All Things Miniature by Camille Minichino aka Margaret Grace

Killerhobbies has graced my Bookmark Bar since its wonderful writers started it. I've derived so much enjoyment from this site, and I'm thrilled to be part of it.

Pardon me if I forget my name. I used to be Camille Minichino, author of eight books in the periodic table mysteries but for the last few weeks, I've also been Margaret Grace, author of the miniature mysteries. The first in the series, "Murder in Miniature" is due from Berkley Prime Crime in February 2008.

My husband questions my allegiance — I declined the opportunity to change my name to his when I married him thirty years ago, but I quickly agreed to change it when my agent recommended a pen name. He has a point.

Camille and Margaret come together in a bookcase in my living room. I've converted it to a miniature three-story building—the Galigani Mortuary, where my periodic table protagonist, Gloria Lamerino lives.

On the lower floor is the embalming room—it's not easy to find embalming tables, trocars, or mortician's pins in miniature catalogs, so I had to do some improvising. The laundry room is down there, too (on the right in the photo). No wonder Gloria's laundry is backed up—she's afraid to go down there alone, or after dark. I felt this scene needed some comic relief, so I added the ruby slippers under the embalming table. See what you think.

The next floor up holds the parlor, where the mortuary's clients are laid out for viewing. The casket started life as a box of paperclips. How embarrassing—while taking this photo, I noticed that my dollhouse floor needs vacuuming as much as my real life living-room floor!

Gloria's apartment is on the third floor. It's undergoing remodel and will be available for a photo session later.

If you'd like to know how any of this was constructed, let me know. From time to time I'll be posting tips—for more normal rooms, you'll be glad to know.