Today I welcome fellow author Margaret Grace (Camille Minichino) whose latest fun miniatures mystery, Manhattan in Miniature: A Miniature Mystery , recently released for Kindle and in ebook, as well as print. (See Barnes and Noble, print and Nook.)
This was a fun addition to the series, with Gerry and her granddaughter Maddie heading to Manhattan for a craft show, where the pair also find some deadly mysteries to solve!
About the book:
Perhaps Manhattan, like Christmas, is best seen through the
eyes of a child. Gerry Porter provides both magical experiences for
granddaughter Maddie when a SuperKrafts manager takes them to New York City for
a huge crafts fair. They get to work on both making miniatures and solving
crimes, the detecting duo’s favorite pastimes. All this, plus Rockefeller
Center and Radio City, too! But a crafty murderer wants to make sure they don’t
make it safely home again to California…. (Amazon.com)
What was your favorite part of writing this book?
“Researching” Manhattan! I lived in New York during my grad school days and have always loved the city. I visit as often as possible, spending entire days in museums. It was effortless to recreate the streets and sounds in this book. And a huge crafts fair set in Midtown was too tempting to resist! I was able to give Maddie a “small crime” of her own to solve at the fair while Gerry was pursuing major trouble on the Upper West Side.
How do you see Gerry and her granddaughter in the future? What’s next for them?
I’m currently writing #9, Matrimony in Miniature, so you know what’s up for Gerry and Henry! As for Maddie, she may never get past 11-years-old — I’m not sure I want to deal with a teenager!
Oh! Another book is coming? When?
Matrimony in Miniature is scheduled for Fall 2016. Of course, a murder puts a damper on wedding plans.
Why did you pick Manhattan?
I’ve never taken Gerry out of fictional Lincoln Point, California, and I wanted to take her back to her roots. She’s from the Bronx, but her old neighborhood is quite changed. She decides to take Maddie to Manhattan first. Maddie is beyond excited, loves the Rockettes and the city, and wishes Lincoln Point had doormen!
How about a short excerpt of your favorite part of Manhattan in Miniature: A Miniature Mystery
?
?
When I was in Manhattan last fall, I was in a fender bender on Fifth Avenue! I thought I'd have Gerry experience it, too. So here’s how it reads in the book:
I still felt a little jet-lagged and tired enough to grab a few minutes of sleep. If a cab could be a phone booth, why not a bed? We were traveling slowly enough in midtown rush hour traffic. I scrunched down a bit, got comfortable, head back, legs stretched out as far as possible, volume turned to zero on the video display in front of me, then . . .
Crunch!
A flat tire? In the middle of the crowded Lexington Avenue? From the quick stop and words from the cabbie, words that were directed to an SUV driver and not fit for Maddie’s journal, I guessed No, not a flat, but a fender bender. At a rate lower than the speedometer could register, I’d hardly felt the jolt, which was less violent than what I remembered from operating the bumper cars on the boardwalk at Coney Island.
“You okay back there?” my driver asked, opening the door to exit and examine the damage. He sounded more like a man who hoped to avoid the inconvenience of an injured passenger than one who was concerned for my well being.
“I’m fine,” I said, as he slammed the door. A light changed somewhere and traffic started to flow, but without us.
Thanks again, Margaret/Camille for stopping by!
** Readers - be sure to comment about what you like about the series and share your favorite part for a chance to win a PDF or print copy (Print-US shipping only.) Be sure to leave a way to contact you. -- ENDS Fri. 5/15/15---
