THE SECRET OF THE BURIED KEY

In Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow Hills, Skylar spends the summer in Malibu at her bullying cousin’s estate. She meets an intriguing classmate named Kat who claims to be a witch. Practical Skylar didn’t believe in magic–until the spells they perform in an abandoned garden actually begin to work.

One day inside the garden walls, they unearth an ancient key:

ancient keyWhat could it unlock? What’s your guess? If you have not read the book, leave a reply with your idea.

If you have read the book, leave a reply using Skylar’s secret code and tell me what the key unlocked. If you are a Skylar Robbins Secret Agent, please reply using your code name.

The first 3 correct answers win a prize!

Skylar’s Secret Code: A=1, B=2, C=3, D=4, E=5, F=6, G=7, H=8, I=9, J=10, K=11, L=12, M=13, N=14, O=15, P=16, Q=17, R=18, S=19, T=20, U=21, V=22, W=23, X=24, Y=25, Z=26

The Mystery of Shadow Hills
The Mystery of Shadow Hills

Congratulations to Bree Wolf!

She just won a free copy of SKYLAR ROBBINS: THE MYSTERY OF SHADOW HILLS, just for Liking my Facebook page! Another copy will be given away soon. Just Like to enter: https://www.facebook.com/teendetectiveskylar. Other ways to win: leave a comment on this website, or send an email to skylar@skylarrobbins.com with “win” in the subject line. That’s it!

Win your free copy!

Win your free copy!

Drawing Contest!

camobinoculars_400x400Your illustration could be published in the next Skylar Robbins mystery! While hunting for the hidden jewels in her new adventure, Skylar found a treasure map, torn in several pieces. Some of them were hidden in a bird’s nest, and were fragile and a little bit shredded. I would like to include a picture of it in The Mystery of the Hidden Jewels. Can you draw the map, based on the description below?

A free pair of kid’s binoculars goes to the artist with the best drawing of the treasure map, and their illustration will be included in the next book. Please upload your drawings to the website and sign your Secret Agent code name. If you don’t have a code name, please fill out the Secret Agent Application Form (S.A.A.F.) on this website under “About Skylar.”

“Reaching up, I pulled the bird’s nest down and set it gently on the table. Then I carefully lifted out three soft pieces of dirty paper. They were stained and a little bit shredded, but I could still make out numbered footsteps on all three of them. After replacing the bird’s nest on the rafter, I picked up the fragile pile and cradled it between my hands while I raced upstairs to my office.

Sitting down at my desk, I unlocked my clue box and took out the partial map from the hidden floor, smoothing it out in front of me. I set the first torn piece of bird’s nest paper next to it. “Wait a minute,” I said aloud, picking up another piece. The footprints on the bird’s nest paper had the missing numbers on them. There were also some curving shapes on the strips that looked like C’s, other marks that looked like L’s, and a hexagon on the far side. I rearranged the papers until C-shapes met each other and formed whole circles, the L’s combined to form squares, and all of the footprints flowed in numerical order. Then I carefully taped the map together. There was still a big chunk of it missing. Smack or Ignado must have found it, I thought. That explains why they were looking in the greenhouse! It must be part of this clue.

And if they figured out there was a clue in there with just one small piece of the map, they aren’t as dumb as I thought.

After the final footprint there was an X. The same curved X that was written on the back of Xandra’s picture.

X marks the spot.”

*  *  *

“That tree there is this circle,” I mumbled, “and the hexagon on the map must be the gazebo, so I have to go over there to start.” Even though the footsteps on the map seemed to lead toward the greenhouse, I figured I better follow them in order in case there were extra clues hidden along the way. I walked toward the side of the house opposite the canyon and backed up against the wall where the footsteps looked like they began.

Taking four steps, I curved to my left and took another three, then veered right for six. I hit the first tree marked on the map. I hunted around the base of the trunk and looked up carefully at every branch. No clues. I crossed behind the tree and went left five paces, then turned left for nine and walked to the right four steps. The gazebo was right in front of me. The hexagon. I’d already searched the gazebo and found the partial map. Besides that it was clean. From the gazebo, I headed sideways three steps, then forward six. I stopped at the doorway to the greenhouse, opened it, and walked inside.

CONGRATULATIONS, WINNERS!

The winner of today’s drawing for a free autographed copy of SKYLAR ROBBINS: THE MYSTERY OF SHADOW HILLS (Teen Mystery Press, 2013) is Ray Schiel! Runners up who will receive a free .pdf of the book are: Veramani, Pete Huley, Aziz KL, and Susan Eaby. I hope you enjoy the book! ~ Carrie Cross

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Contest giveaway!

All you have to do is like my author page to enter to win a free autographed copy of Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow Hills. Click here: Facebook, then send me a private message with your email address so I can contact you if you win. That’s it! The winner will be announced on Facebook on March first. Endorsed by moms, teachers, and librarians, SKYLAR ROBBINS: THE MYSTERY OF SHADOW HILLS (Teen Mystery Press, 2013) will teach your kids higher-order thinking skills, how to stand up to bullies, and that being smart is cool.

Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow HIlls

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Enter to win!

Win your free copy!

Win your free copy!

Win a free copy of my book, Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow Hills on sweeps4bloggers.com. Contest ends next week; click here to enter now.

Here’s what a mom said last week on Amazon, after reading Shadow Hills to her five children: 5.0 out of 5 stars. A Book that assists in lessons, communication, and building memories for our family! November 25, 2013

This review is from: Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow Hills (Paperback)

Just finished reading Skylar Robbins: The Mystery of Shadow Hills to my 5 children, by Carrie Cross. I love that there was inspiration to do activities with the family. We took the time to make amulets – or necklaces from rocks we searched for. We are planning some fun art projects too. I also love that the book took a turn into a positive lesson that I would want to teach my kids anyway. We were able to stop after reading the book and discuss what we learned about friendship and deciphering what a true friend is or is not. My children learned something about following fads as well. All wonderful lessons that I as a mother often wonder how I will be able to reach my children and teach in a way that they would “get”. This way we were able to do it together as a family all while building our own communications skills.

This book is rated 5 stars by me and the kids 🙂 Thank you Carrie! We are looking forward to reading your future adventures!!!