The hunt begins August 30, 2023, at noon EST and ends September 4, 2023, so you have plenty of time to visit each stop. If you need to step away and come back later, make a note of the last stop you visited, and go to this post with the list of all stops on the hunt.

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(Please note that I have not personally read all of these books and can’t issue my usual content warnings.)

I’m glad you’re here! If we haven’t yet met, my name is Jayna Baas (pronounced as in “baa, baa, black sheep”), and I write Christian fiction with a strong focus on engaging characters and biblical truth. My current projects are historical fiction set in the Revolutionary War era—I love for readers to learn fascinating history as they read.

I was home educated from start to finish, and my teacher (Mom) taught me two fundamental principles that I still carry with me: (1) The most important part of learning is knowing where to go for answers; and (2) The faster you finish your work, the sooner you can do other things. As soon as my subjects were finished for the day, I was free to write. Free to write truly awful literary works overpopulated with cardboard characters, borrowed tropes, and kid-sized grammar. But I was learning.

And of course writing was also part of school. Plenty of creative writing and sample sentences in English class. But the blanks were always too short.

(The blanks were not too short in chemistry or algebra. But they were much too short in English.)

My writing assignments spilled over into the margins of my workbooks and flowed out onto lined notebook paper. A favorite topic was the adventures of Lord Eugenius Eugeno, his wife Lady Angelica Angelina, their two daughters whose names escape me, and the palace kitchen staff: Molly, Cook, and Ellen. Cook would inevitably create a nasty “gourmet” dinner, Lady Angelica Angelina would inevitably faint, and Lord Eugenius Eugeno and Molly would inevitably rope nervous Ellen into a plan to circumvent Cook and provide normal food to the household. These standard elements, of course, would be adjusted to suit the purpose of the day’s creative writing lesson—conflict in dialogue, points of view, emotion, or whatever the assignment might be. I suffered no lack of imagination.

Eventually I grew out of my palace and princess stage (at least outwardly), left this royal but chaotic story world, and moved on to write about more serious subjects. But a file folder still lurks in a box under my bed, waiting to let Lord Eugenius Eugeno and his noble household back into the light of day.

My mom still laughs about how the blanks were too short for my liking and too long for my sister’s. But I will be eternally grateful for a teacher who gave a ten-year-old room to practice her gifts. To every mother who believes in her kids—nothing in the world can compare to that.

Here’s a little about the book I’m giving away in the Scavenger Hunt:

STANDING FOR TRUTH COULD COST HIM HIS FREEDOM. FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM COULD COST HIM HIS LIFE.

It’s 1771, and North Carolina is at war. On one side stands the power of the Crown. On the other side stands a dangerous freedom of conscience.

Former circuit rider Robert Boothe has spent the last four years leading the tyrant-hating Regulators against North Carolina’s corrupt British government. All he wants is a safe place for his little Baptist church to worship God.

But when Colonel Charles Drake arrives in town, Robert becomes a target. The Church of England wants him to shut up. The governor wants him dead.

Now Robert’s church and family are caught in the crossfire. And that safe place is farther and farther away.

Learn more and purchase here.

In addition to the multi-author scavenger hunt giveaway, I’m giving away a fun little fall package to get you in the mood for autumn reading: A spice-scented Harvest candle from Liberty & Co. (with a quote from George Washington on the label!) and a set of five vibrant Fall Beauty notecards from Testimony Designs. Enter below for a chance to win. (US residents only, please, and 18+ or with parental consent.)

Enter Jayna’s Harvest Giveaway

Here is your next clue for the scavenger hunt: Now here

Next stop: Danielle Grandinetti

Happy hunting!

Jayna Baas is the author of Preacher on the Run. She is a member of ACFW and The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network. Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free short story here.