The best stories leave readers feeling like they have lived inside the pages of a book. When the setting is realistic, readers of fiction are taken deeper into the characters' lives and suspend their beliefs long enough for the writers to weave their tales. Readers of The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown, are rewarded with many blogs on locations featured in the book and film locales. Lovers of the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer flock to Forks and La Push, Washington and visit towns of the Quileute tribe. Readers love being surrounded by the physical world their beloved characters inhabited. It extends their enjoyment of the stories and writers love active and engaged fans.
I've heard from readers who feel as if they have walked in my main character's shoes. I've decided to take things one step more...pun somewhat intended. Now I'm offering a reward to do exactly that.
For you muggles out there, listen up. Geocaching combines hiking with treasure hunts. Geocachers hide boxes in different locations accessible by the public. Over two million people worldwide enjoy searching for caches that can be as big as an ammunition box or as small as a pill vile. Once a cache is found, a log is signed and a small item may traded. A twist on the typical seek and find is a travel bug. These 'bugs' are trackable objects that geocachers move from cache to cache. The best bugs have a purpose, like trying to get to China or finding the best dog parks in the U.S.
On New Year's day 2015, I placed a travel bug named "Jessica Wyeth's Travels" somewhere in Jessica's hometown of Hamilton, Massachusetts. If you go onto the Geocache site, you'll read these details:
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| You'll have to find the bug to read the tracker numbers! |
Mission:
This travel bug is dedicated to Jessica Wyeth
of Hamilton, Massachusetts. Help Jessica travel and find the best places horse
lovers can go to fuel their passion.
Jessica is an expert equestrian and is
passionate about all things horse related. Help this bug travel to equestrian
themed locations: Bridle trails? Race tracks? Farms? Homes of famous horse
lovers? Places of real or fictional horses or their owners? A statue featuring a
horse? Birthday party pony rides?
Or even better, if you've read her books,
bring this bug to places from her story around Massachusetts, Kentucky, Wyoming,
Utah, Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Description:
Jessica Wyeth was born with traits she
couldn't hide: beauty, cunning, an innate ability to survive and the desire to
travel.
Jessica is the main character in "The Charity"
and (upcoming in 2015) "The Troubles." She's had more than a bit of trouble
hiding as an accused murderer. Now she's tangled up with
terrorists.
There's a reward for helping her travel bug roam
the world in search of all things horse. Post a name in your geocache comment,
and you might see that name used in a story. Jessica needs friends and your
suggested name might become the person who helps her! That name could also be
transformed into a character in a short story.
So, let this bug travel the world in search of
an equine experience, and have fun!
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You read that right! I'm offering a reward. I'll be watching the travels of this bug and the comments very carefully. (I'll also be watching the comments on this blog post, too!) If you find the bug, post your discovery and a name you'd like to see in a story. It can be your name or one you make up, but be warned - the character may have some unsavory traits you might not like associated with your real name. I'm busy developing the third book in Jessica's series, and she really, really needs a friend or two. I write short stories too, so your suggested name could end up in one of those as well. Through the power of social media, I promise to notify you if I use your suggested name.
If you've read this blog before, I had great ambitions to make a puzzle geocache. This travel bug is one step closer to making that happen!
So, exercise your sense of adventure, creativity and body all at the same time! Don't sit on your tush reading! Get outside and enjoy the day! Have some fun!
