Hello, Friends!

The 20th annual CHOIS convention has come and gone, but not without a saddlebag stuffed full of many mighty memories… and a last bit of unfinished business, too!  You see, many of you entered the raffle on Saturday afternoon for a chance to win a Gold Rush Package from Oldenworld Books.  This includes a first edition signed paperback of The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er: Vol. 1, eBook for Kindle, angel wings T-shirt, book cover poster and more!  Trouble is, the lucky winner did not step forward at the end of the conference to claim their treasure.

Now, if you know the first thing about me by now, it’s that I’m all about claims and treasures, so I do not want the holder of the winning ticket to go unrewarded.  Check your pockets and pocketbooks to see if you are that lucky winner.  The winning number is:

                                                                                   6961256

If you are holding that ticket in your hot little hands, congratulations!  Just snap a picture of it and shoot me a smoke signal at [email protected] so we can confirm T-shirt size and arrange delivery.  It won’t cost you a cent, but I promise the stories will enrich your lives!

Finally, I’m still awaiting word from the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) about the release date for the audiobook (click here to sample.)  Summertime, with all the road trips families plan, is a big release window for the industry, as you can imagine, so the folks at ACX are doing their darndest to process all the titles in a timely fashion.

The audiobook will be available on Audible.com, Amazon & iTunes.  If you purchased a paperback at the convention, remember to claim the eBook I gifted you this weekend.  Amazon offers a handsome discount on the audiobook to owners of the eBook versions.

Audible.com, not to be outdone, offers a way for you to receive the audiobook for free!  When you sign-up for their 30-day free trial, you receive a complimentary code good for any title in their store.  Current Audible members can also use their monthly complimentary code to lay hold of The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er: Vol.1 for free.

It was my pleasure to meet you’ns this weekend in Nampa.  I always enjoy time in beautiful Idaho and I look forward to a return trip soon!

Keep chasing those dreams and Up the Adventure!

Jack

                                                       Spoiler Alert:                                                                     It's not the Motherlode, but it just might be the next best thing...

Hello, Friends!

If you'ns are one wit like me, storytelling is near and dear your hearts.  As a young boy, my Grandpa told stories to anyone who would listen and I spent many a hour soaking up the tales from his mighty life.  Tales of uncovering Indian artifacts from the hills around his Pa's farm; tales of the vast farmland and wagon trails of Los Angeles (yes, indeed, his life stretched back that far!); and even tales of suffering a shotgun blast to his side during a duck hunting trip, only to be rescued by the henchmen of Al Capone!  

Even though my Grandpa passed on to his reward and can no longer share those tales, they live on in my imagination.  I think they remain powerfully embedded in me because the words passed from his lips to my ears.  As fond as I am of writing, there's much to be said for the spoken word.  Much indeed!

As a middle-grader, I enjoyed listening to story-records before bedtime.  Did any of you'ns have such things?  Well, my Mammy bought me a collection of Bible stories on vinyl that I'd play as I drifted off to sleep.  In time I added Gulliver's Travels and Aladdin to my collection, too.  Oh, children, those were bar-none the best days of my young life!  But where have all those audio bedtime stories gone? 

Troubled by this lack of good bedtime listening stories for the current generation, I took matters into my own hands.  Which brings me to the big news: 

On May 23rd, I submitted the audiobook files for The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er, Vol. 1 to the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) for distribution on Audible, Amazon, iTunes and beyond!  Best of all, every last word of the book is performed by yours truly, including the memorable characters of Clementine, Rameses the Coyote, and Crysco Gringo. 

Submission-to-market takes 10-14 days, so if all goes well, look for the title around June 1, 2018.  I'll keep you posted on the progress!

In the mean time, visit the link below to preview an audio sample.  Not to be too brazen, but I think you will agree it is the next best thing to the Motherlode and - quite possibly - the best storytelling you've heard since your Grandpappy's knee!

Keep chasing those dreams and Up the Adventure!

Jack

Hello, friends!  The GHC 2018 in Cincinnati, OH has come and gone, but not without many mighty adventures and fond memories intact.  First and foremost, my darlin' daughter Abigail wanted you'ns to know that she is getting ever closer to her goal of visiting all 50 states before her 12th birthday next year.  On this expedition, we had the pleasure of adding Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Ohio to her list of states, bringing the total to 20.  Now, we certainly have our work cut out for us in the year ahead, but when the young lady sets her mind to a task, I have no reason to doubt her ability to achieve it!  We'll keep you apprised of her successes....

Second, we want to thank all of you for stopping by the booth and giving us a warm welcome!  How can I forget Ashlyn from Akron?  While my eyebrows seemed to shock the daylights out of many tender souls, this young lady looked past them to let me know how much she loved my bandanna.  Or the eager Natalie who ran back to the booth to have her copy of the Journal signed by yours truly, even after her father said I had a face that looked like I fell into a badger?  And not to be forgotten is the bright-eyed Zoe (who, incidentally, shares her name with my youngest darlin' daughter) celebrating her 9th birthday at the GHC with a candle-festooned cake hat upon her head?  Fine memories, indeed!

Even so, we have one last bit of business to attend, which is to locate and reward the winners of not one, but two, unclaimed Gold Rush packages!  Without further ado, please retrieve your raffle tickets from your safe deposit boxes and check the numbers. 

The winners are:

#6961222
#6961249

If you're holding one of those tickets in your hot little hands, snap a picture of it and send it to [email protected] so we can mail you The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er, Vol.1 (paperback and digital formats), an angel wings T-shirt, book cover poster and more!

We are blessed to know all y'all and looking forward to the adventures ahead.  Keep chasing those dreams and up the adventure!

Jack

Hello, friends!  This week the daughter and I are visiting beautiful Cincinnati, OH for the GHC Midwest Homeschool convention.  I'm so excited about this event that I felt we needed to kick it off with something special.  To that end, I have dropped the price of the eBook all the way down to $0. 

Yes, you read right; that means you can download a copy of my journal to your Kindle or Kindle app reader for nothing, for the duration of the event!  Grab your copy here.

I hope you folks enjoy the read and I hope you have the chance to read it aloud together as a family.  There is no better way to wile away a spring evening than sharing storytime roasting marshmallows around a campfire!*

If you enjoy the read, please let me know by leaving a review on Amazon.  That (and gold) makes a miner's world go round.  And if you happen to snap any good pictures of your storytime, send them along for inclusion in a future newsletter.

Wishing you all the best and looking forward to seeing many of you'ns at Duke Energy Center, booth #2025.  Until then... Up the Adventure!

Jack

*Marshmallows and campfire sold separately

Springtime always reminds me of rainbows and the many unbelievable adventures I've enjoyed along the wagon trail.  On Saturday, April 7th 2018, from noon-4pm, I'll be lashing together both of them at Rainbow West Christian Supply inside Vancouver Mall (right next door to Macy's).  Swing by, say hi, and grab a free book cover poster!

Until then... Up the adventure!

The Miner 49er celebrates Resurrection Day 2018 at Crossroads Community Church kids ministry in Vancouver, WA!  Click the picture to watch the full message on patience by Pastor Peter.  (The rubber duck appears at time marks 4:15 and 12:18).

Up the Adventure!

Facebook:  @CrossroadsKIDSVanWA @TheJackDublin

We're looking forward to meeting everyone in beautiful Idaho this June for the Christian Homeschoolers of Idaho State convention.  Located close to Boise, on the campus of Northwest Nazarene University.  CHOIS 2018 will host speakers and exhibitors to meet all your homeschooling needs.

Stop by Jack's booth and say hi.  We'd love to make your acquaintance and hear how you incorporate storytime into homeschooling at all levels.  Until then... Up the adventure!

Jack

A  wise man once said that everything is bigger in Texas, and the GHC 2018 in Fort Worth did not disappoint!  I had the pleasure of introducing my darling daughter Abigail to Whataburgers and Texas-shaped waffles, morsels I had not enjoyed since an expedition to Lubbock some years ago.  More than that, the old-fashioned welcome you’ns bestowed upon us warmed our hearts and left us feeling humbled and blessed.

Speaking of the bigness of Texas, the children here amazed us with their dreams!  Mitchell, a young man aiming to earn the rank of General in the Armed Forces; Katie, a young lady aspiring to evangelize the world for Christ; and that well-mannered, attentive girl Hazel, who did not name her chief definite aim in life, but judging from the steadiness of her eyes, promises to blaze some mighty trails when all is said and done!

We’d also like to recognize Azeliah as the winner of Thursday night’s raffle!  She walked away with a Gold Rush Package, including a paperback of The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er, Vol. 1, a digital copy of the book from Amazon, angel-wings T-shirt, poster and more.  As excited as we are for her, we can’t help but feel great excitement for the rest of you’ns, too.  You see, the winners of the Friday and Saturday night raffles never stepped forward to claim their prizes!  While we do not know the lucky owners of those tickets, we do know you are receiving this e-mail.  So, everyone get out your tickets (drum roll, please):  The winning numbers are…

Ticket #6961165 (Friday night), and
Ticket #6961191 (Saturday night)

If you’re holding one of those tickets in your hot little hands, snap us a picture and send it to [email protected], along with your address, so we can mail you out a Gold Rush Package!

Thanks so much to all y'all in Fort Worth for your hospitality and support.  We enjoyed sharing the forgotten history of Clementine and her father, the Miner 49er, with you.  One of my fondest memories is of singing Oh, My Darling, Clementine to a young lad named Aiden, who said he'd never heard the song.  But, after hearing my melodious voice (which resembles birdsong on a sunny spring morning), he said, “I feel like it rings a bell... but it’s a small one.”

To that, Aiden, I say Bless Your Heart!  And to everyone who attended the workshop session Written in the Stars: The Oral Tradition of Storytelling, or stopped by the booth at GHC TX… Up the Adventure!

Jack

Jack Dublin, teller of tall tales, reads from The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er and discusses the importance of teaching children through the power of the spoken word. 

Across the ages, storytellers from Aesop (fables) to Jesus (parables) used storytelling to convey great truths.  The most ancient storytellers, in fact, embedded their tales in the stars, which remain accessible to anyone willing to look up.

In the current age, the oral tradition has lost its place of importance to screen-time delivering messages at odds with our heritage. What might our homes and cities look like if we reclaim storytelling time?

On behalf of me and my darling daughter, Abigail, I want to thank all of you for stopping by the booth this weekend at GHC Greenville!  We met scores of amazing families and I can't deny I was thoroughly impressed by all the young children, every last one of them sharp as whips! 

Shannon with her extensive knowledge of geography (how many of you can find Zealandia on a map, that spellcheck doesn't even recognize as a name?); Madilynn with her sparkling personality that could enchant the Coliseum; and Jasper with his keen understanding of geology, are just a few that come to mind.

We want to acknowledge Debra (the girl of fierce determination to win the Gold Rush Package) and April (the young lady who never wins anything... but did!) who both walked away with copies of The Lost and Found Journal of a Miner 49er, Vol. 1 in paperback and eBook formats, T-shirts, posters, and more! 

But for all the mighty adventures we shared this weekend, we still have one last bit of unfinished business.  One of you who entered the raffle for the Gold Rush Package won, but did not claim your fortune! 

The winning ticket number is... 6961064! 

If you are the owner of that ticket, please snap a picture of it and send it to [email protected] along with your address so we can send you the Gold Rush Package!

Again, thank you so much for stopping by this weekend.  It is our pleasure to know you and together we look forward to the journey ahead.

Up the adventure!
Jack