Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt!
Welcome to the Christian Fiction Scavenger Hunt! If you’ve just discovered the hunt, be sure to start at Stop #1, and collect the clues through all the stops, in order, so you can enter to win one of our top 5 grand prizes!
- The hunt BEGINS on 4/10 at noon Mountain with Stop #1 at LisaTawnBergren.com.
- Hunt through our loop using Chrome or Firefox as your browser (not Explorer).
- There is NO RUSH to complete the hunt—you have all weekend (until Sunday, 4/13 at midnight Mountain)! So take your time, reading the unique posts along the way; our hope is that you discover new authors/new books and learn new things about them.
- Submit your entry for the grand prizes by collecting the CLUE on each author’s scavenger hunt post and submitting your answer in the Rafflecopter form at the final stop, back on Lisa’s site. Many authors are offering additional prizes along the way!
Howdy! I’m so happy to meet you!
Whether you’re already a fan or I’m a new-to-you author, welcome! I’m Crystal Caudill, and I write “dangerously good historical romance.” What does that mean? It means I like to write thoroughly researched historical romance with strong threads of suspense and spiritual themes that (hopefully) feel natural and not preachy. You can find out more about me, my books, and my monthly reading challenge here on my website and on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, or BookBub. On March 11, my first book in a new series called The Art of Love and Danger released.
WRITTEN IN SECRET is about a 19th century (Gilded Age) female dime novelist who writes crime stories to correct the wrongs of a corrupt judicial system, only to have her stories brought to life by a vigilante who murders the pardoned criminals her stories were based on. Of course, there is a swoony hero (or so I’m told), humor, sweet romance, and a delightful dose of suspense.
Dime Novels, Corruption,
and a Search for Justice
Written in Secret was inspired by a handful of facts I discovered while researching dime novels and the history of the Cincinnati police. Check them out:
- Dime novels were highly controversial. Many believed the “cheap” literature would corrupt those who read it to commit crimes and become degraded in mind. There were widespread calls for the dime novels to be banned. Even the postmaster general advocated for them to be banned from the mail system.
- Women were relegated to only publicly writing romances. If a woman wanted to write a mystery or crime novel, they used a male pseudonym (most of the time).
- Despite opposition, dime novels were sold by the hundreds of thousands, and they shaped our modern concept of genre reading.
- Until 1886, except for very short periods of a police commission board attempt, the Cincinnati police were governed by the current mayor. That means officers could be hired or fired just based on their political leanings or how they served the mayor’s needs.
- Judges and juries were regularly bought off. Criminals with the right connections walked free or received lesser punishments. Even elections were rigged.
- People were growing tired of the corruption. In 1884, after the stress of two devastating floods, a riot broke out when a horrific crime went to trial, and one of the murderers received a light sentencing.
Everyone in the book wrestles with the injustice of the world around them and responds how they think best. Lydia is a mystery-dime novelist who rewrites the stories of criminals who got away with their crimes. Billy Poe is a vigilante who kills the criminals who inspired the dime novelist’s stories. Officer Hall is a police officer trying to stop the vigilante but wrestling with the dime novelist’s part in all this. The city wants justice, even if it takes rioting, while others do their best and trust God with what they don’t understand. It really was a fascinating exploration of finding justice in an unjust world.
Here’s Your Critical Stop #24 Basics:
If you’re interested, you can order Written in Secret on Amazon, Baker Book House, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook.com or at your local bookstore!
Clue to Write Down: read anywhere
Link to Stop #25, the Next Stop on the Loop: Hannah Currie‘s site!
But wait!!! Don’t go yet!!
I’m holding my own additional giveaway right here! Use the rafflecopter widget below for your chance to win . . .
Your choice of Counterfeit Truth, Counterfeit Love, Counterfeit Hope, Counterfeit Faith, We Three Kings, or Written in Secret . If the winner already has all the books, they can pick a book from my prize shelf of other authors’ books. 🙂
The winner of this giveaway will be selected on April 15th and notified by email afterward.
Fine Print: Physical items are available to U.S. residents 18 or older. Void where prohibited. E-books will be available for anywhere internationally that Amazon sells the ebooks. Full giveaway policies can be found here.
And if you are having trouble getting entered, just shoot me a note through my contact form, or comment below.
I could not enter
Which could you not enter, my rafflecopter for the books or for the Scavenger Hunt as a whole?
I could not enter your rafflecopter for the books.
Rafflecopter isn’t working for me today on any of the stops for the scavenger hunt.
Are you doing it from your phone or your computer? I generally have more problems from my phone than my computer. I can manually enter you for leave a blog post one. If you let me know if and which of the other options you’ve done below, I can add entries for those.
Sign up for my Newsletter: https://crystalcaudill.com/newsletter/
Add Written in Secret to Your GoodReads “Want to Read” List: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219708485-written-in-secret
Follow me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Crystal-Caudill/author/B099XB2MMK
Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/crystal-caudill
I could not enter.
Are you doing it from your phone or your computer? I generally have more problems from my phone than my computer. I can manually enter you for leave a blog post one. If you let me know if and which of the other options you’ve done below, I can add entries for those.
Sign up for my Newsletter: https://crystalcaudill.com/newsletter/
Add Written in Secret to Your GoodReads “Want to Read” List: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219708485-written-in-secret
Follow me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Crystal-Caudill/author/B099XB2MMK
Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/crystal-caudill
Are you doing it from your phone or your computer? I generally have more problems from my phone than my computer. I can manually enter you for leave a blog post one. If you let me know if and which of the other options you’ve done below, I can add entries for those.
Sign up for my Newsletter: https://crystalcaudill.com/newsletter/
Add Written in Secret to Your GoodReads “Want to Read” List: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/219708485-written-in-secret
Follow me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Crystal-Caudill/author/B099XB2MMK
Follow me on BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/crystal-caudill
Interesting stuff about dime novels. Wonder if any are available today? I see references to them when reading historical novels, but didn’t know all of that.
Love your books, but haven’t read your newest one yet.
They are. Here is a website where you can read a bunch.
https://dimenovels.lib.niu.edu/islandora/search
And thanks! I’m so glad you enjoy them!
Thanks for that site, Crystal! I didn’t realize dime novels were still available to read today.
Yep. I read a few for my research.
Hi Crystal,
the link in the rafflecopter doesn’t allow to sign up for your newsletter, it leads to a free book. I used the link on your site to sign up for your newsletter. Just wanted you to know. Thanks for participating in this hunt and for the extra giveaway! Written in Secret is added to my TBR list now 🙂
Blessings, Kara
The free book also signs you up for my newsletter. 😉 But either way works. You should still get a copy of the free book with the first email. Thank you for signing up!
I just listened to your interview with Jaime Jo Wright the other day! I’m excited to read your latest book!
Yay! I love talking with Jaime, and thank you for your interest in reading Written in Secret! I hope you enjoy it!
Just wanted to drop by and say “thank you” for being a part of this scavenger hunt! I am loving the opportunity to meet new-to-me authors, like yourself, all-the-while learning so many new and interesting facts! I love the premise of Written In Secret, and have put it on my TBR! Looking forward to reading it!
I love the that this scavenger hunt allows us to find new authors. I’ve definitely learned about a few new-to-me authors too. Happy hunting and thanks for putting WIS on your TBR! I hope you enjoy it whenever you get to read it!
I signed up for the newsletter and following!
I didn’t know much about dime novels and had no idea that you could still read one.
When I clicked the link, everything was already checked lol! I hope that means I’m entered to win. I’m a huge fan and I loved Written in Secret! I’m also in your Facebook readers group 🥰 I already have Counterfit Truth to read next! Thank you for participating in the scavenger hunt and for the extra giveaway!!
Thank you for participating, Denise!
Thank you for the chance. Have a great week.
Hi, I can’t log in at the final stop to enter my clues. Can you please help?
If you have trouble with entering the contest via the Rafflecopter form, send an email to Lisa@BergrenCreativeGroup.com BEFORE 4/13/25 MIDNIGHT MOUNTAIN with the complete clue phrase and your name and phone #, and I’ll make sure you are entered before the prizes are randomly drawn on 4/14/25.
Thanks for participating!!!
I love your books and I’ve read all of them except your latest! I’m also thrilled that you’re from my state of Kentucky!
Thank you so much! Are you the one in Lexington? I grew up in Georgetown, so Lexington was my stomping ground in the 90s.