
I have an article on fast food and a how to for a fast food fish sandwich in it. See download page. (You may have to sign in to Scribd.)

Pictured: One of Camille's mini crime scenes.
You can defy age: with only a little maintenance, your dollhouse will never get old or lose its resale value; and as long as you keep writing, your heroine can stay young, even through a dozen books, released a year apart. In my Miniature Mysteries (written as Margaret Grace), my protagonist's granddaughter, 11 years old, will never become a testy teen. How handy is that?
One of my favorite miniature projects was creating a museum. I love real-life museums and have been known to spend entire days in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. But my miniature museum has one feature that's impossible in real life: it has only paintings I like.
I've hung several paintings by Edward Hopper and Van Gogh (of course, Chris!) but none by contemporary artists whose work looks a little like a day care project to my untrained eye. There are sculptures by Rodin, but no ancient stone figures (apologies to the Egyptologists out there).
[Full disclosure: Unlike my blog hostess and her talented friends, I don't do miniature paintings; I take the low road and download them!] (Host Note: No judging here, I do that a lot, too! ha!)
My miniature museum has a bistro and a gift shop, of course, as well as benches everywhere for resting and contemplation. I used the power of crafting to make a museum that's perfect for me, just as I use the power of a novel to make characters and stories that satisfy me.
When I donate a dollhouse to a charity—a great move, since it also means I get to buy another one!—I supply some furniture, but not all. I include instead supplies for making pieces, sometimes with instructions, sometimes not. I want the new owner to have that same powerful feeling of being in charge of her environment.
Similarly, when I teach writing, I give my students guidelines, prompts, questions to help them shape their own stories.
In my new series, my protagonist, Professor Sophie Knowles, has a beading hobby. In fact, she manages to use beads as a defensive weapon! Writing and crafting—both powerful tools for life.
** Camille Minichino is the author of three mystery series. Her akas are Margaret Grace (The Miniature Mysteries) and Ada Madison (The Professor Sophie Knowles Mysteries). Read the first chapter of THE SQUARE ROOT OF MURDER, launched on July 5, at her website.
** Camille, thanks again for stopping by and I wish you great success with your new series!
** CONTEST: Comment and share a favorite scene from one of Camille's books, or a general observation for a chance to win a copy of THE SQUARE ROOT OF MURDER. Include an email so we can contact you.This has to be one of my favorite projects from IN MINIATURE STYLE II. (See Fern's version in the slideshow at link.)
When I first saw this project by Fern Rouleau, I laughed and thought it was the "cutest" thing I'd seen in miniature!
I knew I'd have to make my own, and I finally had the right materials to make my own "Pants Planter." But I had to also take it a step further and make a smaller version to fit in the garden shop I'm making in a half-scale Tudor house!
In the 1" scale version in pink and blue (left), I used a regular pair of pants instead of overalls. The plant is made from a kit by my favorite flower maker Susan at SDK Miniatures.
Since I didn't have any tinier pants and definitely didn't want to try making them that small, I decided to do something different for the half-scale version. I made a skirt. The daffodil plant also uses petals from Susan. Here's my secret: the tiny pink shoes are from a Polly Pocket set and were the perfect size. I used small lace for "socks."
Yes, doing the project in half-scale takes some fiddling since it's harder to get the pieces assembled, but overall, I'm happy with how it turned out. I just had to make both versions.
One guy I had talked with mentioned he was thinking of scaling down the patterns even further to make quarter-scale versions. I'd love to see this project in that size!
* The how-to and a profile of Fern and her work are in IN MINIATURE STYLE II. See information, photos and details at link. (Available in ebook/pdf, iPad, Nook, Kindle & other formats, and print.)
BUY: Print
Continuing the blog tour for my new book, IN MINIATURE STYLE II.
** Winners are Chell, Dale and Marisa... if I didn't get your entry contact me via the email at my profile here on the blog.**
** Stops are over, and I thank all for coming over. Now you can answer ALL the questions and send me the answers to see who's won...
Big HINT: All the answers are on my website. Very easy to find if you concentrate on two pages relating to the book and the hobby. Email answers via website (remove 1) or to chrisATcverstraeteDOTcom.
See previous post for the full contest details or click here.
Recap: here are the questions:
Contest Questions:
Question 1: Who is the lovely lady of the sea?
Question 2: What is my "sweetest" miniature scene?
Question 3: What is the dog holding?
Question 4: He sees you when you're sleeping... but he solves the crime. (Dual answer, two sections on website. Either one is right. Bonus for both.)
Question 5: What's to eat? Name one food how-to from "In Miniature Style II."
Question 6: Name one of the flowers in the book (other than the hydrangea on the cover! Too easy!)
Question 7: Name one project from IN MINIATURE STYLE II you'd like to make - and share how you'd change it (colors, style, etc.) and what project you'll use it in.
I want to thank all the gracious hosts for letting me take up space on their blogs! Also, thanks to everyone for participating and playing the game! Entries will be accepted all weekend through 5/23 then I'll try to get the winner's names up. If I don't get a response then I'll pick another winner.
** Today's Question:**
** Today's Question:**
Question 5: What's to eat? Name one food how-to from "In Miniature Style II."
** IN MINIATURE STYLE II is available in eBook/pdf, Kindle and other formats at Smashwords, iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch, Nook, and print.
"Easy to read, the book is a bit like having a miniature club to yourself," says Lesley Shepherd, About.com Miniatures Guide.
** Read the rest of her full-page review at Miniatures.About.com **
7. An eBook copy in pdf or other format of "In Miniature Style II." (If other format, cost paid to winner by author via Paypal so they can download own copy at site.)
(NOTE: make sure to list an email or way to contact you in your comments; if you're from an online minis group, please list which one. Come back to check here too as I'll put winners' names by each category, then email me your mailing address.)
***Have fun! Visit the IN MINIATURE STYLE II page for links to buy, photos and details! Thanks for visiting, participating and reading my book!