Bo the White House Dog - Real or Miniature?

Miniaturist Alice Zinn has a way with animals. She creates incredible creatures that you almost expect to jump, bark, chirp or meow.

I'll be featuring her and her work in an upcoming post, but for now, I wanted to share her latest creation - a miniature version of Bo, the Obamas' Portuguese Water Dog. The miniature version (2.5" high) is made of polymer clay and synthetic hair. He's a limited edition of four and sells for $150.

The original miniature Bo was commissioned by the Zweifel family, who created the Miniature White House 40 years ago. The 55-foot long White House replica is updated with each new president and continues to be displayed around the country.

Almost hard to tell the real from the miniature, isn't it?! (White House photo - C. Kennedy)

Stay tuned for a special feature on Alice and her miniature dogs coming in October - and a special offer to readers of this blog!

First Graphs: The Lighthouse Keeper by Luisa Buehler

Today's feature is perfect for fall, a mystery with a touch of spookiness.

THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER: A Beckoning Death is the fifth book in the popular Grace Marsden Mystery Series by Luisa Buehler (Echelon Press).

With a troubled marriage, and the haunting memories of ghosts, bones, and dead bodies, Grace Marsden needs solace. The invitation from her childhood friend presents Grace with an opportunity for respite on Christian Island.

An ancient Indian tragedy, island ghost sightings, and modern day treachery twist lives until more deaths and more danger make Grace unsure of whom she can trust.

When the spirit of the lighthouse keeper beckons, is it to warn her-- or harm her?


Excerpt from THE LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER:

"It's behind that wall."

My brother's whisper brought Joan and me to his side. We'd climbed up to the lantern room in the old lighthouse over an hour ago, ostensibly to take notes and measurements.

"I don't hear anything."

"There can't be anything 'behind' these walls, Marty–they're made of three-foot-thick stone. 'Behind' is out there." Joan motioned toward the windows.

"There it is again. Hear it?"

I heard a faint scratching.

Joan shook her head. "I didn't hear it. If it's anything, it has to be coming from downstairs. Sound displaces in lighthouses…something about the cylindrical shape."

Marty started down the stairs. Joan shook her head and smiled. "It's probably an island rat," she whispered.

"Yuck. The brochure said nothing about rats, island or otherwise." I referred to my childhood friend's letter inviting me to Christian Island for a visit. "And while we're on that page, couldn't you and Dave have waited to sell at the end of the season? Who visits the island in January?"

Buy:
* Amazon.com
* Echelon Press

When the Story Stops - Asking Authors How They Fill in Their Book

You're an author and writer. You outline, or have the latest book underway. Things are going well, the story is moving along, the outline is figured out and suddenly... gasp! The story runs out!

You thought you had the story worked out and enough situations and scenes to fill the required amount of chapters. Now it seems you may be several chapters short.

So, I'm asking authors: anyone been in this situation? How do you address it?

How did you fill in the gap? What did you add to expand the story without it just being "filler?"

What is needed to fix this kind of situation? What is missing in a book, I'm mostly interested in mystery, that this would occur?

Love to hear your thoughts as I work on my ongoing mystery!

Cooking with a Cookbook in a New Way

Today I'm talking about the kind of cooking I do using a cookbook at an appropriate site, the Vintage Cookbooks blog, so be sure to check it out!

First Graphs: Stolen Birthright by Margaret Tanner

Today's except is from Margaret Tanner, author of several Australian-set stories including STOLEN BIRTHRIGHT (Whiskey Creek Press, May 2008).

In STOLEN BIRTHRIGHT, the sequel to SAVAGE UTOPIA, Georgina, a wild colonial girl, meets and falls in love with a dashing young English aristocrat, Marcus Lindquist.

When Johnny Dawson is ambushed and killed, Marcus finally learns the secret of what has bound him to Georgina. Johnny is her brother, not her lover as he had jealously supposed, but even darker secrets from the past overshadow their love.

How can an English nobleman marry the daughter of convicts?





Excerpt from STOLEN BIRTHRIGHT


The Honourable Marcus Lindquist cursed inwardly as another bump almost unseated him.

What did this idiot of a driver think he was doing? Bloody half-witted colonial.

He had been forced to leave England to save the Lindquist name from being dragged further into disrepute, now he was exiled in this Godforsaken penal colony. Australia was only fit for convicts and destitute immigrants.

September Reader's Contest: Win a Special Bookmark!

I've decided to have a contest!

One lucky winner will receive this beautiful silver-plated carved bookmark from England in the shape of Sherlock Holmes! A perfect way to accent your favorite mystery!

To enter:

* Comment on any of the posts on my blog. Suggest a new blog topic, share something from your own collection, or tell me about a favorite book or story you're reading or just read.

Be sure to include an email to contact you. NOTE: I manually approve messages so it will not show up on blog immediately. Don't forget to check out my book links while you're here!

* Contest ends 9/30/09. Entrants limited to US and western Europe only.

Thanks for stopping by and entering! Chris

Saturday sales: skellies, tea and perfumes

So.... Mr. and Mrs. Skellie are celebrating their love with a quiet concert, just the two of them...

But Harold....

Not now, dear.

Sweetest, you really should listen to me.

Not this time, dear.

Harold!!! What is that thing inside the piano?

He's speechlees, it seems.

Well, the "creature" appears to be harmless, so they continue their concert.





Spooky, worn wood piano, stool and small "skull" candlestick.

She has a silk skirt with sparkle net over it and a net shawl. And she just had her hair done!

* Perfume stands: hand-made small wood displays for table, boudoir, dresser, store etc.

Perfume stand 1 - deco style




Perfume stand 2 w/ gloves



Tea stand - wood display -Contact me if interested in any of these items.

First Graphs: Secrets to Die For by LJ Sellers

Welcome to LJ Sellers, author of the Detective Wade Jackson mystery series, which includes THE SEX CLUB and the soon-to-be-released SECRETS TO DIE FOR,(coming Sept. '09, Echelon Press).

A brutal murder, a suspect with a strange story, and a kidnap victim with a secret to hide—can Detective Jackson uncover the truth in time to save her?

When social worker Raina Hughes visits the home of a young boy she’s been assigned to monitor, things quickly turn ugly. Later, when she’s found brutally murdered, Detective Wade Jackson is confident it’s an open-and-shut case against the boy’s ex-con father.

But nothing is as it seems and complications develop when new evidence points to a serial rapist who’s becoming more violent with each attack. Raina’s lover Jamie knows what the rape victims have in common, but won’t tell for fear of revealing her own secrets.

When Jamie disappears, Jackson knows time is running out and he’s determined to discover the truth before the body count goes any higher.



Except from SECRETS TO DIE FOR:

Wednesday, February 13

Raina shut off the motor and glanced up at the puke-green
doublewide with a chunk of plywood over the front window.
The near dusk couldn't hide the broken dreams of the trailer's
occupants, Bruce and Cindy Gorman. Raina wasn't here to
see them. She was here for Josh, their eight-year-old son.

As a children’s support advocate, Raina had been assigned to monitor Josh six months ago, when the state of Oregon had taken temporary custody and placed the boy in foster care. Her primary responsibility was to stay in touch with Josh and to ensure the system did not fail him. During that time, the Gormans had danced all the right steps–anger management for him, parenting classes for her, and a rehab program for both. So now Josh was back in their care, and this was Raina’s last official contact…for now.

* Read the rest of Chapter 1, "Secrets to Die For."

* Pre-order: Amazon.com

Welcome to Echelon Shorts!

Today is the official launch day for the new Echelon Press Shorts .

What's a Short you ask? Other than me?

Well...

* Check out NEW releases on the first AND the fifteenth. Find some great new authors with exciting stories that you're sure to enjoy reading!

* Meet new authors via new blog posts Monday through Friday. Get news on the authors, their latest ventures, and their characters.

* This week, there'll be new releases and posts from the authors of those stories including Regan Black, Marc Vun Kannon, Mary Welk, and Michelle Sonnier. And to celebrate, they are giving away *free* ebook downloads.

Stop by, check it out and comment at: Echelon Shorts

Miniatures on Monday: Kitty's Lady's Shoppe

The real joy of working in miniature is creating a project that invites the viewer to return again and again, and each time, they see something new.

That's what happens when you look at the recent project completed by my Dutch friend, Kitty Balke.

Her Lady's Shoppe is somewhere I'd love to go shopping. This store offers a great assortment of goods.

There are shelves stuffed with shoes and shoeboxes. How about the wealth of goods on the tables? The displays offer plenty to choose from as well.





She has become a big fan (as I am) of Kansas miniaturist Lisa Engler who sells kits and other items as Lisa's Little Things, using many of her decorative items, packages, and furniture kits in the room. Fantastic, isn't it?



* See more of Kitty's miniature rooms and dolls at her blog, Kitty's Minis