Current News from the Kansas Authors Club

2025 Kansas Authors Club Children's Book Award

10/13/2025

Title: Ghost Town Treasure Hunt
Author: Abbi Lee
ISBN: 9781953743374

“A fun book that gives kids a chance to go on a treasure hunt through geocaching. This is a story of friendship and appreciating adventure.”

– Debra Rundus, Judge

Finalists:
•First Comes a Butterfly by Sherry Krehbiel
•Pirate Chickens Attackkk!! By Ashley Donegan

Debra Rundus is a preschool teacher and has a heart for young families with small children. She is an owner of Middle Ground Books in Emporia, Kansas.

Finalists in the 2025 Kansas Authors Club Children's Book Award

8/6/2025

For the first time, we are announcing finalists in our book awards categories prior to the announcement of our winners at the 2025 Fall Gathering (Writing Retreat) at Rock Springs Ranch on Sunday, October 5. This has been quite an undertaking. We are grateful to all of the individuals who volunteered to serve on our reading committees.

2025 Finalists: Children's Book Award

First Comes a Butterfly, by Sherry Krehbiel

Pirate Chickens Under Attack, by Ashley Donegan

Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, by Abbi Lee

Congratulations to Sherry, Ashley, and Abbi!

June Program Recording Now Available

6/28/2025

The recording of the June program is now available for viewing by members at this link. (Member sign-on required.)

Program: Goal Setting for Authors
Whether you're just starting your writing journey or navigating the complexities of a multi-project career, having clear goals can transform your writing life. In this session, we’ll explore practical strategies for setting and tracking meaningful goals as an author. You’ll learn how to align your goals with your values, break big dreams into manageable steps, and build habits that support long-term success. Perfect for writers at any stage, this workshop will help you move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

Presenter: Abbi Lee has always found joy within the world of a book. In grade school, she remembers regularly riding her bike to her small town library to check out the next book in the A to Z Mysteries series. As an adult, she taught high school English and Social Studies before turning her full attention to writing. Abbi now works as a copywriter for a marketing agency, has been published in multiple magazines, and recently released Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, the first novel in her debut middle-grade series, Geocache Club, with Chicken Scratch Books. Outside of reading and writing, Abbi also enjoys cooking new recipes, geocaching for hidden treasures, and going on adventures with her husband and two daughters.

Abbi Lee Books

Next Program:

July 19, 2025 - 1:30 p.m.

Audiobook Panel

President Anne Spry will be moderating a panel on the various ways members have been publishing audiobooks.

Panelists:

Grant Overstake is author and producer of The Real Education of TJ Crowley. The novel was adapted into a full-cast audio drama featuring performances by a national cast and the ARISE Ensemble. The production earned an Earphones Award from AudioFile Magazine and won the 2025 Audie Award for Best Young Adult Audiobook.

Robert Rebein is an essayist and novelist with a special insterest in the American West. As author and narrator of The Last Rancher and Headlights on the Prairie: Essays on Home, Rebein has recorded his own audiobooks

Ben Stanton is an audiobook narrator and producer based in Topeka, Kansas.

Lisa D. Stewart is the author of The Big Quiet: One Woman's Horseback Ride Home. Lisa recorded her own audiobook with the assistance of an audiobook production studio.

Monthly Programs by Kansas Authors Club

Saturday, June 21 State Program: Goal Setting for Authors, by Abbi Lee

6/21/2025

June 21, 2025 - 1:30 p.m.

Member Monthly Program Access

Sign-in required. Members also received a link to the monthly program in their monthly email newsletter.

May Program Recording Now Available

5/27/2025

The recording of the May program is now available for viewing by members at this link. (Member sign-on required.)

What the publishing industry entails and what it means to be an author and a publisher

A conversation with Steve Semken, Ice Cube Press

Steve Semken founded Ice Cube Press in 1991 to use the literary arts to better understand how to live in the Midwest.

"It’s hard to even be a bad writer once you decide you want to be writer. Write and read. And, treat other authors as you would like to be treated." -- Steve Semken, author spotlight at Ames Writers Collective

Monthly State Programs

Next Program:

June 21, 2025 - 1:30 p.m.

Abbi Lee Books

Abbi Lee Writes for the Youth Market

1/31/2025

A review of Ghost Town Treasure Hunt
by Julie Ann Baker-Brin

I'm a kid at heart and found this an extremely fun and quick read. Geo-caching reminds me of a high-tech version of scavenger hunting that I loved when I was younger, and this also reminded me of the Nancy Drew mysteries I enjoyed. I may need to revisit both while I eagerly await the sequels! The adventures these kids take combine the best of both worlds: being out in nature and exploring the neighborhood, plus using technology in a way that builds friendships and community. And though the read is lighthearted and heartwarming overall, it does not shy away from bringing up issues like loneliness, risk-taking, family, learning, big life changes, and other items of concern to all ages. I’ve recently met Abbi via the Kansas Authors Club and she is a gem; looking forward to what she publishes next! #ReadLocalKS

Debut Novel by Member Abbi Lee

10/25/2024

Abbi Lee's debut middle-grade novel, Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, is the first installment in the contemporary adventure series, Geocache Club, published by Chicken Scratch Books. Eleven-year-old Layton Clark’s best friend moves away and he wonders if he’ll ever have another adventure. Then he meets Sherry. She introduces him to the treasure-hunting world of geocaching. A contagious thirst for adventure sends them hunting for mysterious geocaches popping up in random places—like an abandoned Kansas ghost town. Layton and Sherry must work together to unlock the clues in the strange geocaches, solve a 100-year-old mystery to clear a dead man’s name, and convince Layton’s archaeologist father the town is worth studying further so his family doesn’t have to move. With everything he holds dear at stake, Layton can’t afford to leave a single headstone unscrubbed, or geocache treasure undiscovered.

Learn more and join the adventure at https://abbileebooks.wordpress.com/publications/geocache-club-series/

Learn More and Join the Adventure!

Welcome New Member Abbi Lee

4/5/2024

Meet Abbi Lee of District 5!

Abbi says:

I'm in Wichita and I write for young readers. The first book in my debut middle grade series, Geocache Club: Ghost Town Treasure Hunt, will be released October 1, 2024 with Chicken Scratch Books.

It's a contemporary adventure story about eleven-year-old Layton Clark. When his best friend moves away, Layton doesn’t know if he’ll ever have another adventure again. Then he meets Sherry who introduces him to the treasure-hunting world of geocaching. The thrill of adventure sends them hunting in an abandoned Kansas ghost town where they find deserted shacks, unmarked geocaches, an old diary, and more. Layton and Sherry must work together to unlock these mysterious geocaches, solve a century-old mystery, and convince Layton’s father not to move the family away.

I'm also published in Kansas Country Living magazine and Spider magazine. Currently, I work as a copywriter for a local marketing agency. Prior to that I taught high school English and Social Studies. I also worked at a local museum as the Education Manager conducting tours, creating programs, and using stories to bring history to life.

I'm happy to be a part of KAC and can't wait to make connections with fellow local authors.

And we're glad to have you join us! Check out her website too: https://abbileebooks.wordpress.com/