Welcome to the APRIL 2004 edition of

 

 $500 WINNER of the
Bell's Best Blurb Competition
(for story blurbs that really kick backside!)

"What's a blurb?" you ask.

Well, it's the VERY short story that writers have to use in order to advertise what their big novel or movie is all about.  The back cover of every book and the TV guide for every movie has a blurb explaining what it's all about. But blurbs are VERY VERY hard to write. You have to catch attention, explain honestly AND make people want to know more about your story. Butt-kicking Blurbs are my specialty and a key ingredient to my rapid success in my short stories, non-fiction and fictional thrillers. That made me want to encourage others to learn too, so...

Every year for the next five years, I'll be sponsoring one of the richest dollar-for-word competitions in the WORLD!

Yep, that's right. Too many really good writers can churn out books that really rock, but they're completely unsuccessful at marketing them to publishers. And there's no way of telling if your blurbs are working or not while you're practicing them, except by putting them in a letter to ask if a publisher wants to see your book - and then getting rejected or asked to send more. But this competition hopes to help solve that. It's a WORLD FIRST, but one that will promote the importance of developing skills in punchy blurb writing. Now anyone (young or old) who enters their first novella (short novel) into the prestigious Somerset Festival Literary Competition can also get free entry into the Bell's Best Blurb Competition - for story blurbs that really kick backside! Your novel will be read by the competition judges, while your 50 word blurb will be read by at least two of the top managing editors in the country!

It's too late for this year, sorry.

Brooke Dunnell, from Willetton, WA is this year's winner, announced at the Literary Dinner last week. Congratulations Brooke!

But it's perfect timing to prepare for next year.  (For more details, stay tuned for the next edition of Crusader Club News!!!)

 

Club Editorial

Hey gang! 
Hope you
all enjoy this month's newsletter! If YOU would like to be featured as next month's guest artist or writer (which is different to the celebrity guest author), then check out the contact details below okay? And don't forget to tell all your friends and teachers about the new website at

www.kirbyscrusaders.com

There's heaps of prizes to be won! C ya Later!

xx Kirby

P.S. Sorry if there's any typo's in this edition. I had to finish editing in my rush to catch a plane to the All Saints Book Festival in Perth! To all the club members in WA... c ya soon, okay?

Now 4 the WINNING ENTRY !!!!!

Ok, so how did Brooke win this year's competition?
She used layout as well as punchy writing to attract attention:

“The Bus-Stop on Riley Road.” 

The compulsive liar. 

The would-be supermodel. 

The dreamy checkout chick. 

The silent perfectionist.

Four teenagers, one bus-stop and the weirdest of their lives. It’s going to be a long evening.

Where are they going? What have they done? And what on earth are they going to do now?

Congratulations again Brooke, you may not have won the Somerset Novella competition this year, even though you came very close. But your punchy entry into the Bell's Best Blurb Competition has scored just as much attention! Good luck with the final stages of achieving publication!                       

GLOBAL BOUNTY NEWS
Want a piece of $68Million?

  • Over $68 MILLION dollars has been paid  in Crime stopper bounties so far!   
  • Over 1.2 MILLION crimes have been solved by ordinary people reporting crime when they see it!!! 
  • Over half a million criminals have been caught!
  • Microsoft will pay $250,000 to anyone who gives them information that leads to the capture of the SOBIGF or BLASTER WORM viruses.
  • Townspeople in  Canada are offering $2 million reward for scientific proof that their mythical lake monster - called Ogopogo - exists. (Something akin to the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, perhaps?)   
  • Possible bounty coming soon - 30 police in Papua New Guinea have been sent to the remote island of New Brittain to investigate reports of a 3 metre tall "ugly grey" dinosaur eating village dogs in marshes near the town of Kokopo!!!!

     

CLUB JOKES

Knock Knock
Who's there !

Acid !
Acid who ?
Acidently on purpose !

Knock Knock
Who's there !

Agent !
Agent who ?
Agentle breeze !

Knock Knock
Who's there !
Sicka !

Sicka who ?
Sicka these crazy knock
knock jokes yet?

Knock Knock
Who's there !
Police !

Police who ?
Police let me in, it's
wretched cold out here !

Knock Knock
Who's there !

Ali !
Ali who ?
Ali-luyah, you've finally opened the door !

 

BOOK LOOKOUT

 The latest in the series. If you haven't seen the spooky eyes on the back...

check your local
bookshop or
 library today!
 

Bad Joke of the month:

Weird kid takes a book back to the library and says to the teacher's aide: "Mannn, that was the most boring thing I've ever read! Too many characters and next to no plot at all!"

Teacher's aide calls over his shoulder to the Librarian: "Hey Mary. I found the kid who took off with your phone book!"

 

 

 

CRUSADER MAD SCIENTIST
This Mad Scientist News article sent in to us by Jackie Hosking 

You're a crime scene investigator. Your speciality…blood. You've been called to investigate a violent crime. It is your job to study the shape and position of the blood-spots, smears and splashes that are found at the crime scene. Your interpretation will help to narrow down the possible ways in which the bloodstain patterns were produced. The official term for what you do is Bloodstain Pattern Interpretation. One of your methods is to carry out careful science experiments. Picture this: You enter the kitchen. You notice blood-spots on the floor. How would you go about determining how they got there? As a crime scene investigator you would know that the size and shapes of blood-drops depend on the distance that they fall. A simple experiment back at the lab will allow you to determine this fact. You too can carry out a similar experiment to show how height affects the size and shape of a blood–spot.

Here’s what you need:

  • Red cordial (undiluted)
  • Your parent's permission!!!!!
  • A dropper
  • Small beaker or cup
  • Graph paper
  • Ruler 

Here’s what you do:

  1. Drop individual drops of blood from varying heights onto separate pieces of graph paper; eg 10cm, 20cm, 30cm to 200cm.
  2. Measure and record the diameter of each spot in millimetres.
  3. Compare these spots with an unknown spatter dropped on the floor or bench by someone else at random.

What can you tell them about their crime? (And don't forget to punish them by suggesting they clean it up!) 

 

ANOTHER $500 CRUSADER COMPETITION!!!

 

Every page of the virtual book tours at www.kirbyscrusaders.com gives everyone - not just club members - the chance at winning some really cool prizes. But a new optional project on the third page of the virtual tour for Crystal Coffin gives you the chance to win $500 plus a book basket for your school! So if you think you could build and photograph a model recreation of the village siege scene from Crystal Coffin, (where Jayson has to rescue his patrol unit and villagers from the mountain huts) then check it out!!! 

Crusader Stellar Watch
All club members know how to navigate using their watch and the sun (see the virtual tours if you missed that bit). It also pays to keep a watch on what's happening in the night sky. So here's this month's snippet of stellar News from Club Member Joshua M, Cairns, Qld:
NASA scientists have just discovered another planet in our solar system called Sedna (named after the Inuit goddess of the Ocean.). It's 3 times further from the Earth than Pluto and 1 year on Sedna is the same as 10,400 Earth years! (A year is how long it takes to go round the sun once) For cool photos and more info click HERE
http://spaceflightnow.com/news/n0403/15sedna/

WEIRD NEWS
Carlos Dolz, a Florida Uni professor, is about to conduct a time-shift experiment to speed up time on a digital clock by four seconds by placing enormous force on the clock in a high-speed centrifuge. But the experiment will take six hours to finish and Dolz says he doesn't know where the time experiment could lead.

Kirby's cheeky voice of conscience jokes that he should just wind the clock to whatever time he wants and then he'd know exactly! hehehe Seriously, tho, we'll be keeping our eyes on that one!

IF U ENJOY THIS FREE NEWSLETTER, PLEASE EMAIL IT 2 YOUR FRIENDS SO THEY CAN ENJOY IT 2 !

 

            HORROR-SCOPES

                          Aries (March21-April19) Keep out
                          of areas where you don't belong, or
                          you may end up breaking some-
                          thing valuable. Unless you have a
                          credible alibi, the authorities will 
                          come down hard on you!!!

Taurus (April20-May20) Show your interest and good will. You have something to offer that, surprisingly, no one else has offered yet. Be pleasant, but don’t let others walk all over you.

Gemini (May 21-June21) You're too smart to waste your time. Seek help from someone who understands what’s going on.

Cancer (June22-July22) Someone close to you is both soothing and confusing. But you're not helpless. You still have a few old tricks in your bag to surprise them. Go get’ em Cancer!

Leo (July 23-Aug22) Boredom threatens you, but you like mystery, so even if nothing will change, try anyway. You won’t be sorry!

Virgo (Aug23-Sept22) You’d make a happy slave this month. Your work keeps you smiling and cleverness follows you everywhere.

Libra (Sept23-Oct22) Looking for something that keeps disappearing just as you reach for it? Maybe it’s time to relax and let it come to you?

Scorpio (Oct23-Nov21) No cheap deals for you this month, Scorpio. Everyone wins when you use those fantastic diplomatic skills of yours!

Sagittarius (Nov22-Dec21) The solution you proposed wasn’t right for everyone. But don’t worry. Working together will smooth out the bumps!

Capricorn (Dec22-Jan19) Go Capricorn! Health, finances and principles are in sound shape. You have the stamina to last forever – well at the moment anyway. Hehehe. Honor a lost loved-one who helped you be here today.

Aquarius(Jan20-Feb18) Sit down and rest! You’ve worked hard and your associates will catch up with demands, but you need to be ready to work again.

Pisces(Feb19-March20)  Uh-oh, you could be out of the loop. Ask how everything works, but try grasping for the essence of things instead of just clocking up your hours.

CLUB JARGON BUSTERS
Here are this month's weird words from the world of spies, private investigation, military surveillance and criminal justice. These are sent to us by club member Sarajayne K, Adelaide, SA. Thanks Sarajayne! 

If you have a weird word you'd like to share, then email the us HERE and we'll spread the word - or explain it for you:

Astrolabe: (pronounced ASS-tro-LAYb) It's a tool for measuring angles and distances to find out the heights of buildings, trees and other tall things during an investigation without having to ask your partner to jump off the top of them with a measuring tape.

Forward Observation Post (Also known as an F.O.P.)  It's a safely hidden place - usually behind or near enemy lines or a place of criminal activity - where advance surveillance specialists can make observations.

Ghillie Suit: (pronounced Gill-ee) An amazingly realistic camouflage suit made of twigs, leaves and other natural materials. We all busted our guts laughing when we saw our first ad for a ghillie suit. But mannn, they're hot if you're a spy, private investigator or military patrol person needing to disappear into the wilderness. Here's a picture from that ad which has the caption "A good man is hard to find!" hehehe: 

Monocular: (pronounced mon-ocular)... works exactly the same principal as binoculars, except it's only for one eye so it's smaller and can be stashed in your pocket easier. 

Reconnaissance: (pronounced re-CON-a-sance... remember two n's followed by 2 s's when you're spelling it, with "ai" as in artificial intelligence exactly in the middle) It's the act of exploring an unfamiliar or dangerous place in order to secure it for your "team" or find out information that you need before attacking or allowing the rest of your friends or team-mates to pass through. Short nickname is either Recce (pronounced RECK) or recon (pronounced re-CONN). For example, you might recon the science labs for teachers before ducking back in to get that pencil case you accidentally left behind.  

CLUB SECRET
Shhhh... don't tell anyone, but Vivianbiancalee LePsychopath isn't as crazy as she seems. The reason she looks like she's singing and talking to herself is because her father is a spy and gave her a micro implant in her ear so he could talk to her any time he needs to while she's at boarding school in Australia. LePsycho also uses her implant to listen to her favourite radio stations back home. It's a special insiders-only club secret though. Anyone else reading the series has to wait another two books to find out!  

     HOLY COW!!!!  
     THESE CROOKS R DUMB! 
  • In Newmarket, near
    Cambridge in eastern
    England, a woman
    was fined recently for
    enrolling two of her cows
    to vote in local elections!
  • Dutch police say a 45 year old burglar was caught frying a fish, smoking a cigarette and drinking beer in the house he was robbing recently,  after the smell of his cooking woke the woman who was asleep in her attic bedroom!   "He'd loaded his bag out of her fridge," said the police spokesperson. "But had not stolen anything else. His only motive was food!"

  • A thief in NSW stole a ute-load full of vegetables at a Lismore pumpkin  competition in March. Local grower Earl Knight  says the vegetables were stolen from the produce display at a shopping complex - everything except the largest pumpkins, which weighed over 200 kilograms and were too big for the thief to steal!

CLUB SCAM WATCH
Did you know that some "professionals" can be just as good at ripping us off as the criminals? For example private investigators can access a Master Death file for as little as fifty cents, (depending on which country the citizen is from) if you need to find out why somebody disappeared without paying you. One of the first things they can do is check the relevant Master Death file for that country to find out if your missing person is confirmed dead yet or not. So beware of private investigators who charge $250 for the service - and don't bother getting back to you for a few days with news of the death, because they didn't want you to think it was so easy!


    CLUB MONEY
    Here's this month's inside info and tips for club personal finance and the 50 fun rules for success in life and business:

    Focus on Personal $$$: In Tagged by Dead Dogs, Kirby is driven to earn money by her goal to move home to her father's farm where she can ride her horse, Fidget, every day, instead of having to board at a school in the city, where she's having trouble making friends and fitting in. Her cousin Scott on the other hand has a small regular income working at the local cafe after school which helps him to afford repairs and fuel for a motorbike that he built himself. But his problem is having to put up with motor-mouth Janet Slaney who's younger than him but gets to be his boss whenever the owner has to go to the bank. 

       Goal Hint: Doesn't matter if you have money or not to start with, what matters is setting a goal & taking steps to achieve it.  

    Focus on Business: In Hunt the Hunters, Kirby learns the hard way that friends can be just as treacherous and deceitful as the people who are openly out to get you. In many ways, it hurts more to be deceived or tricked by a friend or relative. So have fun, be honest and treat your friends and business partners in the same way you would like them to treat you. But the next time you have to mix pleasure with business, it may pay you to remember: 

    Rule 1 of Success: Protect your Assets.
    Enemies can be Anywhere.

     

 

Next month we'll have club word puzzles here as well! ... Kirby and the gang pay $20 for every crime theme word puzzle that gets published in Crusader Club News!!!

 

And now for a word from our

CELEBRITY GUEST AUTHOR!!!!!!!!:

Susanne Gervay! YAYYYY!!!!!!

 

Author of: I am Jack, Super Jack,
Next Stop the Moon, The Cave,

Butterflies, Jamie's a hero & Shadows of Olive Trees

 

Okay, Susanne... Crusader Interrogation Time:

What's the inside info about your life and books? 

I live with two great kids, their Nanna, Rob their step-dad and Floppy the stuffed flat dog. I write because my family are funny, quirky and we have lots of things to get through together. Can you believe that my Jack was bullied at school? It was horrible but Jack WON.  There have been other dramas too - I shrunk the clothes. Everyone was mean to me about that. I couldn't help it. There were a few fights when Rob's son came with us to Queensland on a family holiday, but it all worked out in the end. There is so much stuff going on in my family that you'll have to read my JACK books to find out what happens. (PS I write Young Adult books too, but they are tougher.)

Why do you love to write?

My Jack books are about my family. (Well, you know that already.) Jack is my fantastic son who is an inventor, mess-maker and a great kid. All the people in my books are real and I'm inviting you into my home and my family. By the way, I hope you like the MUM. She's ME of course.

Oops, Jack wants to say something.  JACK SPEAKING:-

 "I have a great family, but they drive me crazy sometimes. There’s my Nanna who is obsessed with buying bargains especially underpants. How many underpants does a kid really need? There’s my sort-of-step-Dad who is the best dish washer in the whole world. He doesn’t get it. I don’t really care if plates sparkle. There’s my sister who is in love with dogs, especially Floppy who is big and flat and stuffed. Sometimes I think something is wrong with my sister. There’s Mum who does star jumps. I wish she wouldn’t do them, especially in public. There’s Anna who is … well, she’s nice

 And ME. Jack. I’m twelve and a scientist. You should see my fantastic fungus. We’re going on this terrific holiday up north. Beaches and theme parks. Well, it is great, except for LEO. (He’s my sort-of-step Dad’s son). Shudder. I don’t know why he’s coming."

SUSANNE'S SECRET WRITING TIP:-

Write about what you think is funny and be honest. If you do
that, then kids who read your writing will trust you and have
fun as well.

And for Crusaders who love cheeky jokes, here's one of Kirby's favourites (which is also a world favourite!) from "I Am Jack":

Once upon a time,

there was a little red man, who lived on a little red street, in a little red house.  One morning this little red man woke up and looked out of his little red window at the little red sun.  He thought it was a glorious little red morning. So he jumped out of his little red bed and skipped down his little red hallway into his little red bathroom. He threw off all his little red clothes and turned on his little red shower. While he was splashing around in his little red shower, he heard a bang on the door. He quickly turned off the little red shower, put on a little red towel, ran down his little red hallway, opened his little red front door and saw there was a little red newspaper stuck in his little red rose bush. He bent over to pull it out. As he bent down his little red towel fell off.

The lady sitting at the bus stop who had been watching the whole thing, jumped up and ran across the other side of the road and was immediately hit by a passing truck.

The moral of the story is:-

Don’t cross the road while the little red man is flashing.

It is RUDE, but it's funny, isn't it?

 

P.S. You can write to Susanne Gervay on her website, which is www.users.bigpond.com/gervays

 

You can click on the link and say hi to her now, if you want!

 

 

That's it for this month!

 

Stay tuned for the next edition of CRUSADER CLUB NEWS...

 

Celebrity guest author will be  DEBORAH ABELA!!!!

famous author of:

Max Remy, Super Spy !!!!

(the series) 

 

UNTIL NEXT MONTH GANG... KEEP CRUSADING!!!!!!!!!!

Note: All animated images are freeware and can be copied for your student webpages. All book covers
are copyright to the relevant authors or publishers. And all text is copyright to (c) Anita Bell, 2004, unless otherwise specified
.

Website content for www.kirbyscrusaders.com is Copyright (c), 2003, 2004 Bleetie & Co Pty Ltd ABN 97 098 664 389