The first two "Dream the Scene" winners . . . and more chances to win!

UPDATE: WE'VE EXTENDED THE DEADLINE! SEE BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS...

I've selected the first two winners of the "Dream the Scene" contest! (If you don't know about the contest yet, click here.) Congratulations to:

Joshua Ruark, age 13, who suggested the King kids should walk through a portal into ninth-century England, during the Viking raid on Alfred the Great's castle. There, they face a bloodthirsty berserker.

Katie O'Dell, also 13, who thought the Kings should suddenly find themselves on the deck of the Titanic, as it's sinking.

Joshua and Katie will receive iPod Nanos.

You'll be able to read these adventures (and many others) in Timescape (June 2009). What leads them to each world is almost as incredible as the things they do once they're in the midst of them. And head's-up: Our bad guy, Taksidian, is turning up the heat. He's making the King family's life in the house as scary and dangerous as the worlds they find through the upstairs doors!

More chances to win!

We've had so much fun reading the "Dream the Scene" entries, my publisher and I have decided to add two more chances to win. Instead of four total winners, six contestants will now win iPod Nanos. So we've extend the contest deadline to at least September 15, 2009 (we've had such a great response, we're looking for ways to keep it going, so check back to see if we've pushed the deadline even further down the calendar). Entries will be considered for extended Dreamhouse adventures—either in future books or in special online stories. So send 'em in!


Some hints to make your ideas really stand out:

• The more details you provide, the better. That way, if more than one person suggest the same adventure, the winner will be the one who gives me the most details that I'm able to work into the story.

• Make the place where they go and the people they meet real. The story is so wild as it is, we don't want the Kings bumping into Bugs Bunny! They don't have to meet famous people, but who they do run into should have possibly existed.

• Entries can be in any form that works for you: rough sentences, bullet-points, crayon drawings—anything that gets your idea across.

• You may submit as many ideas as you'd like.

• Most important: have fun!