2010 - Summed up!

I think the last day of the year is a day of contemplation. This year has been amazing for me. Here's some of the things I've accomplished this year:

1) I traveled the West Coast!
2) Started a great blog!
3) Met great writing buddies!
4) Got a super-duper publishing contract!
5) But the best thing I accomplished this year? I've really improved the relationship between my husband and my son! That's the best thing in the whole world.

What have you been proud to accomplish this year?

Myths About Canada

Canada does not have winter for 11 months out of the year. Yes it is true that the weather in Canada is cold - sometimes REALLY COLD! (Coldest Temperature ever recorded in Canada was in the Yukon at -63 degrees C) However in many/most places Canadians enjoys 4 seasons and hot summers. In Southern Ontario the temperature in July often goes above 30 degrees C as with elsewhere in the country.

Canadians enjoy modern technology in their lives. We have TV's, radios, refrigerators, computers etc. (You would be surprised to find out how many people who didn't know we had those things.) We don't live in igloos (Snow houses) and the VAST MAJORITY of us do not use dog sleds - in fact most Canadians have not used a dog sled.

Canadians do not speak "Canadian". The two official languages are English and French. Many Canadians can speak both and other languages. However aside from a few pronunciations (ie: Americans say "Z" as "zee" and Canadians say it as "Zed"), and spelling (Americans "color", Canadians "colour") the English between the two countries are identical.

Some Canadians say "eh" a lot. Yes that is a given. Sometimes I say it myself. However I don't see what the big deal here is. I know a lot of Americans that say "y'all" with everything. Not every Canadian says "eh" either.

We are not a nation of "draft dodgers". Canada was one of the first countries to declare war in WWI, WWII etc. We even fought in the Gulf War along side many other countries. We are renowned the world for our peace-keeping forces. It just happens that we have a small army. Yes there were many people who came to Canada during Vietnam to avoid the draft but that was their personal choice - not ours.

Most Canadian Citizens are not Mounties. Yes we have the RCMP - but our police officers do not ride around like a pack of Dudley-Do-Rights in Red coats with ponies. This is just like the same way that American Sheriffs do not ride around like cowboys on horses. RCMP officers are hard working individuals who in some places are the police force. The only time that they perform the Musical Ride is for special occasions. (You can see them on Parliament Hill on Canada Day.)

Canada is not a state or a part of the United States. Many people in Europe or elsewhere think that we are Americans. I can see why many people would think that we are Americans as from afar we are similar. However, while Canada does have many ties to the United States, we are a separate country.

Toronto is not the capital of Canada. Ottawa is the Capital. Toronto is however Canada's largest city and the Capital of the Province of Ontario.

Canadians like their healthcare system... a lot. Sure we complain about it, it's more likely that we're a bunch of complainers. But, ask any Canadian if they would give up their healthcare for one in the US. Not likely!

Source: The Canada Page

Writing Software: Scrivener for Windows

I've had my eye on Scrivener for a long time but it's only been available for the Mac. Well, I'm not a Mac user so I purchased other programs instead. Recently, (October 2010) Scrivener was released (in Beta) for Windows. I had to try it out.

What I liked:  

User interface. I love how this program looks. Large easy to see and understand buttons. Simple movability and function.

Click to enlarge

The organization. Scrivener isn’t just a word processor. It’s a project organizer. With some of my projects I like to be able to move chapters around easier, find them easier - with Scrivener I can.

Corkboard and Outliner. I love this feature. I put all my chapters on notecards and stick it up on my corkboard. It looks just like it would on my wall. One feature it has is LABEL and STATUS columns. You can change these to fit your story. I changed the labels from editing timeline to character POV. Under status, I've placed the timeline of the novel. Just love this feature.

Individual document notes. Each document has its own section for document-specific notes. You can use it as a to-do list for future scenes in a chapter, or changes that you need to make, or even a list of inspirations that helped you or will help you when you rewrite it later.

Importing files. In this program, you can create files easily and these files allow you to import other formats. For instance, if I want to place of picture of a room or scene or period costume, I can. Just drag and drop. It saves it in whatever folder I want for quick access.

Project compilation. I haven't used this feature yet but I hear it's really easy to import your final draft into both PDF and Word files. Can't wait to try it.

What you have to keep in mind:

The Windows version is still in Beta. The release won't be until early 2011. However, from working with it the last week, I feel in love with its ease of use and organization.

At release, Scrivener for Windows will probably cost around $40. For any serious writer, that $40 is absolutely worth spending. Also, for those who complete NaNoWriMo 2010, you get a 50% discount when Scrivener is released!

More information at: http://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivenerforwindows/
http://www.tyrolancer.com/reviews/review-scrivener-for-windows-beta-3/

Mystery Writer's Guide to Forensic Science - Poisons X

Note: If you are reading this information because you plan to use it on your spouse or in-laws, please leave. This guide if for the use of writers or students only. If you murder someone, you will be caught.

DENDROCNIDE MOROIDES

AKA: Gympie Gympie, moonlighter, or stinger

Where is it found? a large shrub native to rainforest areas in North Eastern Australia, the Moluccas and Indonesia.

Symptoms: The sting causes a painful stinging sensation which can last for days or even months, and the injured area becomes covered with small red spots joining together to form a red, swollen mass.

Fast or Slow Acting: The pain comes immediately after touching the plant, and it gradually increases to a peak after about 20-30 minutes.

How is used as a poison? Contact with the leaves or twigs causes the hollow silica-tipped hairs to penetrate the skin. The sting causes a painful stinging sensation which can last for days or even months, and the injured area becomes covered with small red spots joining together to form a red, swollen mass. The sting is known to have killed one human. You could lie an unconscious victim in a nest of leaves? (In a novel only!)

But you can suffer even if you don't touch the plant. The plants continuously shed their stinging hairs. Stay close to the stinging trees for more than an hour, and you can get an allergic reaction - intensely painful and continuous bouts of sneezing. You can even get nose bleeds from these silicon hairs floating in the air. But Dr. Hurley found that if she wore filter masks, which she replaced regularly, she could work near the plants for a few hours at a time.

How can you make it so the victim won't notice it? I think the victim would notice it but death might come quickly.

What would the victim at the crime scene look like? The victim would be swollen and red.

What would the autopsy find? Unknown. Perhaps, besides the red skin, little hairs from the plants would be obtained and studied.

Case study: The Dutch Botanist H. J. Winkler made the only official recording of Death By Stinging Tree, for a human. It was in New Guinea, back in the early 1920s. There have been other anecdotal stories from soldiers in WW II suffering intense pain, and of an officer shooting himself because of the unrelenting pain - but these are just word-of-mouth.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dendrocnide_moroides
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2001/02/08/243639.htm
http://www.anhs.com.au/stinging%20tree.htm

Review: From Words To Brain by Livia Blackburn

Writer: Livia Blackburne
Blog: http://blog.liviablackburne.com/
Kindle: here
Genre: Scientific Paper

How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis: What is it that transforms a page full of words into an experience that moves us and leaves us changed? Livia Blackburne explores this cognitive process, from its objective beginnings on the page to the reader's personal investment in the story. The essay, which combines scientific expertise and a flair for storytelling, weaves together current results from cognitive psychology with examples from the classic fairytale Little Red Riding Hood. From wolves to functional magnetic resonance imaging, the essay draws the reader through the text and ultimately beyond it. Because "the experience of reading a story does not end with the last page." That's the point at which the real development begins.

My Thoughts: I don't normally read scientific papers but the subject of how humans read and interpret stories fascinates me. So, I read it. There is a lot of interesting information in the paper.

For instance, humans are "not born with a reading reflex". We have a need to eat and sleep but we don't have a need to read. However, when we learn the task of reading, "our brains become so adept at this skill that it becomes as reflexive as seeing itself".

Scientists have also found a brain region that responds to words rather than objects.

The writers goes on to examine how a reader's brain and mind works when a story is put before them. I found this very interesting and the more we learn about this, the more writers could change they way they produce stories.

Fascinating read - that's the best way I can describe it.

The Two Things Every Sentence Must Accomplish.

Every sentence must do one of two things — (a)reveal character or (b)advance the action.

Example: The cat is back.  - Here the action could be forwarded. What happens now that the cat comes back? If the answer is 'nothing' then perhaps the sentence should be left out.

Another example: She wore a red dress. - The sentence may or may not forward the action. Is it vital to the plot that we know this? Does it reveal something about the character? Would it matter that her dress is red? Could it be green? Could it be a red overcoat? Could the sentence be left out?

The third example: "Would you like fries with that?" he asked. - Here's a simple dialogue sentence. But it could reveal a lot about the character. Does he work in fast food? Is it a father who says the same line every night as he puts a plate in front of his four year old son to get a laugh?

When editing, use this guide to to evaluate every sentence.

Who Me? She said. You understand? Don't you?

Today's a brief review of POV (Point of View)! Oh, that rhymes. I won't go into whether you should use multiple POV or which is better. It's just a review.

First Person

The story is told directly by a character (I) who is one of its central figures, someone who is present in all the key scenes. We experience the story as the narrator experiences (or experienced) it, and are privy to the narrator’s intimate thoughts. We are limited, however, by what the narrator knows or doesn’t know. If there is information the narrator has but doesn’t share with us, there’s a good chance we’ll feel betrayed.

Example: I watched the woman walk down the street. Why did she wear red boots?

Second Person

The story is told by a voice that appears to be speaking to another character or to the reader (you). While the viewpoint can function much like first person, it is more difficult to convey the narrator’s thoughts and feelings, especially if they’re nothing like the reader’s thoughts and feelings. Unlike first person, second person can make you feel distanced from a narrator (which can be both a pro and a con). When used sparingly, this can be a surprising and effect POV.

Example: You watched the woman walk down the street. Why did she wear red boots, you wonder.

Third Person Limited

The story is told in third person (she or he) and features a character whose thoughts are known to us. Overall, this is the least intrusive viewpoint because it can be nearly invisible to the reader. Like first person, third person limited can show us a character’s intimate thoughts, but it also keeps us within the bounds of what the main character knows. Generally, a third person limited narrator can withhold information more easily than a first person narrator.

Example: She watched the woman walk down the street. Why did the woman wear red boots, she wondered.

Third Person Omniscient Involved

The story is told from a viewpoint that may shift throughout the story. The narrator may show us the internal thoughts of any of the characters as well as his/her own. Often, the narrator’s voice is stronger than that of any of the characters, and we get the sense that the narrator is leading us through the story, showing us what we need to know. This viewpoint often keeps us at a distance from the characters, but it can be an effective way of underlining the themes and ideas of a story.

Example: Darleen watched the woman walk down the street. Why did the woman wear red boots, Darleen wondered.
Marla looked down at her red boots and looked up at the woman who stared at her. What right does she have to question my choices? She'd never wear green and yellow together.

Third Person Omniscient Detached

The story is told from a viewpoint that is uninvolved in the story. We see only the actions of the characters but are never privy to their internal thoughts. We observe the events of the story and are forced to guess at the characters’ motivations . As in fairy tales, characters are defined by their actions. There is no psychology and we must draw our own conclusions about the story.

Example: Darleen looked at the woman wearing red boots. The woman looks back at her, lifts her chin in the air and walks faster.

Source: Choosing a POV

Tighter Story Telling

Start as close to the end as possible.

"Cut to the action, but don't be tempted to start the book with a showy bang unless that showy bang is the initial action from which all other action flows. If you open with an epic space battle and then have to spend pages telling us how everybody got there, your flashback will brake your narrative to a stop and your first scene will bounce off your vehicle like a fancy hubcap, revealed for the meretricious gewgaw it is. The key is: from which all other action flows. The first scene is the first domino. The second domino has to be right behind it. That inexorably tumbling line is your story, action begetting action until all are spent." - Caro Clark


Sources: 8 points by Vonnegut
Caro Clark

Five Senses? Use them.

Recognize your five senses:

1. Hear: (unusual sound, high pitch, low pitch, soft, loud)

2. Taste: (sour, sweet, salty, spicy, tangy)

3. Smell: (odor, scent)

4. Touch: (soft, hard, rough, silky, smooth, furry)

5. See: (colors, brightness, darkness, cloudy, sunny)


Pictures:

Draw a picture of your story using your five senses without being obvious. Write through your senses. Feel it, touch it, hear it, taste it, and see it.

Take notice to all the things you recognize through your senses like the smell of something cooking in the kitchen, the feel of your animal's soft fur, the sound of birds singing, the taste of your favorite meal, and the sight (vision) of the ocean.

Exercise:

Go outside and hear, taste, smell, touch, and see nature. Gather items that may be interesting to use as a way to practice describing your five senses. Explain each *sense* in detail and see if others can figure out what you are describing within your writing.


Read more: How to Use Your Five Senses in Writing | eHow.com

Torture Techniques

Here's a cartoon with no relevance whatsoever!

I know it's the time of year where many are thinking peace, goodwill, happiness. But to be a good writer, you need to be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them — in order that the reader may see what they are made of.

• Mental pain
• Physical pain
• Dilemmas 
• Ultimatums

Source: http://www.novelr.com/2007/11/15/kurt-vonneguts-8-rules-for-writing-fiction

Seven deadly sins of grammar

1. Verbs has to agree with their subjects.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
4. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.
5. Also, too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.
6. No sentence fragments.
7. Don't use no double negatives.

Show don't tell

Show don't tell. Yeah we hear it all the time. How can we do it?

• Use dialogue.
• Use senses when possible. 
• Pretend you're a movie camera, you can't get into a character's head, you can only show it. Describe what you're showing.

Stitch in time saves nine

Don't ask me what the sentence above means... it sounds like wise advice.

What does the sentence tell me, as a writer? Outline! If you start an outline from the beginning of your writing process, it will save a lot a work later. You don't need to plan every chapter or paragraph or scene. You don't even need to know how it ends.

But, here are some things you might want to plan in advance:

• knowing your character's motives and goals
• where you want to go with the story
• what you want the theme to be
• what you want the reader to take away from the story

Also, it wouldn't hurt to keep your novel's notes in a notebook of some sort.

10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.

The above sentence could be taken two ways:

(a) Write first, revise later. I'll bet if you asked most published authors how close their final draft was to their first draft, they'll say it's not even close. The long months you spend perfecting the first few chapters before finishing the rest of the novel may be wasted months if your editor or publisher disagrees with the placement or even relevance of the work. SO, just write the whole book.

(b) Sometimes our best ideas come not by inspiration but by perspiration. Get outside. Watch a movie. Watch your neighbors. Write notes on what you see. Use them.

Picture source: here 

Stephen Tremp from Breakthrough Blogs gave me the Meat and Potatoes Award. You should take a look at this man's insightful blog. He's a thriller/sci-fi writer and his blog contains amazing information on writing.

11 hours on this book! Are you wasting my time?

We want to treat our readers with respect.
We want to give our readers a treat.

Don't bore your reader to bits.

I think one reason that most writers suffer from writers block is that they're at the point in the story where the action lulls. Somewhere in the middle or right before the climax. At this point, it's so important not to settle for boring but find other interesting ways to fill the section.

(a) Could you release a character secret or two?
(b) A funny situation?
(c) A small subplot-twist?

Rule of thumb: If it bores you to write it, it'll bore them to read it.

Picture sources: here

Write Every Day!

Because I'm busy with family and friends - and freezing my butt off up North with the igloos and caribou - I've prepared some great SHORT writing posts. Little tips from me to you.

Here's the first tip: Write something everyday. 100 words, 500 words, 1000 words. Why?

If you're suffering from the Writer's-Block-Blues, try it. Even if it's crap.

Don't mock it until you try it.

Also, Nancy Williams, Fantasy Author gave me the Versatile Blogger award! Thank you so much. Please visit her blog. She's just released the cover on her new book and it looks wonderful!

Does E-Book Price Matter?

Fellow Canadian, Robin Spano's new mystery book (Dead Politician Society) came out recently and she decided to do a little experiment. What she found out is important for us new authors in the ever-changing publishing world.

This week, my publisher and I have been running a competitive experiment.

It started when they priced my new mystery novel, Dead Politician Society, at $10.99 for the e-book versions – on Kobo, Kindle, Nook, iBooks, and a few other epub sites.

I thought: Crazy. You can buy the trade paperback version for $10.79 on Amazon. An e-book shouldn't cost more. A book-buyer can't loan it out or swap it with a friend, and it costs less to produce. Charging half seems fair to everyone – the buyer, the writer, the publisher – I asked if they'd consider lowering it to $4.99.

My publisher – the cool and generally wonderful ECW Press – thinks: (a) people don't shop for books based on price, and (b) to charge less than the current industry standard is to devalue the work of one writer. Since they don't want to devalue me (which of course I appreciate), they don't want to lower the regular price – which is right in the middle of the industry's standard range for new releases.

BUT they're cutting-edge. They're willing to listen to what book-buyers say, and they were willing to try an experiment. For one week, Dead Politician Society has been $1.99 in the Kindle, Kobo, and iBooks stores. The idea was that if sales spiked, they'd acknowledge that their price structure might need adjusting. And if sales didn't spike, I'd concede that they were right – people don't buy books based on price.

What happened was somewhere in the middle. We haven't analysed the results yet together – the promo hasn't ended yet at all the sites, so I don't have all the stats – but I'll share what I can see:

If the goal was to sell 5x the number of e-books at 1/5 the regular price, then we've accomplished that many times over. Comments in the blogosphere have been astounding. For me, I'm ending this week feeling even more strongly that my position is right – e-books in general should cost less than they do.

But the sales spike seems to be ebbing – most of the sales were in the first few days, based on the only stats I have access to – Kindle sales rankings. On the first day of the experiment, the ranking shot from the mid hundred thousands down to just over 3,000^th. It hovered between there and 10, 000^th for the next few days – the rankings change fast! Then over the weekend, it's declined steadily – it's back around the 30,000^th mark. (I'm writing this on Sunday evening.)

What does this mean?

In a one-week experiment, it's hard to interpret that. Publicity has been about the same each day – if anything, it's picking up steam as new bloggers take interest and more people join the conversations. Comment sections are alive with interesting, thoughtful discussions on everything from how ebooks have affected small bookstores to the value of literature in today's increasingly philistine society (!).

So how to interpret the lull? Maybe people aren't online on weekends as much? Maybe the blogs who have been featuring the challenge share a large common audience? It's hard to say.

And the real question: Will my publisher like the results enough that he lowers the permanent price of my e-book? I'll post the results on Goodreads as soon as I have them.

You can find Robin at www.robinspano.com and be sure to buy her reasonably priced book here.

A fast-paced, readable debut...Spano spins an intriguing web...a page-turner...an enjoyable read, which bodes well for future entries. - Quill & Quire

How's Your Gramma... I mean Grammar?

I've started a new series on this blog. Well, it's not that new...
Anyway, I'm going to be posting grammar quizzes (one every two weeks) on various grammar modules. If you do well on the quiz, you know it's not a section you need to work on, if you don't, below the quiz I will be posting information about the topic.

How s Your Grammar » Quiz School

What is a noun?

a word that refers to a person, place, thing, event, substance or quality

'Doctor', 'tree', 'party', 'coal' and 'beauty' are all nouns.

What is a pronoun?

a word which is used instead of a noun or a noun phrase

Pronouns are often used to refer to a noun that has already been mentioned.

'She', 'it' and 'who' are all examples of pronouns.

What is an antecedent?

a word or phrase which a pronoun refers back to

In the sentence 'He picked a book off the shelf and handed it to Sally, 'book' is the antecedent of 'it'. 

Rule for Pronouns and Antecedents:
A pronoun must agree with its antecedent. Therefore, if the antecedent is plural, use a plural pronoun; if the antecedent is feminine, use a feminine pronoun, and so on.

Tables below show the breakdown of the English personal pronouns
along the four dimensions of case, person, number, and gender.

Singular	Subjective/Nominative			Objective			Possessive
	Male	Female	Neutral	Male	Female	Neutral	Male	Female	Neutral
First Person	I			me			mine
Second Person	you			you			yours
Third Person	he	she	it	him	her	it	his	hers	its

Plural	Subjective/Nominative			Objective			Possessive
	Male	Female	Neutral	Male	Female	Neutral	Male	Female	Neutral
First Person	we			us			ours
Second Person	you			you			yours
Third Person	they			them			theirs

Non-sexist language hint:

Some careful writers use "they" when the antecedent is an indefinite pronoun (such as anyone) to avoid making a sexist assumption; however, many other people think this disagreement in number is an error. Rewrite to avoid it whenever possible.

Sexist: If anyone was on top of things, he would know that.
Disagreement: If anyone was on top of things, they would know that.
Rewritten: Anyone who was on top of things would know that.


Source: The University of Calgary Education Department
ESL Desk
Cambridge Advanced Dictionary

Stephen Tremp's Villain Series: Villain's Relationship to the Good Guy

I'm so pleased to have the wonderful writer Stephen Tremp over today. He's written the first in an action-packed trilogy  - Breakthrough. You've probably heard of it. Please read the second blog in the Villain exchange: The Villain's Relationship to the Good Guy.

'The size of the villain determines the size of the hero. Without Goliath, David is just some punk, throwing rocks.' - Billy Crystal, My Giant

Any good story will need a plot, conflict, and fascinating characters. A great villain is a challenge to the antagonist regardless of the genre. They have to do something such as scare, frustrate, beat up, or temporarily defeat the good guy such as capturing him ala just about every James Bond movie. Creating a villain can be a complicated and frustrating, yet rewarding work for a writer. An audience has to either love, hate, or love to hate the villain. Regardless, there are two people, one trying to accomplish something, the other attempting to prevent it. You can work it either way with good guy and villain.

Lee Masterson states, put more simply, your villain has to be good about being a bad guy, and this forces your hero to be even better. The hero is reflected or infected by the villain which causes more conflict. Always be thinking conflict. Often, it’s the villain who takes the initiative and good guy has greatness thrust upon him to stop the bad guy.

Melanie Anne Phillips writes, the villain represents the counterpoint to the audience position. “Yet each is driven to do what he believes is right. So who is right? Well, in fact, that is what a story built around these characters would be all about” Usually the good guy takes the high ground. But why not put a twist on things and have the villain take the high ground. The problem is he uses violence as a means to attain his goal. That’s the conflict.

Following are a few relationships the antagonist and protagonist share:

• It’s not Personal. It’s Just Business. Tom Cruise as Vincent in Collateral. The villain and good guy may or may not know each other. Doesn’t matter either way. Tom Cruise is focused and has a job to do.
• The Reasons for the Villain’s Existence is the Existence of the Protagonist. Example: The Joker in Batman. “Batman: Then why do you want to kill me? The Joker: [laughs] I don't want to kill you! What would I do without you?”
• The Villain is the Mentor to the Antagonist. A writer can be extremely creative in the relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist. Example: Training Day: L.A.P.D detective Alonzo Harris (Denzel Washington) mentors Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) on what could be the worst first day on the job ever. Few things are worse than a corrupt cop and Hoyt finds this out the hard way.
• Family Members. A villain can be close to the antagonist and try to lure the good guy over to their side. They find a void in their life. It could be finances or love. Example: The Ice Truck Killer in season one of Dexter. He was Dexter’s brother that Dexter did not know existed. Conflict: Will Dexter kill him according to his code, or will he join forces with him? In the movie Jumper, a genetic anomaly allows a young man to teleport himself anywhere. He discovers this gift has existed for centuries and finds himself in a war that has been raging for thousands of years between "Jumpers" and those who have sworn to kill them. (very cool use of wormholes). Conflict: the character’s long lost mother was part of this group sworn to kill Jumpers and kill him.

Who’s Point of View (POV). Finally, a good writer will show to the reader the villains POV of the protagonist. Too often I read a book where the protagonist is described by his own POV and not the villain’s. Why does the villain hate the good guy so much? Is the protagonist even aware? Two diametrically POVs of the protagonist thus emerge. This is an excellent opportunity to allow the bad guy’s true badness to emerge and the good guy’s position to be strengthened.

Stephen Tremp blogs at Breakthrough Blogs and is author of the Near Future SciFi Thriller Breakthrough.
If you feel this blog is worthy, go ahead and make my day. Re-tweet it.

I'm at Stephen's House - come on over!

Today, I'm posting at Stephen Tremp's blog. I would love it if you stopped by. We're doing a villain's exchange. I'm discussing How To Catch A Villain!

Here's the link...

Also, I've added a My Blog List gadget on my sidebar. If your a regular reader and commenter and you're not on that list (keep in mind, only the latest 25 who posted are displayed) let me know and I'll add you.

Mystery Writer's Guide to Forensic Science - Poisons IX

Note: If you are reading this information because you plan to use it on your spouse or in-laws, please leave. This guide if for the use of writers or students only. If you murder someone, you will be caught.

NERIUM OLEANDER

AKA: Oleander

Where is it found? All over the world. N. oleander is native to a broad area from Morocco and Portugal eastward through the Mediterranean region and southern Asia to Yunnan in southern parts of China. It typically occurs around dry stream beds.

Symptoms: Ingestion can cause both gastrointestinal and cardiac effects. The gastrointestinal effects can consist of nausea and vomiting, excess salivation, abdominal pain, diarrhea that may or may not contain blood. Cardiac reactions consist of irregular heart rate, sometimes characterized by a racing heart at first that then slows to below normal further along in the reaction. The heart may also beat erratically with no sign of a specific rhythm. Extremities may become pale and cold due to poor or irregular circulation. Reactions to poisonings from this plant can also affect the central nervous system. These symptoms can include drowsiness, tremors or shaking of the muscles, seizures, collapse, and even coma that can lead to death. Oleander sap can cause skin irritations, severe eye inflammation and irritation, and allergy reactions characterized by dermatitis.

Fast or Slow Acting: Fast

How is used as a poison? Ingestion or inhalation

How can you make it so the victim won't notice it? The poisons are said to survive burning so cooking over a fire of oleander wood is said to cause the poison to transfer via the smoke to meat being cooked. Most people get poisoned through eating some part of the plant.

What would the autopsy find? Using blood and urine test, they can determine death by Oleander poisoning.

Case study:
During the Peninsular Wars some of Wellington's soldiers are alleged to have died after eating meat cooked on skewers made from the wood.
In 1989, the Western Journal of Medicine reported the case of an 83 year old woman who attempted suicide by drinking a tea made of an infusion of Oleander leaves. She suffered severe bradycardia with a pulse rate of 40 and was treated with atropine to counteract this. There are other reports in the literature of failed suicide attempts.

Sources:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerium_oleander
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002884.htm
http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/nerium_oleander.htm
http://www.ehow.com/about_5137480_symptoms-oleander-poisoning.html
http://health.nytimes.com/health/guides/poison/oleander/overview.html

Book Review: Breakthrough by Stephen Tremp

Breakthrough
Writer: Stephen Tremp
Blog: http://stephentremp.blogspot.com/
Paperback: here
Kindle: here
Genre: Science Fiction/Thriller

How I read it: Kindle

Synopsis: In a world where the Information Age is moving at breakneck speed, breakthroughs in areas of science that were once fodder for science fiction are now becoming a part of our everyday life.
A group of graduate students from Massachusetts Institute of Technology have stolen a breakthrough in opening and stabilizing Einstein-Rosen Bridges, or wormholes, as they are commonly known, that allows them to transport people from one location to another. Their goal is to assassinate any powerful politician and executive controlling the world's banking system that would use this technology for their own greedy gain rather than the advancement of mankind.
Meanwhile, in south Orange County, California, young Chase Manhattan, part of a new breed of modern-day discovery seekers, seeks to leave behind his life of danger and adventure and settle down as an associate professor of physics at UC-Irvine in Orange County. He also desires to build a relationship with the beautiful girl he has not seen since high school.
But within days, he uncovers the diabolical scheme on the other side of the country and finds himself the one person who can prevent more murders from happening and ultimately destroy the technology. However, once the MIT group realizes Chase and his friends have the ability and motivation to not only take the breakthrough technology from them, but also thwart more killings, Chase soon finds himself in their crosshairs, the latest target on their list of assassinations.
As the death toll mounts, Chase and his friends must battle this group of ambitious graduate students from MIT on both coasts and in cyberspace in a race to control or destroy this breakthrough that threatens to drastically change life as we know it.

My Thoughts: I was fortunate to review chapter 58 of this novel about a month ago and from what I read, I was addicted. From the very first chapter until the end I was mesmerized. The action keeps going and going like an Energizer Bunny.

I like books with a lot of action but I think the best thing about the novel was the things I learned about science. Tremp talks about complex subjects explored by Einstein and make them fascinating. Parallel universes and time travel. How it could work and how it can't.

Another thing I liked about the novel was that he spent many chapters in the POV of the villains. It made me relate to him/her in a way that I often found myself rooting for them.

If you're looking for a fast-paced, exciting science fiction novel, pick this one up. Hmmm, I should also add that this is the first book in the trilogy so although it does solve some of the issues, many have not been cleaned up. Do I want to pick up book two? YES!

A Warning For Readers: This book is a thriller and contains some violent scenes. Some may find it a bit gruesome.

Oh, I can't believe I forgot. Laura Eno from A Shift in Dimensions gave me the wonderful Go Away I'm Writing award. If you haven't checked out her new blog, do so now!

Change Is Here!

Well, I'm bloody exhausted. I've been traveling for seven days and although I enjoyed the sights, I'm thankful I arrived in Calgary, Alberta, Canada late Friday. I spent Saturday doing loads and loads of laundry... oh, and worked on my blog.

I feel I have a lot to put on my blog and two columns just weren't cutting it. Also, I felt the large post column was difficult to read across. (Let me know if there is something you want to see on my layout.)

Well, I'll try it for awhile and see what happens. I'm also going to be working on the Menu bar at the top of the page. Oh, and in case my editors are reading this, I'm also doing my edits. No, I really am.

I leave you with two pictures from C-A-N-A-D-A.

When you see this...

... you need this.

Pictures from my trip so far...

From my hotel room in Pismo, California

Hearst Castle, San Simeon

Roman Pool, Hearst Castle, San Simeon - Kinda reminds me of the pool scene from the Great Gatsby movie.

I just love the video above, it's of the Elephant Seals that are beached along the shores of San Simeon. They are just so cute. Especially the little ones.

Loving the Hating Game!

New Poll --->

Help Talli Roland's debut novel THE HATING GAME hit the Kindle bestseller list at Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk by spreading the word today. Even a few sales in a short period of time on Amazon helps push the book up the rankings, making it more visible to other readers.

Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.to/hNBkJk

Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/hX2ieD

No Kindle? Download a free app at Amazon for Mac, iPhone, PC, Android and more.

Coming soon in paperback.  Keep up with the latest at www.talliroland.com.

About THE HATING GAME:

When man-eater Mattie Johns agrees to star on a dating game show to save her ailing recruitment business, she's confident she'll sail through to the end without letting down the perma-guard she's perfected from years of her love 'em and leave 'em dating strategy. After all, what can go wrong with dating a few losers and hanging out long enough to pick up a juicy £2000,000 prize? Plenty, Mattie discovers, when it's revealed that the contestants are four of her very unhappy exes. Can Mattie confront her past to get the prize money she so desperately needs, or will her exes finally wreak their long-awaited revenge? And what about the ambitious TV producer whose career depends on stopping her from making it to the end?