Penny's Tales: Christine Verstraete is in the House

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Christine Verstraete is in the House

Today I welcome Christine Verstraete, author of the middle grade mystery, SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, and a nonfiction book on dollhouse miniatures, IN MINIATURE STYLE II. The book (available in eBook, for Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc. and print), contains profiles, photos, and over 40 how-to projects to help make that dollhouse a home. The kid's mystery is also available in print or eBook.

Penny, thanks for hosting me at your blog. I know you all are dying to know....

So, why dollhouses
If you haven't guessed, I collect and create dollhouses and dollhouse miniatures. So as a collector, it's no surprise that my interests seem to pop up in my fiction writing. In SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, friends Sam and Lita, along with the "help" of a mischievous Dachshund named Petey, face various troubles (and troublesome people) as they search for a lost miniature replica of Van Gogh's Starry Night painting.

If you think dollhouses are only for kids, nothing could be further than the truth. Miniatures are collectibles that can range from high-priced artisan's work, to homemade items. It's a creative outlet that allows the collector to incorporate a number of different crafts, or collects the work of others. Every detail found in real life can be found in a dollhouse or miniature room.

I've included several photos of my projects. More photos can be found by clicking miniatures on my website.

What inspired you to collect and to write about it?
What better way to make money than doing something you love? I love creating, and being a journalist, I love writing, so it's the best of both worlds.

What else have you written?
I enjoy writing short fiction, and have had several stories published in anthologies and eBooks. I seem to gravitate towards light horror, mystery and science fiction. Actually I love to write quirky so my horror often has a touch of odd humor. I can't help it!

My horror works include THE KILLER VALENTINE BALL at MuseItUp Publishing, MOTHERLY LOVE, at Smashwords, and science fiction-inspired short stories in several anthologies from DAW Books - TIMESHARES, STEAMPUNK'D and HOT & STEAMY: TALES OF STEAMPUNK ROMANCE. I also have a fun little Christmas short story, CHRISTMAS AT THE NORTH POLE COMPOUND. See the fiction and ebooks pages at my website for links and details.

What is your next project?
As I also enjoy writing fiction, I am marketing a young adult book on zombies and trying to place some short stories. Plus I have tons of miniatures projects in the works. My mind never rests!

Be sure to stop by the website and check out my fiction and miniatures!

CONTEST: ** One commenter will win an eBook copy of my kid's mystery, SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT or if you prefer, a horror (or Christmas) short story. ---

Thanks so much for stopping by today, folks. I am also visiting at Christine's blog at http://candidcanine.blogspot.com If you have a few minutes, stop by and check it out. I am also drawing a name of one commenter and giving away a PDF copy of any one of my books - your choice.

Thanks again for visiting!

2 comments:

AnonymousMay 22, 2012 at 12:27 PM
My aunt is so into miniature doll houses. I am giving her your website. Very nice post

Shelly
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bn100May 23, 2012 at 8:33 PM
Nice interview. Cool projects.

bn100candg(at)hotmail(dot)com
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