Saturday, January 31, 2015

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Nancy Drew's 85th Spotlight #7


Nancy Drew Cliffhanger Spotlight: One of my favorite Nancy Drew cliffhangers is from The Hidden Staircase, where Nancy plunges through the back of a closet into darkness and finally discovers the hidden staircase as she tumbles down it...


Saturday, January 24, 2015

Nancy Drew's 85th Spotlight #6


Nancy Drew History 101 - Behold, the release that ghostwriter Mildred Wirt Benson signed for writing The Secret of the Old Clock - and not one secrecy clause in there. This has erroneously been repeated numerous times in media and books over the years--that she had to keep a secret all those years. Sounds much more dramatic, than the actual release, doesn't it! There's much more to the story of course--and I'll be going over that in my Benson biography that I'm currently writing.

This release just signed away the rights to the story, the characters, and the pen name. It was a pretty standard release used at the time. She was paid $125.00 to write this first story.

The complete outline was 3 type written pages. With much fleshing out, it became a 210 page book.

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Monday, January 19, 2015

Nancy Drew's 85th Spotlight #5


The Nancy Drew Mystery Game from Parker Brothers came out in 1957 (shown above) and a 1959 version (shown below). There are also versions from Canada with a swirl pattern, various board/marker/card/car variations and a Norwegian version from the 1970s. Players had to determine where Nancy was sleuthing at.

Nancy Drew Puzzle & Puzzle Challenge


The new 1000-piece Nancy Drew Puzzle is super fun--featuring 56 classic Nancy Drew books in various cover art styles--very nostalgic! Purchase them at The Sleuth Shop!

Compete in our puzzle challenge on Jan. 24 or Jan. 31, starting noon PST/3pm EST and post on Twitter using the hashtag #NancyDrew and copy @NancyDrewFans and also post to our Nancy Drew Fans Facebook Group using the hashtag #NancyDrew as well. Post pics of your progress! Work individually or in teams.

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Nancy Drew's 85th Spotlight #4


Some Nancy Drew Formats 101 Info: Here's what a 1930 printing of The Secret of the Old Clock looks like. There's no familiar orange silhouette (yet) and the endpapers inside are blank. The first printing and subsequent printings from 1930 and also 1931 look like this one. The orange silhouette doesn't get added until 1932.

Friday, January 09, 2015

Nancy Drew's 85th Spotlight #3


Carolyn Keene is not a real person. Shocker, I know ;) She is but a pseudonym for quite a few ghostwriters over the years since 1930. The first ghost of Nancy Drew was a woman named Mildred Wirt Benson, who was only 24 when she wrote the first Nancy Drew book. She also wrote over 130 other books -- some were part of some Stratemeyer Syndicate series, but many were her own books and series.

Thursday, January 08, 2015

Nancy Drew Books: Scary Things Kids (& Adults) Do #51


This Nancy Drew cover is pretty drab and uninteresting...say, how about we liven it up with a little electrical tape?!

Sunday, January 04, 2015

Nancy Drew's 85th Spotlight #2


Who is Edward Stratemeyer and what is his connection to Nancy Drew? He created Nancy Drew, one of many series his Stratemeyer Syndicate created and produced over the years. Other similar series include The Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, Tom Swift (celebrating 105 years this year!), and The Dana Girls. He hired ghostwriters to write stories in these and other series based on his outlines. 

Shortly after the Nancy Drew series debuted in 1930, he passed away - his daughters Harriet and Edna carried on the business for many years after his death.

Friday, January 02, 2015

Nancy Drew Books: Scary Things Kids (& Adults) Do #50


Nancy Drew tries to uncover why the mysterious formula in the test tubes matches the color of her pants and top so perfectly, when the place suddenly explodes!