No object is mysterious. The mystery is your eye. ~Elizabeth Bowen
Are you ready for a new Mystery Photo Game? I know. I’ve been promising one for a while, but I had that book to finish and the new book, The Pursuit of Elena Bradford, just released to try to talk up to all the readers I know or hope to know someday. At least I hope they will know me through my stories.
Now I’ve got what I hope will be next year’s new release off to the editor. Holding my breath and hoping that it will be one she likes now and that you all will like come next year after it’s gotten more edits and is wrapped in a beautiful cover. No official title yet. My working title was A Chance for Kallie Mae. It took about 108,000 words for me to find the last two words, The End. I went back and sliced out about 7,000 of those too many words. I probably left some more in that could have been sliced out. That can happen in the next round of edits.
Meanwhile, it’s time for a little fun with you having a chance to win your choice of one of my books by exercising your imaginations. Don’t worry. Mine is getting a lot of exercise trying to come up with a few mysterious pictures that you may or may not guess. I always hate it when I pick something that is too easy to guess. Of course, I’ve had a few that nobody guessed. But that is rare. Most of the time, somebody figures it out. I was on a role last game, but I may start out easier this year. We shall see.
In case you haven’t played one of my Mystery Photo Games in the past, here’s how it goes. I find a picture, one I’ve taken, and pick a small section of it to post here. The fun begins when you try to guess what it is. That’s all you have to do to be in the running for a copy, (winner’s choice) of one of my books. Autographed by me, of course.
I’ll post 5 mystery photos (Oh my! Will I be able to come up with that many new mystery photos??) here on my blog in the next couple of weeks. Once I post it, you take a gander at the picture, let me know your best guess–right or wrong–in the comments. Then on Sunday June 8, 2025, I’ll pick a couple of winners to get their choice of one of my books. I love giving away books. So I hope you, if you are one of the winners, will like winning a book. You get a new entry for a guess on each new mystery photo. Deadline to enter is Saturday, June 7, 2025 at midnight EST.
Here are a couple of mystery photos from the past that will just give you a taste of the mystery of these mystery photos.
This one wasn’t so hard for some of those who gave a guess. Not as hard as I expected it to be anyway. I always expect it to be a real mystery. As you can see, it was some buttons in a jar that I saved from my aunt’s tin of buttons that I loved to search through when I was a little girl.
This one was one of my real mysteries that only one person guessed and that was my sister-in-law who is a retired science teacher. I personally have seen a few zillion cedar trees, but never ever would I have imagined their branches looking like that when pulled up close to enlarge them. It gave me a fresh eye for cedar trees.
We’ve enjoyed several Mystery Photo Games through the years. I hope you will enjoy this one.
So, now it’s your turn. Oh, and by the way, you don’t have to get the answer right to get an entry. Any guess will do, even an “I have no idea.” Plus it’s more fun to guess before you read other guesses that might be posted in the comments. But once you do comment and share your guess, have fun reading what others have thought it might be. Then you will know if you have the popular guess and maybe everyone is right or the popular guess and everyone is wrong. 🙂
What’s your guess on this first mystery photo in this Mystery Photo Game 2025?
Comments 34
looks like plaid shirt
Darrell’s arm in a sling?
It looks like there’s something plaid around it, so I’m going with a plant in a planter!
Oh man!! I’m so bad at things like this! All I can think of is a plaid shirt, with a big cherry jello stain across the front. lol. I’m sure it’s wrong, but thanks for the chance!!!! Good luck to the rest of ya’ll!
Author
Thanks for all the great ideas of what this first mystery photo might be, guys. I love how you are letting your imaginations work. We certainly have a variety of ideas on what this mystery photo is.
Lauren and Rebecca – I do love watching birds and sometimes catching a good photo of them. So it could be bird feathers. Maybe. Maybe not. We shall see on Wednesday.
Paula, Lisa, & Diana – You all had varieties on the idea of a shirt. There does seem to be a hint of plaid in the mystery photo. So, who knows? Could be you are seeing the answer to the mystery. Or not. Can’t give away the answer until Wednesday.
Lee – love your guess of a girl holding a fluffy chicken. I have held chickens and I’ve talked about holding chickens in my books, especially Granny Em in These Healing Hills. I did love writing about Granny Em.
Brenda – a great guess with the tree trunk. I’m always out there among the trees. I might have snapped a picture to make this mystery photo. I might have. Or not.
Dana – a throw pillow is a great guess. Throw pillows come in all sizes and colors. Maybe I have one that looks like this. We shall see.
Sharon – An interesting guess. And I have been known to be sneaky enough to take a picture like that. I did bacon once. So, could be.
Birdie – if your guess is right, I don’t want to be down in that mud taking that picture, but maybe I zeroed in on those worms and/or grubs from above. If you’re not right, maybe I should consider trying that on another mystery photo. 🙂
Judi – plaid cloths do look cute in baskets. I might have a basket like that. I once took a picture of a cat in a basket. So, you never know.
Hope – I’m so glad you think the mystery photo games at fun. They do strain my brain coming up with something I think might trick all of you. I’m not saying whether that has happened this time or not, but you make a great guess with the pie in the oven and a towel on the oven door. Wonder what kind of pie it might be. Maybe I should go cut a slice or if the pie wasn’t in the oven, maybe I need to put one in there for dinner.
I love your mystery photos! This one reminds me of looking up towards a hole in the ceiling of a cave.
Feathers of a bird
Glad you are doing this again, it is fun whether I guess right or wrong! 🙂 This one makes me think of a pie in the oven and that this is a photo from outside the door with a towel reflecting on the oven door glass. Probably not right, so you are off to a good start of confusing your readers, at least this one! Haha!
I think the photo is a large tree trunk
I think the photo is a tree trunk.
I’m thinking it’s a piece of plaid cloth in a basket. 🤷🏼. I. Never good at these mystery photos, but I’ll keep trying!
To me it looks like I’m down in a giant hole with a huge worm or grub in that mud. Yuck!
A bluebird’s feathers?
It looks to me like a little girl in a plaid dress and she’s holding a fluffy chicken.
It looks to me like a little girl in a plaid dress a nd she’s holding a fluffy chicken.
someone holding a piece of meat
A person’s shirt.
A throw pillow.
Hmmm, the bottom looks like a man’s shirt sleeve, I don’t know what the top looks like, so I’ll say Darrell’s shirt sleeve reflected in a window.
The first thing I thought of was chocolate pudding. But then I saw plaid. So maybe a shirt hanging on a clothesline and looking up into clouds?
I love this game!