The newsletter survey results are in! Thank you for over a hundred (120) responses to my attempt to find out what you would like to see in this twice-a-month newsletter/email. One of the choices for "new content" (with over 65% of you choosing) was peeks into my life. It wil take some time to sort out and create new content, but this one was pretty easy, so I am throwing it out here first. One of the easiest ways to share about the author is by a Q&A format, so here goes.

The final results and the winners of the survey are listed at the end of the Q&A. Scroll down! 👇🏼

Over the years, readers have asked me dozens and dozens of questions about my writing, about horses, where I get my ideas, and honestly . . . pretty much about everything under the sun. I thought you might get a kick out of this "Ask the Author Q&A."

I have included a few links to some fun "follow up" answers, so click the links and enjoy learning more about the author of the Circle C, Goldtown, and Coming-soon Timberland series. By the way, if you want to read the first chapter of book 1, Trouble in Tacoma (working title), click HERE.

If you have questions for another "Ask the Author" newsletter, reply to this newsletter email with your first name and your question. I'd love to answer your questions in a future email/newsletter.

NOW, TIME FOR . . . ASK THE AUTHOR!

SARA M. asked, "When did you start writing?" I started writing when I was about nine years old. My first poem (third grade) was posted in the teacher's lounge. I guess they thought it was worthy of "publication." Here is the original poem. If you can't make it out, I have written the poem below.

On my way home from Seattle,

I saw something funny you see.

When the light shone on it,

It was very funny indeed.

I saw little people in water

Standing up very very strate [straight]

But when the light was gone,

They all swam away.

By Susan Martin

(December 4, 1962, 3rd grade. Susie's first try at poetry. Took her 10 min, with no erasing?)

I remember writing this poem in my head. We lived in Tacoma (the setting for the first "Jenny Grant" book, BTW), and in the days of no seatbelts, I lay in the "way back" of our Oldsmobile stationwagon coming home from Seattle one night. It was very dark driving along Hwy 99 (no I-5 in those days), and all those reflections on Lake Washington really did look like people, so out came the poem.

My first "real" story was titled "Up to Mars." It was about a girl and a boy who went up to Mars. I can't remember how they got there, what they did there, or how they got home. I just remember my fourth-grade teacher, Miss Sholseth, was really into outer space and passed that love on to her students (especially me). I was hooked, and I loved the planet Mars. Go figure.

My first "published" book was a lovingly hand-copied story called The Stars Know the Way. It took me six months to copy this story (also handwritten) from notebook paper into a blank, hardback book that my grandfather found in the dump and gave to me. It was (and still is) a treasure! I still have the book, and every time I take it out, I can smell memories of my grandfather.

One hundred seven pages of outer space adventure. 😀 What's the story about? Five children end up on a prototype spaceship headed for a planet circling the star Sirius. They are stranded on the planet. Will they ever find their way back to Earth? Only the stars know the way home.

I hope to one day type it out and post it on my website, but alas . . . there are not enough hours in the day to do all that I would like to do!

With no computers or keyboarding, all of my stories (and I had many!) were handwritten and quite short. Another story I wrote as a young teen was titled Marra's Promise. Marra and her sister are captured by outer-space slave traders and taken to another planet. Marra must keep her promise and bring her little sister safely home.You can read that story HERE.

KAYLEIGH H. asked, Is Andi’s character based off of you, or someone you know? Andi is pretty much based off of imagining how great it would be if I had lived back then in that family on a huge cattle ranch! But I also drew on real-life characters Caddie Woodlawn and Laura Ingalls, as well as the fictional Anne Shirley to give Andi spunk and balance.

When did you start writing the Andi Carter series? I started writing the Andi series in 1991 when my youngest, Ryan (“Cory” on the Trouble with Treasure cover), was four months old. I had just gotten a Commodore 64 computer, and my hubby suggested I write on that rather than by hand in my spiral notebooks (brilliant advice! My stories soon got much, much longer).

The first Andi story I wrote became book 2, Dangerous Decision. I originally titled it Andrea Carter and the Golden Rule. I wrote it for myself and had no intention of ever sharing it with "scary" people like editors of publishing houses. I wish I still had that old manuscript. It was quite different from what ended up being published, and it would be fun to share. But alas, it vanished down a black hole in my computer years ago.

👉🏼 In case you're wondering why the first Andi book I wrote did not become book 1, the answer is simple. I wrote three or four Andi stories before I even dipped my toe in the publishing waters. Book 1, Long Ride Home (originally horrifically titled "Andi's MisAdventure") ended up being submitted first. The timeline worked better, and I thought the mystery of Andi trying to find her horse would be a more appealing, exciting launch title to the series.

This is just like the old Commodore 64 computer I had when I started writing the Circle C books. (The "64" stands for 64 kilobites. 1,000kb = 1 MG.) For real!

MARY asked, What made you want to write the Andi books? I loved old TV westerns like Bonanza and The Big Valley. I thought the shows could be greatly improved if a younger sister was added to the family. So . . . I added one. I started off writing a bunch of fan fiction (lots of kids write Circle C Fan Fiction. Check it out!) to expand my favorite episodes and make up new adventures for my characters. Those stories eventually morphed into the Circle C Adventures (with tons of changes) a number of years later. 

I hope you enjoyed this first ASK THE AUTHOR Q&A. If you have a question to ask me, reply to this email and let me know! I'll answer it in a future newsletter. Be sure to include your first name.

Thanks so much to all of you who took the time to fill out the survey and give me feedback on what YOU would like to see in these newsletters.

First . . . the winners of the two prizes.

HORSE-RELATED WINNER: Rebekah B.

GOLD-RUSH-RELATED WINNER: Adeline

Now. . . the results.

I can't thank you enough for taking the time to share what you like and would like to see in the Susan K. Marlow newsletter/email (formerly titled the Circle C Newsletter and Goldtown Newsletter). But as you know, both have been combined into one twice-a-month email (80% liked it the way it is). A few enthusastic subscribers suggested 3 times a month, once a week(!), "as often as you can," and "more often." I'm going to stick with twice a month and feel extremely blessed that I can stay on schedule!

As fas as what you guys enjoy in the CURRENT CONTENT

• 🔎 What Am I Guessing Game (92% chose this, so I'll keep wracking my brain to find mystery objects that are not too hard but not too easy.
• 📖 New Book News (77%) This was the second most popular response. I'm more than happy to update you with "sneak peeks" and other exciting upcoming book release news about book 1 of the new Timberland Trails series (we'll see if my publisher keeps the series name, but whatever they come up with, I know it will be awesome!)
• 😀 Peek into the Past History backgrounds (69%). Yee-haw. I love creating these.
• 🎧 Digital Freebies (65%). Who doesn't like "free," right?
• 🖋️ Writing Contests (63%) Okay, okay! You have spoken! I will host one as soon as I finish the rought draft of the Timberland (Jenny Grant) series book 2! Watch for it early summer.
• ✂️ Crafts and Projects Related to the Books (55%)
• 💲 Special Deals to Purchase (54%). This is a bit harder, since I don't sell physical products on my webstore any longer (having retired from homeschool conventions in 2024), but I'll see what I can dig up.
• 🖍️ Activity packs (52%). I like creating these, so I'm glad you like them!

I'm especially thrilled to know you are eager for me to expand into areas that explore NEW CONTENTfor the Newsletter.

• Sharing Circle C short stories (80%)
• Circle C and Goldtown Recipes (77%)
• News about the New Timberland Trails (Jenny Grant) series (72%)
• Hosting an Art contest (65%)
• Peeks into Susan K. Marlow's Life (65%)
• Providing a story prompt to finish and to be shared in the following Newsletter (54%). This one sounds really fun!

And last but not least, 72 of you shared your about what you'd like to see. Too many to post here, but I read every one and will tuck these away to consider as the year progresses. My brain is spinning on how to incorporate all of your ideas into two emails a month. 😱

Again, thank you so much for participating, and I hope this first peek into my life is fun for you!

And remember, you can always reply to this email with other ideas as they come to you!

One of the suggestions I really liked (and decided to put into practice right away) is a Bible verse of the month. Here is the Bible verse for March. I challenge you to memorize it! I have. Why did I choose this verse for March? Because I have book 2 of the Jenny books to finish, and sometimes I feel stuck and stressed. I believe God is leading me to share fun and faith-ful books for readers and for parents who want to share a solid, biblical worldview with your kids, plus are full of adventure and real-life kids making decisions (for good or ill) and learning to trust God in everything, big or small.

With the current War in the Middle East, I don't know about you, but my heart and mind are on the soon return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I've been waiting for Him ever since I was a teen, and I can wait--however long He tarries.

This first Bible verse of the month reminds us to keep on keeping on! I will post all monthly verses in King James, since this was the only translation used in the 19th century, and all of my books are set during this time.

You can reply to this email with your questions or comments. I love hearing from readers. You received this email because you signed up for the newsletter, entered a giveaway, downloaded a freebie, or purchased products. You may unsubscribe at any time.