2010 Blog Tour for New Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

** A new Blog Tour begins Thursday for Searching For A Starry Night - now out in Kindle - and coming in a new print version!

Be sure to check the blog stops and comment to win some prizes!


**CONTEST: Anyone commenting on any of the blog stops on the tour can win:


* One person who comments on any of the blog tour stops will win a free Kindle copy of Searching for a Starry Night. (You can download Kindle for PC free here.)


* One person will also win a miniaturized dollhouse collector's edition of the first chapter from the first print edition, made by miniaturist LeeAnn Borgia. And it's readable! (*Prize is mini book only - doll and props NOT included.)

** To celebrate the revised Searching for a Starry Night, one person will win a copy of the new print version when it is available.

** Be sure to have a blog or email in your post to contact you!


Blog Tour Schedule:

Thurs, 7/22: Acme Authors Link - Real vs. Fictional Friends


Mon, 7/26: Morgan Mandel's Double M blog - Dogs and Such


Tues, 7/27: Killer Hobbies with Camille Minichino - Crafts and Writing, what comes first?


Weds, 7/28: Marian Allen's blog - Talking about Writing


Thurs, 7/29: Helen Ginger, Straight from Hel - Getting Kindleized


Fri, 7/30: J.E. Taylor's blog – Writer's Quiz and Other Stuff


Mon, 8/2: Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers - craft how to with Anastasia Pollack – Crafts: Make Easy Miniature Cloth Decorations (A miniature bed pillow!)


Tues, 8/3: L. Diane Wolfe, "Spunk on a Stick" – Making the Switch from Nonfiction to Fiction

Miniatures Monday: Visit a new Miniature Doll Emporium

If you like miniature dolls, Dana, owner of the Mini Doll List, has opened a new "hotel."

The Grand Astoria features 50 "suites" showcasing wedding, fantasy and "little black" dresses.

Several miniature doll makers, including Pathy Biero and IGMA Artisan Lucie Winsky, whom I featured previously, (see links), contributed their creative visions in miniature to the project.

If you enjoy miniature dolls and clothing, this is definitely worth a visit!

Need Inspiration? Woman Trains to be Oldest Female Weightlifter

Need inspiration? Fifty-year-old Lisa Fisco is reinventing herself - she lost 100 pounds and went from lifting 60 pounds - and now lifts over 200 in her quest to be the oldest female weightlifter in the Olympics. Good for her!

Fun Quiz - Who do you write like?

For fun, I tested my excerpt from The Killer Valentine Ball at I Write Like...

and (hysterical laughter) It says...

I write like
Stephen King

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

** So.... I'm waiting for that $million check. haaa! Try it out for yourself; see link above!

New Links for Motherly Love Ebook

I've been waiting (and waiting) for my ebook, MOTHERLY LOVE, to go up on Amazon for Kindle, but it is available for Kindle on Smashwords, (you may have to register to purchase) and other sites.

It is available on Ipad (if you've seen it let me know,) and is supposed to be up on Kobo (I can't find it.)

** For easier downloading you can find Motherly Love at Sony and B&N.com (B&N has a free reader for PC too.)

A story for less than a cup of coffee!

If you read it, please post a review on the site you purchased it from. Thanks!


About the story:

It's not what you think - it's more of a light horror story with heart.

Maria's family has an age-old tradition that she viewed as mere superstition, until her little girl fell ill. Now she'll do anything to save her daughter's life - even the one thing she fears most.

Meet Jess and read an excerpt from The Killer Valentine Ball

Today meet Jess, the girl of the hour in THE KILLER VALENTINE BALL, coming in October...

Jess finds out just how memorable a party can be, in today's post at the Muse It Up Publishing blog.

Killer Valentine Ball and other Scary Ebook Covers

How about a little gore?

Lin, LJ Holmes, author of the upcoming Dec. release eboook, SANTA IS A LADY (cute cover!), posted a rather creepy entry for her Cover a Day post.

The posts feature THE KILLER VALENTINE BALL and some of the other ghoulish (well not all) ebooks coming out this October from MuseItUp Publishing.

Gotta say I just love the heart pic she found...

Author Snapshot column in Mysterical-e: What about the cover?

In my latest Author Snapshot column at Mysterical-e, I talk with a couple digital book cover designers who explain how they create their magic.

Click cover at site, then click Author Snapshot under columns.

* Direct link: Summer 2010, Author Snapshot column - First Impressions, Designing the Book Cover

Motherly Love Featured at Examiner.com

* My short horror ebook, Motherly Love, is featured today at Horror Happenings at Examiner.com. Check it out.

NOTE: You may have to sign in to Smashwords to purchase.

Featured Miniaturist: Pathy Biero and her Beautiful Dolls

After she is done working at the post office for the day, miniaturist Pathy Biero goes to her home outside Paris, takes care of her family, and if she is lucky, spends a little time with her art.

Pathy's art is sometimes smaller than an inch, but it is big in charm. (Pictured: grandfather and his dog, top. Left, half-scale baby)

"I always liked to look at miniatures and my dream was to be able to make my own dolls," she says.

"I could not have a kiln (lack of place, lack of money), so I was very happy to find Flumo, which doesn't need to be fired."

Using Flumo, an air-dry casting slip, allowed Pathy to buy some porcelain dollhouse doll molds and begin making the dolls of her dreams. She makes the dollhouse scale dolls herself from start to finish: pouring the slip, cleaning, then painting, wigging, and dressing the dolls.

For Pathy, it's not quite an overnight process, but the results make it worth the wait.

(Pictured: Her latest, Sleeping Beauty, also in 1/24th, half scale.)

"It's quite long to make a doll, about two or three weeks," she says. "I try to put expression in the attitude and the look of my dolls. It's not easy, but with training, I have some good results. I like to make everything and I like to see the doll come to life under my eyes (and my hands!)"

So do we! A member of the Mini Doll List, Pathy loves finding inspiration from other doll makers - and inspiring some of her own fans.

What always caught my eye was the charm of her dolls, like this cutie, probably my favorite. (Pictured: Sarah)



Besides making dolls, Pathy has finished three roomboxes, and has plans for another roombox and finishing a large dollhouse. She also is thinking of selling her dolls.

"Making dolls is easier for me," she says. "I need less space making a doll than making a house, but I dream one day that I could have other dollhouses and a lot of free time for furnishing and decorating them!"

(Sounds like a good idea, right?)

Thanks, Pathy for sharing your fantastic dolls!

* Visit Pathy Biero's doll blog

* How to: Flumo tutorial. (The tutorial uses Liquache, which is the same as Flumo.)

* Flumo tips