First Graphs: GOLD DIGGER by Vicki Delany

Today starts a new ongoing feature that will highlight the opening paragraphs of interesting mystery, horror, romance and children's books. I hope you'll stop by each week and sample the start to some wonderful books!

Author Vicki Delany kicks it off with her historical mystery, GOLD DIGGER, A Klondike Mystery (Rendezvous Crime, April 2009) from Rendezvous Crime. The book is set in the Klondike Gold Rush of 1898. Love the cover!



Excerpt from GOLD DIGGER:

“Bloody hell,” Angus said.

For the first time in his life, I didn’t reprimand my son for swearing.

He had been in his room, sitting up in bed, concentrating on his school book, when I’d knocked and entered. I tried not to notice the penny-dreadful concealed in the folds of the geography tome.

“I have to go to the Savoy,” I said, as he stuffed the book under his pillow. “I might have made a mistake in the ledger, and I want to check.”

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“It can. But I can’t. Do you want to come with me?”

“Sure.”

In this town, I didn’t need a protector to walk the streets after dark (or at least what passed for dark), but I wanted my son’s company. He’d been distant of late. Growing up, probably. It had to happen, someday, but I intended to hold the forces of nature back as long as humanly possible.

Angus took my arm as we walked. It was a Sunday in June of 1898, and the town of Dawson, Yukon Territory, was as orderly as an orphanage expecting an imminent visit from Lady Bountiful. The streets were quiet; most people were at home resting after their evening meal. If they were lucky enough to have a home. And a meal.

* Read more at vickidelany.com/

* Visit Vicki Delany's blog, Type M 4 Murder

* Buy: Amazon.com

Food in Miniature

I think one of the best - and most fascinating - things about miniatures is the food. What artisans can do with clay and simple tools can leave you speechless. I only wish I were that good.

As I posted on creative foods today at Teen Seen, (check out another food video there), I thought I'd share a few of my favorite miniature food places and artisans.

Warning: Look no further on an empty stomach!!!

* Among my favorites: the incredible food of artisan Betsy Niederer; check out her You Tube video below:



* Other amazing miniature food:

* Rachel makes the most amazing cakes (and the coolest food earrings!)- Miniatures by Rachel

* Joana at Petite Framboise has creamy rich ice cream and yummy cakes

* Stephanie at Petit Plat has some wonderful desserts (and scroll down to the fun ice cream earrings!) Who says you can't play with your food? ha!

* Kiva Atkinson makes some unique food - check out her fish pie!

* Like Tudor and more? Janet Uyetake's food is amazing! I finally saw her food at a past show and it's so real (items even have realistic insides when needed).

* The Mini Food Blog features a wide range of amazing artisans and miniature food.

* Hungry yet???

Renaissance Inspiration

Having just come back from the Renaissance Faire, (one of my favorite places to go,) I was surprised to find that what caught my eye this year were all the "character actors."


(The next photo keeps making me think of the song "Dreamweaver!")




I love the Renaissance style. I was surprised that this year there didn't seem to be as many people as usual dressed in costume. What I did notice was more persons that interacted with the crowds or did performance vignettes.

An exception was this stately gentleman who definitely got everyone's attention. Lord of the Rings come to life!




One of the best - check out the statue. I initially passed it without paying much attention - then it moved!

(c)2009 cverstraete http://candidcanine.blogspot.com

Pink Saturday: Pink Miniatures

For fun, thought I'd join in on Beverly's Pink Saturday at How Sweet the Sound.


Of course, my pink items are in miniature.






Welcome!

First stop is my miniature Teapot Shoppe.

Most of the teapots were handmade of polymer clay by my friend Kitty. in Holland.

* See more closeup photos. (There are two pages.)












* The porch of my miniature Dogcatcher's House is pink, too.





* I dressed this doll for a contest at Dana's Minidoll List. I dressed the doll, wigged her, and made the flamingos from Model Magic clay.

* See more Flamingo Fanny miniature dolls

* Thanks for stopping by!

Color Posts - Tomorow is Pink, Next is Yellow

Just realized that since I mentioned green yesterday, tomorrow is Pink Saturday. Be sure to stop back for some neat things in the pink.

I'd like to do my own color posts - my favorite color being yellow. Send me a link with your favorite yellow items and one photo, and I'll post them Thursday for Yellow Day. Be sure to look for the post and link to me, too.
I'll email you back that I got your items. Could be fun.

So you think you're going green? No, you're not!

Going green, being concerned about the environment, is a good thing.

It's got us thinking about all the things we throw away needlessly and the affect our actions have on the world around us.

Like books. Ebooks are cheaper (or should be), you can put them on your Kindle or ereader and have tons of books at the ready. Saves gas, too.

Some people recycle rainwater (older folks did this years ago - they put a barrel out to catch rainwater, what's new really isn't) or use solar panels... they walk more, drive less, ride bikes....

We recycle cans and newspapers...

But...

there is one thing I keep wondering about and so far I haven't found any answers.

Sure that all helps, but what do we all throw our garbage away in, week after week? Big giant plastic bags! Right?

We never think about those as there really is no alternative that I'm aware of.

Until everyone can go to the grocery store and pick up reasonably priced biodegradable plastic bags or large recycled paper bags that are sturdy, what is the answer? Just one thing I've thought about.

** What do you think?

* Yes, Searching for a Starry Night is available in ebook and in Kindle

Page 56, Line 5 from Searching for a Starry Night

Someone mentioned a fun little game you can post on your blog, Facebook or Twitter pages, so I thought I'd try it here.

How to play:

Grab a book you're reading. Go to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post it as your status on your site, and the instructions as a comment.

I've posted the following line on my Facebook page:

"In spite of her wish that this would end quickly, Sam was enjoying herself. She felt her interest grow as she unwrapped another painting."
- From Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery by Christine Verstraete.

** Share yours. What's your line 5 on page 56?

Easy Creative Ideas to do in Miniature or with the Kids

Summer's the perfect time to be creative and have fun with the kids. Crafting's not only a good way to relax and let go of stress, but what better way to bond and make memories? You never know what your kids will share, too, while you are busy crafting.

A few good ideas I found for life-size projects while surfing around: (Many of these can be easily adapted to dollhouse scale too!)

* How about this? Create and decorate your own cardboard furniture. The teapot table and teacup seats are fun, inexpensive kid furnishings. I can see these adapted to miniature, too.


* Create a pot person for your backyard from regular terra cotta flowerpots. (Great, easy miniature idea as well!)

* Check out this cute flowerpot fountain from artist Mary Engelbreit!(I can definitely see this in a dollhouse garden!)

* Here's a whole page of more craft ideas using terra cotta pots.

* Make a cool vintage art pendant (or wall art!) using a domino

* Useful guide to using paint primers

* Free victorian clipart pansy. Check her site for periodic free images.

* Lots of free vintage clipart. See victorian children and other images at main page. (Sample above, victorian boot)

*Have fun! Got any favorite craft ideas of your own to share?

This is Incredible! Amazing Art

I spotted this mentioned on the Women of Mystery blog and had to share it here.

Can you guess what material this man uses? This incredible artist Saimir Strati makes mosaics out of an everyday material you'd never think of using. Can you guess what?

I've never seen anything like it before. It's absolutely amazing. Such skill (and patience). If I tried it... ouch! Check out his other mosaics also.

"Public Enemies" - John Dillinger and Johnny Depp

Gangster lore is part of growing up in Chicago. Some people may find the admiration of people of the time for such violent men rather odd, but for those suffering during the Great Depression, Dillinger's Robin Hood gestures (and their understandable hatred for banks) seemed to justify their reactions. (Not that such behaviour is unique; the scene in PUBLIC ENEMIES of the people cheering Dillinger's escape made me think of OJ).

I remember years ago talking with an older shoeshine man who worked in our northwest side neighborhood. He was in his 70s and expressed that same admiration for John Dillinger as a kind of "Robin Hood" bank robber, as shown in the new movie PUBLIC ENEMIES featuring Johnny Depp and Christian Bale.

The interesting thing about such lore is you forget that Dillinger and his like were dangerous, violent men.

Some haven't given the movie good reviews, but watch actual video of Dillinger and you can see the reported charm and that smirk which Depp got down perfect.

The best part of such a film is seeing familiar landmarks like the Biograph Theatre renovated into what they looked like back in the 1930s.

Yes, as some people have said, you won't learn much about Dillinger or other gangsters like Pretty Boy Floyd or Baby Face Nelson watching this movie. It has a lot of action and I jumped several times when the shooting began. But it seemed realistic. To me, going back in time is the best part of watching a period film. I enjoyed the movie, and knew some of the background already, so for that aspect, Id watch it again. What about you?

* See the actual FBI Dillinger wanted poster

* Read the New York Times front page on Dillinger's death

* Watch the Wisconsin Little Bohemia Lodge video

John Dillinger