Spooky Blog Tour for Searching For A Starry Night and The Witch Tree

Christine Verstraete is the author of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery and The Witch Tree, a spooky ebook

She loves writing, collecting miniatures, and reading, with Halloween a favorite.

Why Halloween?

I enjoy reading scary stories and it's even more to decorate for Halloween. While I enjoy the real-life decorations and a good scare as much as anyone, I especially like decorating in miniature. All kinds of things you can dream up.


Tell us about your story, The Witch Tree. Where did the idea come from?

I can tell it's spring out here in Wisconsin when the red-winged blackbirds appear. We'll get hundreds sitting in the trees, swinging on the cattails. They flock in hundreds, then do the same in fall, until they suddenly disappear, flying off to wherever they go until next spring. It's a screeching, noisy, eerie mass.

Have you written other books with paranormal or supernatural elements?

My middle grade book, Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery, from Quake/Echelon Press, has some spooky elements and a creepy family legend. Sam and her friend, Lita, are staying at her great aunt's old Victorian while they search for a missing miniature replica of Van Gogh's famous painting, Starry Night. They're working in an old shed that Aunt Hilda once used as her painting studio, and where a family barn burned down, inspiring the family legend. Plus, Sam tends to like to tease Lita, who is kind of skittish about ghosts.

Do you have a website and/or blog where readers may learn more about you and your works?

Readers are welcome to stop by my website, http://cverstraete.com and also see some of the miniatures I collect. I also am featuring various Halloween miniatures at my blog, Candid Canine.
Bonus: Visit my blog for a Scavenger Hunt this week and a chance to win some Halloween miniatures and a pdf copy of "The Witch Tree." See question at end.

What's your favorite horror novel?
I have several favorites, Salem's Lot, Dracula, Pet Sematery...


Anything else you'd like to say to our readers?
Visit Candid Canine this week for details on how to follow my Spooky Scavenger Hunt.

---

Jimmy Grayson thinks he's found utopia - a new house, a nice porch to relax on... and then THEY came.... Day by day, they arrive by the dozens, the hundreds, their beady eyes, watching, waiting. Jimmy fears for his sanity.
How will it end?
Who will survive?
Will it be him-or them?

---

Scavanger Hunt Contest and Rules:

Searching For A Starry Night & Witch Tree Scavenger Hunt!

Enjoy reading some excerpts from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery and from the spooky ebook, The Witch Tree . Learn more about both books and even scarier, learn a little more about author Christine Verstraete at each blog stop.

---

Scavenger Hunt Clue 2:
The door opens, creepy music plays
A hand reaches out, a voice says, Stay!


Bonus! Halloween Treats!

No trick! Take a chance to win a PDF copy of "The Witch Tree" or some handmade Halloween miniatures for your desk or wherever by following the blog tour.

How to Play

1. Go to each stop on the blog tour. Each stop ends with a Scavenger Hunt Clue. The clue refers to a page on Christine's website at http://cverstraete.com. Only a few specific pages are involved.

2. Look for the mini pumpkin on the page corresponding to each question. Find the pages at http://cverstraete.com.

3. Email Christine the list of all 6 places you found the pumpkins, and their corresponding numbers - plus your full mailing address (US Only) - to chrisATcverstraete.com (replace AT with @)

Contest ends Nov. 8, 2008. All 6 answers and numbers must be included. Two winners to be chosen; one will receive a spooky miniatures set by mail and the other will receive a Witch Tree ebook by email.

Have fun! Boo!

---

Updates on everything

I told you all I was being a bad host for virtual book tours. I am supposed to be hosting Stacy Gooch Anderson on the 20th (tomorrow) with a review of The Santa Letters and an interview. For more on her book tour, you will have to check her blog out for a listing of places to follow. The list is extensive and the tour has been going on for a while apparently.

Next week, I'll be hosting two virtual book tours, one for Chris Verstraete and Search for a Starry Night on Tuesday (I think this will be fun since she has it set up as a scavanger hunt from stop to stop) and one for Vivian Zabel and Midnight Hours. I need to finish reading Midnight Hours so I can post a review for Vivian. Fear not, it won't take too long to read and get that written. Vivian is offering a one prize deal for her tour, so check for details next week.

Band update: We have finished our regular season of competitions. This past Saturday was upper state (online there had been 26 bands listed to compete but when we arrived only 19 in the program). To get to state, a band has to be in the top 6 from upper state and top 6 from lower state - so there are supposed to be 12 bands competing for the title of best in the state. We hosted a competition on the first week, did a competition the next week, and two the following week. Saturday was upper state and we placed 4th out of the 19 bands that competed. This is pretty good considering we only competed in three actual competitions during this season. It seems that they keep cutting our competitions shorter and shorter. Before you know it, we will host a competition and then the next week will be upper state - but hope not - that would be hard on the kids not having the opportunity to go up against schools in regular competitions and see what they need to work on. It's been a crazy season but we survived.

Next weekend, I will miss the state competition but my ears and eyes will let me know what happens. I may post some pictures of the season but just haven't had time of late.

I'll be attending the SCWW Writer's conference in Myrtle Beach again this year (Oct. 24 - 26th) and am so looking forward to this. With one book in the series of 50 published and the second on its way, I'm hoping that soon I can be on panel discussions or do workshops at book festivals and things like the SCWW conference. I can hope for the fame some way some day.

Be on the lookout for more updates as I get them - see you all in the postings - E :)

Chris Verstraete interview/Searching for a Starry Night

With us today is Chris Verstraete author of Searching for a Starry Night. Chris and I have known each other from forums for a couple of years now. She writes short stories, now a young adult novel and probably several things in between.

Don't forget to stop by her blog and website for contests and other fun stuff.

Interview with Christine Verstraete, author of SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT, A MINIATURE ART MYSTERY


When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer?
Probably in the womb. Ha! My favorite baby photo is of me with a newspaper and pencil behind my ear. Destiny, I guess.

Do you work outside the home and only write when you can or do you have set writing times, keeping "office hours" so to speak?
I do freelance writing (newspapers and magazines) so I’m always writing, it seems. It’s harder to “not” be writing sometimes.

What would you say is your interesting writing quirk?
I don’t know if it’s a quirk, but I have a hard time jumping back into a project I’ve let sit. I’m trying to get this other book done and if I get sidetracked, it’s hard to continue without going over the previous things. Drives me crazy! :>)

Where do you get your information or ideas for your books?
I wonder that myself at times! Sometimes the ideas seem to come out of “nowhere.” But I have to stew on them awhile to see if they’ll work.

When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I was a big reader as kid, so I’d bet there was a book started somewhere, which I’ve totally forgotten about. But I’m a “late-bloomer” and didn’t really start the first book until a few years ago. I still like the idea and try to rework it now and then.

What do you like to do when you're not writing?
I always have a new miniatures project going and a long list of things I’d like to work on. Some of my projects can be seen at my website, http://cverstraete.com. I also like to read and enjoy being outdoors.

Who is your favorite author?
I read in many genres. I love Stephen King and Dean Koontz. I like historical fiction from authors like Diana Gabaldon, Ann Benson or Judith Merkle Riley. I seem to be drawn to reading about the 1500s to 1700s.

Who does your writing resemble or imitate?
I can’t say that there’s any particular style I imitate. I’m a pretty straightforward writer.

When did you take your work with miniatures into the writing venue? How do you incorporate the two?
I’ve been writing about miniatures for a long time. I enjoy writing about collectors and their collections for dollhouse magazines and sometimes for general magazines. Since I enjoy the hobby, it’s fun and interesting to talk to other collectors, as well. It seemed a natural step to incorporate miniatures into Searching For A Starry Night since I figured it was something that kids (and adults) would find interesting and unique. See http://cverstraete.com/Starry_Night.html and my blog, http://candidcanine.blogspot.com, for details.

Creating miniature scenes must be time consuming. Compared to writing, which takes longer, working on your miniature scenes or writing a story?
Oooh, good question! I tend to labor over both. I’m meticulous in planning my miniatures and can’t proceed until I have things the way I pictured them. But writing can take just as long; depends on the day. Ha! I’d have to say that the miniatures take longer, though, since I don’t have any deadlines.

What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books?
I learned how much I thought I knew and didn’t! I found myself double-guessing things after awhile.

How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
I actually have two other books underway; one is done but needs to be reworked. I’m working on the other now. Both are mysteries. I love Searching For A Starry Night as I enjoy the topic and love the characters. I’m also kind of drawn yet to my first unpublished novel, which has a 1920s theme running through it. I like that time period and enjoyed doing research. I still hope to revamp and revise it.

What do you think makes a good story?
A unique topic does it for me. I like stories with interesting settings and historical backdrops.

As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
Being a big reader, I always wanted to write, so studying journalism and doing newspaper and other writing seemed to be a perfect fit.


Elysabeth, thanks for letting me stop by!

Visitors should go to my website for details on a special contest I am holding beginning June 12. This will be the first of several contests to celebrate the release of SEARCHING FOR A STARRY NIGHT.

Introducing Chris Verstraete

As promoised, here is some info on Chris. She and I met through several forums and she was the first winner of the fast and .... contests that Karen used to run. Her story, The Witch Tree, is still available on fictionwise.com.

Chris is into minatures and so it would make sense to write a story involving minature artwork.

For orders, click here

Chris's bio:

Christine Verstraete thinks you’re never too old to play with dollhouses, so when she’s not writing, she is probably working on a new miniature project.
Christine also is an award-winning journalist whose stories have appeared in various newspapers and magazines. Her short fiction has been published in print and online.
Her short horror story, “The Witch Tree,” was a contest winner published by Echelon Press. She also is author of the e-book, “In Miniature Style,” with stories about collectors, photos of their miniatures and how-to projects.
Check out more of Christine’s miniatures and stories at her website and at her blog Candid Canine.


Searching for a Starry Night is available through Quake Me, a subsidiary of Echelon Press. Look for the book coming soon to a store near you. E :)

Virtual Book Tour host - Searching for a Starry Night

Christine Verstraete

Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery
– Coming June 15 from Quake/Echelon Press – www.quakeme.com


ISBN 978-1-59080-579-4

Buy at: Amazon.com


Blurb:

Samantha Ann Carlton would rather spend her summer vacation anywhere but a spooky old house in Wisconsin…like Lake Geneva!
Somehow Sam knows it is going to take more than a couple days to find a missing painting no bigger than her hand. But maybe things won't be so bad, she thinks, since she gets to take a friend's lovable, nosy, and often mischievous Dachshund, Petey, and her best friend, Lita. If they're lucky, the three of them can find the miniature replica of Van Gogh's "Starry Night" and help Sam's mother get it to the museum, where it belongs.
It's not going to be easy, Sam realizes, when she discovers that her family has some spooky secrets. Then Petey digs up an ancient curse and Sam fears her friendship with Lita is doomed.
Can Sam find the miniature masterpiece before it's too late?
Will she and her best friend go home forever friends – or enemies?



I've been asked by a friend to host her during her virtual book tour. Well get ready, she will be here Thursday with a wonderful interview. Post your comments on Chris's website and be entered for her drawing. I hope you all will follow her tour as well. More coming soon - see you all in the postings - E :)