Summer Teen Reading Party! Welcome to Penny Estelle, children's author and solar pioneer!

Today I welcome author Penny Estelle who's turned her 21-years of writing all the principal's notes as a school secretary to writing her own stories in ebook form. She did start that "Great American Novel" way back then, stuck it away, and came back to writing again—35 years after she retired. Now there's perseverance!

** Go to the SUMMER TEEN READING PARTY for prizes and more!**

Estelle originally wanted to write romance but found her niche in writing for kids. She now has three stories out. In BILLY COOPER'S AWESOME NIGHTMARE (coming JUNE 1), 7th grader Billy thinks he'll skate by on his oral report on some William Tell guy. All that changes when he meets the 14th century legend in person. BUY: (June 1) MuseItUp Publishing














In HIKE UP DEVIL'S MOUNTAIN, it's every kid's dream come true when the school bully Jason Crew turns into—a toad!! Now 10-year-old Andy Thompson and Jason's brother Danny have to reverse the spell, by hiking up that dreaded mountain—if they survive.

BUY: Solstice Publishing



In A FLOAT DOWN THE CANAL, 12-year-old Pam Simpson has to babysit her brother, his friend, and entertain her prissy cousin, Candy, whom she doesn’t even like. Their float down the canal to get to the pool turns the day from horrible to the best of her life. BUY: Smashwords

Her other story, a bit different, is nonfiction about living green and using solar power in SOLAR – ONE FAMILY'S REALITY. Solar – One Family’s Reality BUY: Smashwords.

Talking with Penny Estelle:

What inspires you?

My inspiration comes when I see or hear something that triggers a story idea for me. Once I get an idea and start to form the story, I want to get it down on paper right away because if I don’t, the idea will be gone the next day.

What inspired this story/book?

For Hike Up Devil’s Mountain, I saw my grandson playing with a certain mythical beast. I came up with a great, surprise ending of a story – and all I had to do was come up with a beginning and a middle!

What's your favorite line from the book?

My favorite line is at the end, but that would give the whole surprise away, soooo I am going with this one. The bully is somehow turned into a toad. They decide to try saying a spell that might turn him back.

“Okay, okay, just let me think for a minute,” Andy said. After a few seconds he pointed the stick and said, “Here sits a toad where there once was a boy, so please turn him back,” then there was a pause as he tried to think of a word that rhymed with boy, “so we could feel joy!” Andy’s eyes lit up with pleasure for making up the great spell.

If I wasn't writing, I'd be....

We live on 54 acres and believe me, there is always a project going on – normally something outside! We also do a lot of four-wheeling and exploring. We have tons of dirt roads everywhere and though we have lived there almost three years, we haven’t even scratched the surface on checking them out!

Besides writing, I'm...

... Kind of embarrassed to say it, but I am a jigsaw puzzle junkie. This is sometimes a downfall as until a started puzzle is done, most everything else stops. And…um…is gambling a hobby?

Do you include your hobby/interests in your work?

It’s funny you should ask - I just finished a puzzle that was of a mean looking wizard that glowed in the dark. I have an idea forming in the back of my head that involves a wizard trapped in a jigsaw puzzle!

Tell us about your pet/s:



Truth be told, I am not a huge animal lover. When we moved to our property, I wanted a dog so she could bark, alert us if anything was amiss outside during the night, as I am not a lover of the dark either! We ended up getting a 3-year old black Lab. Afterwards we found out she was abused in a puppy mill. She was terrified of anything and everybody. It didn’t take long at all for her to warm right up to my husband and me, but when anybody comes over, she goes right to her corner and doesn’t come out until they are gone.

She has managed to weasel her way into my heart and is now my walking partner wherever I go! Oh yes – and in the three years we have had her, she has probably barked 10 times! Oh well, what are you going to do?

Peregrine Falcon Nest Webcam - See the Babies!

What a difference a few days makes! You can see the three babies now. Getting big! One egg didn't hatch though. See the webcam.

Welcome Peg Herring, author of DEAD FOR THE MONEY, Book 2 of the Dead Detective Mysteries

Welcome back to Peg Herring, author of the new
Dead for the Money (The Dead Detective Mysteries) Be sure to check out her contest below! (And the cool book cover!)

Schedule: Peg Herring’s Blog Tour for May (and one post in June) consists of a mix of interviews with Seamus, the Dead Detective, and posts on writing. Yesterday’s stop was at the LL-Publications blog, who publish the Dead detective Mysteries. The next stop is on May 15 at Terry O'Dell's blog.. The full schedule is posted here. When the tour is over (June 11), the complete Seamus interview will be posted there as well.

Prizes: People who comment on any blog post on the tour will be entered in drawings for several prizes: Dead Detective T-shirts, copies of THE DEAD DETECTIVE AGENCY and DEAD FOR THE MONEY (paperback or e-books available), and the chance to be a character in the third of the series DEAD FOR THE SHOW. Multiple winners will be drawn.



About the Book::

When Seamus is asked to take a detective-in-training along on his next investigation, he reluctantly agrees. Mildred seems nice enough, but it quickly becomes clear that she has her own way of looking at things.

William Dunbar thinks he was pushed off a cliff overlooking Lake Michigan, and he fears his beloved grandson Bud might be blamed. Delving into the secrets of family and staff, Seamus sees no one who benefits except Bud. He also detects an undercurrent between Bud and Scarlet, the tutor who works with Dunbar’s grand-daughter, Brodie. She’s done wonders with the girl but seems antagonistic toward Bud.
Then Brodie disappears and Seamus must do what he can to help her despite weather, greed, false leads, and the interference of the partner who is supposed to be helping him.

A Dead Guy Talks about You Part 5

By Peg Herring

First, I’d like to thank Chris for inviting me to Candid Canine again.

Interviewer: We’re talking with Seamus, a cross-back detective who returns to earth to investigate murders for the victims. Now, Seamus you invade the mind of a host, a living person, and try to learn his or her secrets. You can’t, however, read their minds, so you have to piece things together. Have I got that right?

Seamus: Right.

Interviewer: What if the mind you enter is abnormal?

Seamus: That makes things even harder. If a person’s fuzzy from alcohol or drugs, obsessed, or extremely angry, the mind is kind of off track. It makes it hard for us to be in there; they can actually eject us. Even if we manage to stay, it’s difficult to get a clear idea of the person’s intentions or memories.

Interviewer: If you believe your host is a threat to others, what do you do?

Seamus: We can try to distract him, which works for a while.

Interviewer: Distract him how?

Seamus: In normal circumstances, I stay still and quiet in a host’s mind in order to let him or her function normally. Hosts feel a little sick from the extra presence, but they’re able to go on. If I want to make trouble, I holler, move around, and generally make a pest of myself. That makes a host feel nervous, sick to his stomach, and very agitated.

Interviewer: Sounds nasty.

Seamus: The problem is that a determined host will adjust fairly quickly. They aren’t incapacitated or anything like that. And sometimes they just get angrier.
Interviewer: So if that doesn’t work, what do you do?

Seamus: My next move in a dangerous situation would be to jump to the victim. I might be able to warn him, get him to run away or defend himself.

Interviewer: You don’t make him sick?

Seamus: He’ll have the slightly ill feeling, but with someone I want to help, I speak quietly and communicate a simple message, like “Turn right,” or “Look!”

Interviewer: You can’t tell them “That man is going to try to kill you”?

Seamus: (Chuckles) How would you react if a voice inside your head said that?

Interviewer: Oh. I see what you mean. I’d think I was going crazy.

Seamus: Right. A whisper the person can accept as his own mind telling him something. Most people say they had a hunch or a premonition.

Interviewer: But it’s really you, looking out for your host.

Seamus: Not every time, of course. But you’d be surprised.

Excerpt:

Seamus moved to where William Dunbar stared into the void as if searching for something. If Dunbar did not know who killed him, life had left him with a bitter question: who? And if he knew who had done it, the question might be even more difficult: why?

“You’re the detective?”

“Yeah.”

The man rubbed the railing with a fingernail. “I’m trying to make up my mind about all this.”

Seamus waited. It was not his way to press, though in his view, it was better to know. At least, for most.

“What did they tell you about me?” Dunbar asked.

“Not much. I guess they figure it’s your story to tell.”

He shrugged helplessly. “I was relaxed, focused on the water. Suddenly I was falling. I felt the resistance of the wooden fence rail against my stomach. My legs left the ground. I grabbed for the rail, but I was too late. I was over the fence before I could even call for help. My shoulder hit the ground on the other side.” His jaw jutted, lips tight, but he continued. “My reflexes were too slow, my body too stiff, my mind too overcome. At forty, even at sixty, I might have saved myself, but—”

Disgust tinged his voice. “It’s like they say. Old age isn’t for sissies.” He turned once more to face Seamus. “One thing I am sure of, though. I did not fall over that fence. I was pushed.”

Solving crime - in miniature

This may be old hat to some, but it's still interesting and worth another look.

Check out the video showing the miniature greenhouse crime scene used in a past CBS CSI episode featuring the "miniature" killer.

Wow, Soylent Green is Real! Dangers of Animal and Human Devaluation in China

Warning to the squeamish: this is incredibly sick.

I've written before about the dangers of a culture in which animals or humans are devalued - namely China.

Forget centuries of "tradition." There is something wrong when rare, exotic or household animals are routinely killed for parts and eastern medicines in the superstitious, ignorant belief that the animal parts offer some kind of cure. Tigers. Elephants. Dolphins. Whales. Rhinos. You name it, there is a market in China for animals for use as exotic "ingredients." And that is only the ones I know of, (never mind the horrid fates of some dogs and cats as well.)

It's not surprising maybe, though no less shocking, when a major news outlet reports that pills comprised of human flesh are being sold, and coming from - yes - China! See story - "South Korea Cracks Down on Human Flesh Capsules from China" - here.

YIKES! Soylent Green, the "magic" pills in real life! But consider this: in a culture where humans and animals are continually devalued, is this really a surprise?

When mothers who dare to try to have more than one child are taken away, their babies (even at eight months of pregnancy)are ripped from their wombs for disobeying the law, should this be a shock?

When animals, like dogs, are mistreated, tortured and sold for food or pelts, should this be surprising?

When people are kept ignorant and uneducated (hence controllable), they will cling to what they know - centuries-old practices that have no place in modern society. But... I am sure that the uneducated are not the only ones who procure "traditional" medicines as I am sure many of these items have a good pricetag.

Of course greed certainly has no borders, nor does depravity. Time and again, the US and other countries have witnessed the consequences of dealing with China: faulty, cheaply made, and even dangerous or deadly products made in deplorable conditions.

This reveals a whole new low that manufacturers in China will go to. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? - C. Verstraete http://candidcanine.blogspot.com

Welcome to Marva Dasef, author of SCOTCH BROOM

Today I welcome Marva Dasef, who is introducing the interestingly named SCOTCH BROOM, the third book in her Witches of Galdorheim series.

** Check out the rest of the SUMMER TEEN READING PARTY for great prizes!! ** - I'm also at Marva's blog talking about, what else, but dogs and animals and...

BUY:


* MuseitUp Bookstore

About the Book:

Kat expects to have a great time on her graduation trip to Stonehenge. However, from the moment she leaves the witches’ arctic island, Galdorheim, she gets in nothing but trouble. Her younger half-brother tries to horn in on her trip, she gets lost in the magical Otherworld realm, is led astray by a supposed friend, then she has to confront a Scottish goddess who’s fallen on hard times. (Keep reading for the contest!)

While dodging the goddess’ minions and trying to find her way out of the Otherworld, Kat soon learns she shouldn’t underestimate the old has-been for one second; the crone still has a few tricks that can drain a witch’s magic in a flash. To make matters worse, Kat's brother secretly followed her into the Otherworld. Now he’s in danger too. Kat has to go one on one with the goddess to save herself and her brother.

** Download a PDF Sampler of all three books in the series and the bonus short story, Spellslinger, here.

** Watch the SCOTCH BROOM trailer

Leave a comment to win a free ebook of any of the Witches of Galdorheim. To win a GRAND PRIZE, read the posts carefully, then answer the easy quiz on Marva's blog between May 27th and 31st. All the information and links you need will be posted.

HART AND HOUND

Researching Celtic mythology, I knew I wanted to use some of the lesser know magical creatures. I also decided that they needed to be “like” animals, but not quite. The reason for this is obvious to readers who’ve been following Kat’s story from the beginning. Kat’s magical ability is to talk with animals. She has greater or lesser success depending on the innate brain-power of a natural animal. For example, she chats along nicely with Salmon the Orca since a killer whale is the largest of the dolphins and are at the top of the IQ charts. I believe the ability to communicate to others shows greater intelligence. Sorry. Don’t want to offend any fish out there, but you guys just aren’t that bright.

I found two mythic creatures who met my criteria. Sianach, a huge stag (possibly a Red Deer) and Cusith, a giant-sized green dog with a braided tail.

From my favorite source, Encyclopedia Mythica.

Cusith

An enormous hound of the Scottish Highlands. It is said to be a dark green in color, with a long braided tail and the size of a bullock. Whenever his baying was heard on the moors, farmers would quickly lock up their women because the hound's mission was to round up women and drive them to a fairy mound so they might supply milk for fairy children.

I’m a bit leery of that rounding up women part, but decided that was just an ancient attempt to keep women close to home. Clearly, not much has changed except for the mythological excuses.

Sianach

"Monster." In Scottish Gaelic oral tradition, a large, malevolent, predatory deer.

That’s to the point. Other research indicated that the basis for Sianach might be the Irish Elk, which is now extinct.

Now that I’d identified a couple of mythical critters, then all I had to do is get them together with Kat. Since she was tricked into entering the Otherworld (land of fey), she has been searching for the hall of the Trow King. She meets Sianach first and he agrees to guide her to King Connor’s hall. What Kat find strange is that she can’t look into Sianach’s mind; he can close off his thoughts from her. This makes Kat a bit nervous since Sianach, while seeming to be amenable to helping Kat, is also very vague as to his reasons for doing so.

The two begin their search for the Trow Hall, although Sianach claims, reasonably, that in the Otherworld, there is no such thing as a map to anyplace. They’ll have to seek the Hall in other ways. Apparently, Sianach’s method is to simply wander around through the swamps.

They camp for the night, and the next morning, Kat meets another denizen of the Otherworld, the giant green hound, Cusith.

Excerpt:

Sianach grazed near the edge of the small clearing. When the lean-to disappeared, he raised his head. “Good morning. I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

“You sound just like my mom.” Kat let out an exasperated snort. “Besides, it can’t be past eight o’clock.”

“I do not carry a timepiece.”

“Of course, you don’t.” Kat opened her pack and rummaged through it. “Cool. I’ve still got the granola bar.” Her head snapped up when she heard something large crashing through the underbrush. Sianach stood stock still, staring toward the ruckus.

“HHHHRRRRROOOOOWWW!”

“Omigosh, what’s that?” Kat’s voice trembled as she looked to Sianach for an answer. The hairs on her neck and arms stood at attention.

Sianach turned toward a nearby tree and struck his antlers against it. The clash of antler against bark rang like a warning bell. Kat didn’t expect the loud clang coming from horn against wood.

“HHHHRRRRROOOOOWWW!”

“Hide,” Sianach said in a breathy whisper. His head raised now and pointed toward the howl that sounded closer than before.

Peregrine Falcon Nest Webcam

Peregrine falcons are expected to hatch any day now in a nest on the WE Energies plant in Wisc. (*Sat mid-morning: she's still sitting and waiting....)

Check out the webcam. There are also still photos of various nest sites.

New Story: Dogs READ with Kids

My latest story and photos on Dogs "Reading" with Kids in the May/June PRIME Magazine.

(C. Verstraete photo)

New AIM Artisans In Miniature Spring Issue 41 Available!

New Artisans in Miniature AIM issue #41 is out! Includes a short article I did on spring plus some great how-to's - a retro apron, spring manniquin blouse and more! Download all issues here.

Camille Minichino talks Dollhouse Miniatures and about the new book, Mix-Up in Miniature

Today I welcome back miniaturist and writer Camille Minichino, author (as Margaret Grace) of the fun Miniature Mystery Series.

Ideas, Small and Large

MIX-UP IN MINIATURE: A Miniature Mystery, my 16th and latest release, was conceived in Carmel, Indiana. A most unlikely spot for this city-loving, Bronx-educated author!

Here's how it came about.

One of the biggest mystery conferences, Bouchercon, is held in a different city every year. I must admit that which city it's in often influences whether I attend. Three years ago, when I learned that Indianapolis was hosting the conference, I jumped at the chance to visit. Not because of the special "500" tour, or the world-class art museum, but because it offered a chance for a reunion with an old friend who lived nearby. To double the pleasure, my friend would take me to the wonderful Museum of Miniature Houses in Carmel, Indiana.

The museum's managers were wonderful and welcoming as we spent hours examining every corner of every tiny house and room box. One house in particular caught my eye, and my imagination. A dollhouse with a secret room! I didn't know how immediately, but I knew this would be the center of my next Miniature Mystery.

- The Secret Room!

Three years later, here it is: Mix-up in Miniature. Gerry Porter, miniaturist, and her 11-year-old granddaughter, Maddie, are on the case to solve the murder of a bestselling romance author who is also a collector of dollhouses. Enough said, that one of them has a secret room that holds the key to the crime!

It's always interesting to me to trace the path from a tiny idea to a full-blown novel. I never know what tidbit of gossip or information, what bumper sticker will spark a story, long or short.

It's not that different with miniature scenes. Looking through a box of castoffs from an estate sale, I found an off-scale, old-fashioned bathroom set. My first thought: the scene in The Godfather where Michael Corleone comes out shooting, his initiation into "The Life." Note the gun "hidden" at the top of the tank! Has some off-beat slogan or tiny object inspired you recently?

Thanks, Christine, for being so generous and sharing your readers! (And thank you for stopping by again with your great details and books!)

Camille Minichino is a retired physicist turned writer.
As Camille Minichino, she's the author of the Periodic Table Mysteries. As Margaret Grace, she writes the Miniature Mysteries, based on her lifelong hobby. As Ada Madison, she writes the academic mysteries featuring Professor Sophie Knowles, college math teacher. The 6th Miniature Mystery,Mix-up in Miniature was released April 2. Soon, every aspect of her life will be a mystery series.