Real and Fictional Dogs

I wouldn’t know how to act without a dog.

As a toddler, our family dog, Mitzi, used to accompany me on my walk around the block with my dog and buggy. (I think dad finally put a lock on the gates so I couldn’t get out of the yard on my own.)

In later years, a succession of dogs came through my life. I can’t seem to be without one as the house always seems so empty and quiet without a dog around.

Not surprisingly, my fictional characters always have pets, too.

In Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, Sam and her bff Lita gladly take care of a friend’s new Dachshund Petey. What makes Petey special is not only his boisterous, fun (and nosy!) personality, but the fact that he was also adopted from a dog shelter.

For Sam and Lita, who don’t have pets of their own, Petey offers them the chance to enjoy the companionship of a dog, who also happens to help them solve a mystery, too. Who says Wishbone is the only dog who can have fun?

** Nov. 1-7 is National Animal Shelter Appreciation Week. Started by The Humane Society of the United States, the event honors the 4,000 animal shelters across the county serving an estimated 6-8 million homeless animals needing shelter each year.

**Buy: Searching for A Starry Night

** BUY: Searching for a Starry Night at QUAKE

Creative Food - It's not what you think!

Chefs get creative with food; the rest of us just eat it, right?

I'm not a chef, but I'm going to suggest a new way of looking at food - in miniature. It's as realistic, as yummy looking, and --- no calories!

I think you'll agree. Check out this amazingly realistic food, and try not to drool!

(The food is dollhouse scale, made of polymer clay. Many of the dishes are smaller than 1" in size!)



* Sam in Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery finds some amazing miniatures as she searches for a lost (mini) Van Gogh!

Searching For A Starry Night Fashion?

"Sam, here. The author of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, wanted me and my bff Lita, sorry, I mean my bff Lita and I, to talk about clothes and stuff.

"Gee, I don't know much about fashion. Lita's the one who knows what looks good. I think that's because she likes to look nice for our friend JJ. (He likes her!)"

"He does not," Lita insisted. "I just like to look nice."

Sam shrugged and continued. "I don't have time for dressing up. Most of our time's been taken up trying to find that miniature Starry Night painting, (the one the book's named for), before my Mom really flips out.

"I'm not into that fashion stuff. Jeans, shorts, that's 'fashiony' enough for going fishing. Not that we had the chance to do much of that! Not with Lita being so chicken and all. She's still spooked after touching that creepy old folder that Petey dug up. (It's all in the book.) She sure won't touch some slimy old worm!

"Okay, I admit Lita scared me. She's so dramatic... I felt terrible about her being so upset. We've been friends since we were little and we both hoped we'd always be bff's, you know?"

"Maybe," Lita said. "But I keep tellin' you to ditch the T-shirts."

"Why? They're comfortable. I like this shirt. The dog's cute, don't you think?"

"Yeah, looks like Petey. But you said my new shirt was cute. I told you to try it on in blue. It'd look good with your red hair."

"Auburn," Sam said and smirked, "not red, never red. I said I'd think about it but... it's too girly for me. That kind of stuff looks good on you. Not me."

"You too scared to try it on?" Lita asked. "Admit it."

"Scared? Look who's talking. She-who-won't-go-fishing."

"Aww, c'mon, Sam. I told ya, I didn't want to ruin my new shirt. My mom would kill me."

"See? Who needs fashion?" Sam said. "You won't do anything cuz you're afraid of messing up your clothes!"

Lita sighed. "Okay, you win. Now, can we go get some ice cream?"

Sam smiled. "You bet. Hey, you sure you want to? Last time you dripped ice cream all over the front of your shirt!"

"You ever goin' to let me forget that?"

Sam smiled. "Never. Isn't that what friends are for?"

** Read more about Sam and Lita (and Petey, too!) in Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery from QUAKE. Get it on Kindle, too.

Are you reading GREEN yet? Ebook Week

This is READ AN E-BOOK WEEK, a celebration of reading GREEN.

Why e-books, you ask?

* They're green. It takes 12 trees to produce a ton of paper - and only 5% is recycled, according to environmental notes on the Read an E-Book Week website.

* They take up less space. The Kindle and Sony E-book Reader let you store hundreds of books. Think of the savings in money on textbooks (and less strain on students' backs!)

* Less eye-strain? While not everyone likes to read electronically, you can adjust the text size and font. A bonus for older readers.

* Cost. E-books are cheaper.

Will they replace print books? I doubt it. Books are still something that no one wants to see disappear. But e-books are a good option.

While not everyone likes to read on a computer or other device, I think young readers who grew up with computers think of it as "normal." They're used to reading online and using computers in school. Many writers are used to reading on the computer, also. I know I don't mind reading stories on my computer and think an e-book reader itself would be neat.

Hopefully e-book readers will come down even more in price as popularity increases so that they will appeal to more people and pocketbooks.

** Do you Kindle? Read Searching For A Starry Night on Kindle.

** E-book: Read THE WITCH TREE at Fictionwise - only $1!

Searching For A Starry Night Hits Top 10 in Reader's Poll!

Wow! A great surprise! Last time I checked I was stuck at #11 in the annual Preditors & Editors Readers Poll and pretty much thought I was out of it.

Well.

The final results are in and I was stunned to find that Searching For A Starry Night finished at #8 in the Top 10 of the mystery category...

...And Searching For A Starry Night also finished at #8 in the book art category. Isn't that cool?



** Thanks all for voting!

** Read more about Searching For A Starry Night and get a copy at Quake. Print, ebook and now in Kindle!

Searching For A Starry Night on Grill Today at Book Roast blog

Hear that sizzle?

I'm being roasted, grilled and put to the test today. Come see what's cooking today at the Book Roast blog.

Stop by and read a new excerpt from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery.

** Visitors can take a chance! Answer a question at the Book Roast blog and you may win a copy of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery or get a copy from Quake.

See you at the grill and bring your chef's hat. It seems to be up late so stop by mid-morning.

Kids (& Characters) Just Wanna Have Fun

I'm working on a long-belated project - digging out photos of the miniatures that are mentioned in my book, Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery. Okay, call it a "forgotten" project, coming soon to a blog near you.

This got me thinking about the kinds of things we do in our spare time for fun. Characters, too. After all, who wants to read about someone that does absolutely nothing? BO-RING!

Being curious, my character, Sam and her bff Lita, find themselves enjoying their search for the missing miniature replica of Van Gogh's famous painting, "Starry Night." (That's it pictured. Yes, it's a real oil painting done by an artist. See some other Van Gogh related things in miniature at my blog).

When they finally get into the cranky housekeeper's home by a ruse Sam thought was pretty clever (at first), they discover a whole new world, okay, a small world.

You see, the housekeeper Mrs. Drake is a dollhouse miniatures collector. Why? Because I the author am, too.

The fun of writing is being able to share your own interests, and let the characters - and you, the reader - explore new places, things, and ideas. Even the characters get to have fun and "play" a little.

Life - fictional and real - shouldn't be all work, and no play. So, don't forget to have some fun today, okay?

* Your Turn: What's your hobby? What do you like to do in your spare time?

-- Christine Verstraete is author of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

You can buy the book by clicking here.