Chad Morris grew up wanting to become a professional basketball player or a rock star. Inspired by Animal from The Muppets, he has been banging on drums since he was eight years old. Neither of those plans quite panned out. After high school, he wrote and performed sketch comedy while going to college. He graduated from BYU with a couple of degrees and became a teacher and a curriculum writer.

Chad would love to teach at Cragbridge Academy. Unlike Oscar Cragbridge, he hasn’t really invented anything, though his young son once sketched out blueprints for a machine that would turn celery into cookies.

Chad lives in Utah with his wife and five kids.

Visit Chad:  WEBSITE | BLOG | TWITTER | FACEBOOK | GOOGLE+ | GOODREADS

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LDSWBR:  What books do you plan/hope to read this summer?

CHAD:  I always have a huge list and never stick to it. I end up reading whatever I feel like at the time. (I’m terrible in a book club.) But here are a few I hope I get to:

Beyonders 3: Chasing the Prophecy, by Brandon Mull (I’ve loved the series.)

Keeper of the Lost Cities, by Shannon Messenger (I’m curious and hear good things.)

A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L’Engle (I’ve never read it. I know. I know. I should be banished from all things books. I’m a slacker.)

Bad Unicorn, by Platte Clark (Platte’s in my writing group, and he’s hilarious. But we started the group after this one was done.)

Feedback, by Robison Well (I loved Variant. I’m very curious about the sequel.)

I also have a nonfiction list with Walter Isaacson’s biography on Benjamin Franklin, Chernow’s bio of Rockefellor, or Mayflower by Philbrick .

My first read this summer though has been The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. I cracked it open the other day and got sucked in. Back when I was a third grader who hated reading, this was the book that won me over. In general, I don’t reread books, but it has been so long that it’s been fun to try it out again.

LDSWBR: Did you ever go to summer camp, and/or what is your most memorable camping experience?

CHAD:  Oh, I went to music camp and basketball camp once I think, but most of them were scout camps—both as a boy and as a leader. I have a slew of memories:

· A skunk roaming into camp

· Making a hot tub by damming up a creek and rolling stones from a fire into the pool (It sounds better than it actually worked.)

· Playing king of the branch over a river. (I definitely didn’t win that one.)

· Cliff jumping into Island Lake in the Uintahs. (Hitting the cold water was scarier than falling the 50 feet. WARNING: the height may be a hindsight exaggeration.)

· My Scoutmaster wearing Halloween masks and jumping out of bushes at us. (Yeah, he was that awesome.)

· Watching as Brian ate nine full hamburgers and three hot dogs after a day of hiking. (The kid could down it.)

· Picking water fights with other rafts on the river, ending with both of us tipped over in the freezing water. (Though in my mind, my raft definitely won.)

· Spelunking through caves.

· Rappelling in Zion’s National Park to some of the most amazing places on earth.

I remember having a crazy dream while I was on a camp in the Wind River Mountains. I was sitting around the campfire with all my friends, when they got up to leave. I tried to join them, but some invisible barrier wouldn’t let me. I pushed against it, but couldn’t move anywhere. I was trapped. “Hey guys, wait a second.” I pushed more and more, but some invisible force wouldn’t let me leave the campfire. My friends kept walking. I called out to them again and again. Finally, I screamed, “I can’t get out of here!”

Then I woke up—standing in my tent, with both hands pressing against its sides. And I had yelled the last sentence out loud.

I definitely got teased for that one.

LDSWBR:  If you could have a summer home anywhere in the world, where would it be?

CHAD:  I kind of love Whidbey Island up in Washington. Somewhere in Cali on the coast would be awesome. Oh, or I’d love a simple cabin in the mountains.

LDSWBR:  Something like that happened to me once when I was so tired I couldn’t find the door to my bedroom in the middle of the night and started banging on my walls. Glad I’m not the only that’s done that. :)  Thanks, Chad!

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Find Cragbridge Hall: The Inventor’s Secret

AMAZON (Hardcover, Kindle, CD & Audible.com) | BARNES & NOBLE | DESERET BOOK (Harcover, ebook & CD) | SEAGULL BOOK  | GOODREADS

Imagine a school in the year 2074 where students don’t read history, but watch it happen around them; where running in gym class isn’t around a track, but up a virtual mountain; and where learning about animals means becoming one through an avatar.

Welcome to Cragbridge Hall, the most advanced and prestigious school in the world. Twin siblings Abby and Derick Cragbridge are excited as new students to use their famed grandfather’s inventions that make Cragbridge Hall so incredible. But when their grandfather and parents go missing, the twins begin following a trail of clues left by their grandfather. They must find out where their family is, learn who they can trust, and discover what secrets are hidden within Cragbridge Hall.

Abby and Derick soon realize they are caught in a race with a fierce adversary to discover their grandfather’s greatest secret–a dangerous discovery that could alter both history and reality.

Have you ever cliff jumped, spelunked (that’s a word, right?) or rapelled?

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To enter the LDSWBR Countdown to Summer 2013, leave a thoughtful comment below.

Comment on each Countdown to Summer 2013 post for more chances to win. Please click through to the website as only comments submitted directly on this post will be accepted.

Prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and the author-donated books listed below. This is raffle-style drawing where all entries throughout the contest period are entered into the same “hat” for all prizes. US only. 18 years and older please. See all contest rules and restrictions HERE.

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Book prizes generously donated by the authors as of 6/24/2013 (more added throughout the countdown!):

• A Blind Eye by Julie Daines (signed), a bookmark AND a Mind the Gap temporary tattoo
• I, Spy by Jordan McCollum (choice of paperback or ebook)
• Sworn Enemy by A.L. Sowards (choice of paperback or ebook)
• Glimmer of Hope by Sarah M. Eden
• A Change of Plans by Donna K. Weaver
• Fairy Godmothers, Inc. by Jenniffer Wardell (signed paperback)
• Esther the Queen by H.B. Moore (Kindle or Nook)
• Belonging to Heaven by Gale Sears (or winner’s choice of another book by Gale)
• Farworld: Air Keep by J. Scott Savage (personalized copy)
• A Way Back to You by Emily Gray Clawson (personalized paperback)
• Deep Cover by Traci Hunter Abramson (personalized paperback)
• Second Chances by Melanie Jacobson (signed copy)
• Cragbridge Hall: The Inventor’s Secret by Chad Morris (winner’s choice of hardcover or audiobook)

By commenting and participating in the Countdown to Summer 2013 you agree to the following:

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY; entrants must be 18 years or older; open to residents of continental US only; giveaway begins June 10, 2013 and all entries must be received by 12:00 Midnight June 30, 2012 Mountain Time; to enter, complete the required entry on each post and any additional entries of your choice if listed; LDS Women’s Book Review reserves the right to determine what is considered a thoughtful comment as per each post’s required entry; giveaway prizes include a $50 Amazon gift card and a variety of book prizes donated by featured authors; the number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning; LDS Women’s Book Review is not liable for technical problems which may affect entry into the giveaway; winner identity will be verified by email address; winner will be selected July 2, 2013 by use of a sequence generator on random.org; winners will have until July 10, 2013 to claim their prize; if any prize winner forfeits or does not claim prize, prize will be re-awarded to next winner in sequence; all prizes will be awarded; limit of two prizes per entrant; this contest/giveaway is not associated with Facebook, Twitter or any other entity unless otherwise specified; by entering the giveaway you give LDS Women’s Book Review the right to publicize your name on the LDS Women’s Book Review blog; winner agrees to release LDS Women’s Book Review from any liability as a result of winning; email comments & questions to LDS Women’s Book Review – ldswbr (at) gmail (dot) com; giveaway subject to Utah regulations; VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.