of relates!  If you're read Finding Huckleberry:  Memoirs of a Romance Novelist (I'm so corny with titles), you'll know that this little DVD is dear to my heart!  If you've never seen this old, classic, musical version of Tom Sawyer…you have really been missing out on life!  The music by John Williams and the Sherman Brothers is FANTASTIC!  The songs are ones my adult children still remember with delight…and my daughter and I can pretty much sing any song from this movie on demand!

Furthermore, Huck (played by Jeff East) is ADORABLE!  I was totally in love THIS very Huckleberry Finn for like EVER!  I still think Jeff East is the best ever Huckleberry Finn in movies!  So…whether or not you've read Finding Huckleberry:  Memoirs of a Goofy Romance Novelist, you will LOVE this movie!  It's a great, fabulous, wonderful family film, too!  (Okay…there is one scene when Tom and Huck are 'swimming in the nude' where there little bums pop up out of the water for a second…just so you know.)  As usual, just leave your comment here as your entry!  You can also e-mail me at marcialmcclure@cs.com or facebook me!

Thanks for encouraging me through my project of writing Finding Huckleberry!  It's so important to me!  And I think it will be fun for your, too!  Can't you just hear that song echoing through your mind now?  "Tom goes out with Huck, swimming in the nude?"