I’m thrilled to have Camille Minichino as our first guest author at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers. Camille is a retired physicist turned writer. As Camille Minichino, she's published eight novels and a short story in the periodic table mystery series featuring Gloria Lamerino; as Margaret Grace, she's published five novels in the miniature mystery series featuring Geraldine Porter; and as Ada Madison, she's poised to release a new series, academic mysteries featuring Sophie Knowles. She also blogs at Killer Hobbies.
Camille has very graciously offered to give away 3 copies of her latest release, Monster in Miniature, to readers who post comments this weeks. Check back tomorrow to see if you’re one of the lucky three.-- AP
Cozy Scenes, with a Twist
by Camille Minichino
My cute, folksy hobby of making dollhouses and miniatures has turned bloody.
Example: I was finishing up a lovely little lawn scene. I'd used an ordinary coaster for the base, covering the cork side with foam of different shades of green, and "planted" sweet yellow flowers here and there. I placed a 2-inch-high white wicker chair on the "grass" and added a cushion, a straw hat, some books, and an eighth-inch cup of macchiato. I knitted a tiny afghan and threw it over the back of the chair.
Darling, really. But something seemed off to me. Until I added a Winchester rifle and a few drops of "blood." That did it; I was satisfied. I'd turned the piece from a cozy sunny-day reading corner to a crime scene.
I used to favor charming and adorable—pink Victorian houses in 1-inch-scale (1 inch equals 1 foot of "real" space) with lavish ballrooms and tiny chandeliers; English country cottages with rooms full of crocheted carpets, painted wood furniture and miniature loaves of bread and cupcakes made of crafts dough.
But since entering the mystery writing community, my scenes have taken on a different twist. They're now cold and bloody. It figures: my outlets for donating the pieces are mystery conferences and mystery fans who win scenes from drawings announced on my blogs.
I still make cute dollhouses a couple of times a year and give them away to schools and hospitals as raffle prizes. But, I confess, it's the crime scenes that are the most fun. Over the years I've created an embalming room, a funeral parlor, and way too many bathtubs with a tiny hair dryer, boombox, or iron thrown in. Check out the gallery at http://www.dollhousemysteries.com for samples.
I can't wait to read Lois Winston's Assault With a Deadly Glue Gun and get to know Anastasia better. From the title alone you know it's going to be a great read, another of those times when crafts supplies turn deliciously deadly.
Thanks for letting me visit, Anastasia!
And thanks for stopping by, Camille, and also for offering copies of Monster in Miniature to three lucky people who post comments this week. Remember, everyone, check back tomorrow to find out who the lucky winners are.--AP
