Arsenic, cyanide, and strychnine are the classic poisons. The seemingly innocent little old ladies in Arsenic and Old Lace, one of my favorite movies, used these three poisons in their deadly elderberry wine. One gallon of this toxic wine contained one teaspoon of arsenic, half a teaspoon of strychnine, and just a pinch of cyanide. Unsuspecting…
Confusing Words, Fiction Writing, Words
Confusing Words from Cited to Cold
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• •Does a bear have clause or claws? Would a scene in a book be climacteric, climactic, or climatic? Would you climb or clime a mountain? Should you heat your home with coal or with cole? Are snowy winter nights coaled or cold? cited, sighted, sited Cited is the past tense of cite. The attorney cited the…
Collective Nouns, Fiction Writing, Phobias, Writing Prompts and Exercises
A Barrel of Monkeys
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• •Fiction Writing, Poisons, Writing Prompts and Exercises
Monkshood, the Killer Plant
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• •Monkshood, the queen of poisons, is known by many names: wolfsbane, aconite, leopard’s bane, women’s bane, devil’s helmet, blue rocket, and friar’s cap. Her beauty is astounding, but her flowers of white, cream, yellow, blue, or purple are deadly. The Plant and its Poison Each part of this gorgeous flower, especially the leaves and roots,…
Fiction Writing, Guest Posts, Writing
The Art of Teleportation – Guest Post by Richard Petracca
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• •When you read, the words should magically teleport you to another land, time, or universe filled with other people, animals, or creatures. You lose yourself in a fantasy world and live vicariously through someone, maybe even something, else. The enchanting art of teleportation needs to be used as you write. Put yourself in the place…
Confusing Words, Fiction Writing, Words
Confusing Words from Charted to Cite
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• •Would someone choose or chews a new car? Would one wear a coat when the weather is Chile, chili, chilli, or chilly? When you practice firing your gun, would you chute it or shoot it? charted, chartered If something has been charted, a course of action has been planned. The captain charted his route before he left…
Author Interviews, Writing
Fenton Grace Interview: Society, Sexual Boundaries, and Advice for Writers
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• •Book Reviews, Fiction Writing, New Words Learned, Romance, Suspense/Thrillers, Words
Monday, Sunday – a Review
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• •Monday, Sunday isn’t a book that every person will be able handle reading. This book explores the boundaries of sexual attraction between older females and teenage boys. To broach such a difficult, almost taboo, subject took skill. Fenton Grace did an amazing job writing this tale of love and betrayal. I knew before I got…
Book Reviews, Children's Books
Mia’s Quest for Courage – a Review
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• •Fiction Writing, Suffering for Beauty, Writing Prompts and Exercises
Suffering for Beauty – the Victorian Corset
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• •A corset is an undergarment worn by some women to enhance the shape of their body. It is made stiff by whalebone or some other stiff material, and it is tightened by having the laces pulled. Remember Scarlett O’Hara’s tiny waist? She achieved such a small middle by wearing a corset and having the laces…