A Treasure Hunt Extraordinaire!

Venom & Song by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher HopperThis morning I finished reading THE SKIN MAP by Stephen R. Lawhead. Last week I finished reading VENOM & SONG by Wayne Thomas Batson and Christopher Hopper.

Both of these are excellent books, and both are fun to read. Venom & Song is the CSFF Blog Tour book for next week, and THE SKIN MAP is planned for October’s CSFF Blog Tour.

And … in the October tour, I will be giving away a FREE COPY of THE SKIN MAP!

I had purchased a copy for myself when Stephen Lawhead’s BRIGHT EMPIRES TREASURE HUNT kicked into gear, and I was the thankful person to solve clue #7 here in St. Louis and find ANOTHER copy of THE SKIN MAP! This one unlocked clue #8 so the hunt could continue.

The amazing thing is, of all the clues so far, only clue #7 has to do with King Arthur! This means that I had to solve an Arthurian referenced riddle to solve the clue. Here it is:

King Arthur and his knights were chivalrous and true. Since 1953, on Ladue, the administration of this academy has hoped that the same can be said for their young scholars. Come to the place in St. Lou where Merlin and Arthur and Gawain tell their tales. Go to the main desk and ask the people there whether they think it’s possible to pull a sword from a stone.

The Skin Map by Stphen LawheadThe answer is that the book was hidden at Westminster Christian Academy, due to its founder, George W. Knight III, being a knight of chivalry himself.

(Note his contribution to John Piper and Wayne Grudem’s book, RECOVERING BIBLICAL MANHOOD AND WOMANHOOD. Also, through research, I was able to ascertain that George W. Knight III graduated from college in 1953.)

I was providentially designed to solve this clue, having in the past been a member of John Piper‘s church when I lived in Minnesota, and also having a friend in fellow author L.B. Graham, who teaches at Westminster Christian Academy here in St. Louis.

The funny thing is that the contact person (not L.B.) for the treasure hunt at Westminster Christian Academy didn’t understand the directions and had failed to drop it off at the Knight Library.

It took me three trips to the academy, interspersed with visits to Panera Bread Co. for internet access, before they located the free book and I was able to unlock the next clue.

Tegid helped much, as well as Cosimo Livingstone. Thanks!!

So … come back next week for the VENOM & SONG book tour, as well as next month for THE SKIN MAP book tour and a chance to win a free copy!

And, Lord willing, I’m going to get my treasure hunt copy of THE SKIN MAP signed by Lawhead himself next week when I go to the Laity Lodge Writers Retreat. I’m pinching myself.

2 thoughts on “A Treasure Hunt Extraordinaire!

  1. Wow! That’s so incredibly exciting!

    I have been following the treasure hunt on Stephen R. Lawhead’s facebook page and was really excited to see that you solved the St. Louis clue! I am from the St. Louis area, too, but away at college right now, so it was rather spiffy to see someone I “know” (I learned of your blog through the SRL fan forum and have been reading yours and Adele’s for a long time) solve that one. Thanks for sharing the story of how you figured it out and solved the clue!

    I hope you have a great time at the writer’s retreat!

    -Deanna

  2. Thanks for stopping by. That’s great that you’re from St. Louis! You and Adele will have to get together sometime, as you two are really close in age and have a lot of shared interests.

    I’ll be sure to post about the writing retreat, so stay tuned…

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