Write Stuff: 2012

Monday, December 31, 2012

Happy New Year!

I am still lacking a decent internet connection (trying to post from my phone is not so easy!) but I would be remiss if I did not take a moment to say how much I appreciate everyone who frequents my blog, and all of my readers! 2012 has been an awesome year, filled with lots of adventures, and 2013 is looking to be just as fun. Well, minus the flying around the world (bummer) but The Chemistry of Fate will release and I cannot wait for that! I managed to read 50 books this past year (definitely down from previous years, but with teaching this past semester....) and I am looking forward to many more this coming year :)

Hope you all have a safe and fun New Year!

You know what I'd like for Christmas this year?

By: Meradeth Houston on 2:33 PM

I'll admit it: for people to go pick up a copy of Colors Like Memories. You know you want to :) Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

Yep, that was a shameless plea. I know it. It's all good. (Actually, I have too little time to do a real Science Sunday post today, so that's what happens!)

I do really hope you all are having a lovely holiday season, are getting to spend some time with family (and they aren't driving you mad...yet) and you are safe and warm. Thanks for such an incredible year and I'll be back after the New Year!

And now, something that made me laugh. Because some of us need it this time of year :)
Unfortunately placed stickers

Thankful Thursdays

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:25 AM

Wait, it is Thursday, right? (And yes, I did just have to check my calendar...) So, it's one of those weeks. You know the kind: insane amounts of stuff to do, holiday music taunting you at every store with the reminder that your shopping isn't done (I'm not the only one who feels that way, right? :). Anyhow, time to take a second for some thankfulness. Please join in with a comment if you feel so inclined!

I get to see my family! Yay! I miss them and can't wait to go get pedi's with the girls :)
My BFF and I are finally going to go see Twilight. We've gone to every other one together and she waited for me to come home to go see it. I honestly can't wait (there may be uncontrollable giggling at the cheesiness, but hey, that's Twilight!)
My revisions for book #2 are IN. Okay, I'm expecting another round in January, but the ones I was struggling with are fin, finito! Major thanks to some massive help from Katie on that!
Grades are in and I survived my first semester as a professor. I'm not sure I'm counting this a success yet because next semester has the real potential to kill me. We shall see.
My ten-year wedding anniversary is coming up. There's definitely an element of holy-frick-ten-years-how-did-that-freaking-happen, but it's still an awesome thing!

And now, it's time for some hot chocolate

After Reading: Until I Die by Amy Plum

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:00 AM

Kate and Vincent have overcome the odds and at last they are together in Paris, the city of lights and love.

As their romance deepens there’s one question they can’t ignore: How are they supposed to be together if Vincent can’t resist sacrificing himself to save others? Although Vincent promises that he’ll do whatever it takes to lead a normal life with Kate, will that mean letting innocent people die? When a new and surprising enemy reveals itself, Kate realizes that even more may be at stake—and that Vincent’s immortality is in jeopardy.

I think one of the main reasons why I love this series so much is because it makes me want to move to Paris, like, yesterday. The setting is so rich, and so well described, that I just love it. Of course, throw in an amazing Vincent, a lovely lady Kate, and a really interesting world with the Revenants, and I'm totally hooked. This was the second book in the series and there were a few parts that dragged toward the beginning as the new mystery unfolded, then things took off like crazy toward the end and I couldn't put it down. Now I have to wait for the next one, which is just plain not fair!! Also, what the heck is going on with Jules? I'm totally curious there :)

Seriously though, Paris. Gotta love it!

Have you ever read a book that's made you want to up and move?

Science Sunday: Radiocarbon Dating

By: Meradeth Houston on 10:14 AM

Welcome back to Science Sunday. It's been heck of a week. Unfortunately not in a good way. My heart goes out to those in Connecticut that lost love ones. The events there are incomprehensible to me. As a teacher, even of adults, I just can't see how anyone would enter a classroom with a gun and open fire. It hurts my heart.

I do want to write about science today, and I have a great topic (I think) to share. Have you ever heard of radiocarbon dating? And by dating, I don't mean dinner and a movie. I mean, estimating the age of something :) (ooooh, bad joke, but I can't resist telling it!) Anyhow, this is a form of radiometric dating, or estimating the age of an artifact, layer of soil, or something else that uses the principle of radioactive decay and half-lives. Oh no, duck and cover, we are entering chemistry and physics territory!

I promise, I'll make this simple :)

Say you have some archaeologists excavating a site and they want to know how old things are, or your character finds some artifact and they have the money and means (some connection with the type of lab that does this work--it is pricey) to get an age estimate. Whatever the reason, they're able to get a sample of something that was once alive (this part is vital--it must have once been living!). Anyhow, if they're estimating the age of an archaeological site, picking the right thing to be dated is also vital, because you want to chose something that was associated with when people were actually there--not something that was dragged in later. Charcoal from a fireplace always works well :)

Okay, once you've got a sample, usually it's handled as little as possible. Otherwise it can be contaminated. And by that, I mean introducing carbon (only one of the most common elements on earth) into the sample. If this isn't possible, getting it tested will often mean attempting to get at a spot within the artifact that hasn't been touched a whole lot (this same kind of thing goes for ancient DNA samples too, FYI).

Okay, sample obtained, and usually it's then sent to a lab. The process for testing the radiocarbon age isn't something that can be done at home. I have a friend that used to work at one of these labs and it's highly tricky. What they're basically going to do is measure the ratio of the unstable isotope of carbon (carbon 14) and the normal carbon isotope (carbon 12). It's this ratio that's important, and allows for estimating age.

A word about Carbon 14: it's made by high energy particles (like cosmic rays) entering the atmosphere from space, messing up carbon atoms and introducing two extra neutrons (you know, the neutral bits of matter found in the nucleus of the atom with the protons--there's some extra complexity here that I'm going to skip over...). Carbon 13 can also be made, but it's a little more rare. This Carbon 14 is found at a fairly stable rate in the world (though fluctuations for the last few thousand years or more have been measured), and it is continuously degrading (turning into) carbon 12 by losing those extra neutrons.

During life, a person is constantly consuming carbon, both the 12 and 14 varieties, through the food we eat, water we drink, etc. So all living things have about the same ratio of carbon 12 to 14 that is in the atmosphere. But once something dies, it is no longer absorbing Carbon 12 or 14, and the amount of the unstable Carbon 14 starts to decay in to Carbon 12. This will happen at a pretty predictable rate, based on the half-life of the isotope (by half-life I mean how long, on average, it takes for half the unstable isotope to decay into its more stable form--Carbon 12). This is about 5000 years for carbon, which is actually pretty quick :) The trick is to measure how much of each of these there are in the sample.

So, the ratio of how much C14 and C12 there is left in a once-living sample allows for telling how old something is! Pretty cool, right?

The thing about this short half-life is that it only allows for dating stuff that's less than 50k years old. Any older than that, and all the carbon 14 is decayed and gone. There are other methods, based on the same principle (like Potassium-Argon, or Uranium-Lead dating) that have much longer half-lives and allow for dating stuff that's much older.

Anyhow, that's it in a nutshell. Questions? Possible writing applications?

My Homemade Christmas

By: Meradeth Houston on 10:35 AM

So, whatever gods decided to have my revisions and final grades due at the same time clearly hates me :) Anyhow, in lieu of a better blog post I thought I'd share some pics of the little things I've been making as Christmas gifts this year. I have a bakers dozen worth of nieces and nephews, along with a bunch of other people I generally get gifts for, and well, it's a little hard on the pocketbook this year. So, I've been getting my craft on and making a few things. See:

Wrap bracelets that are oh-so-simple and I've been making in a million colors.

Scrabble tile necklaces.

Another tile--not the best pic, but one of my favorites.

I learned how to make these accordion-style notebooks in Japan and I use them for everything now. They are basically just a blank book.

Floral hair-clips.

Wire-wrapped rings--all kinds of colors and patterns.

Mexican Hot Chocolate mix I made from scratch. Super tasty and is a fun gift (at least, I think so!).

I may be more than a little nuts attempting to do more homemade things this year, but it's been fun!

After Reading: Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:00 AM

Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.

This one has been on my TBR list for ages, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up! While it took me a bit to get into the story (I was totally repelled by Zak from the start and he creeped me out at the beginning) as soon as Alden showed up the story really picked up and I was wrapped up in the story. I loved the unique nature of the story and the fun world Lindsey created. I love a spin on the general talks-to-ghosts themes, and I think Shattered Souls was just that, along with a crazy organization that needed some rules changed--another favorite theme of mine. Plus, Lenzi totally managed to pull off how creeped out all of the things she was seeing would have given any person. I would have totally gone nuts! Looking forward to the next book :)

Science Sunday: Skeletal Remains

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:30 AM

Welcome to Science Sundays! Today I thought I'd launch into a topic I spent a while going over with my students this past week: how to tell the sex of an individual from the skeleton. More specifically I thought I'd hit the high points of the pelvis, because really there are textbooks worth of information on this subject :)

This is the view from the back (butt side).

Okay, starting off with the pelvis itself: it's official name is the os coxae and it's made up of two halves, connected in the back by the sacrum (the lower fused part of the spinal column). It happens to be the best spot to tell what sex an individual was due to all kinds of differences between males and females. Do keep in mind that all of these traits exhibit a range of variation because all humans are different, so there may be some traits that overlap in their distribution between males and females.

(Confusing you yet? Here's an example: males are generally taller than females, so a tall skeleton would be thought to be more likely male than female, but of course there are tall females too, so it could also be a female. Same thing applies here--the range of variation may be leaning toward one sex, but sometimes the variability falls into the grey area in the middle.)

highlighted area is the notch.

Anyhow, say you've got a character stumbling across a skeleton in the woods. The best way they're going to be able to tell if the person was male or female would be by looking at the greater sciatic notch. This is going to be right below the part of the pelvis where the top of the femur (upper leg bone) fits in. It'll be a giant, well, notch :) Females generally tend to have a more U shaped notch, whereas males tend to have a more V shaped notch. This is kind of the quick and dirty way to get at the sex.

The 1 is more female, the 5 more male.

Now, I'd never recommend touching remains that are found unless there's a real reason to. Why? Well there's all kinds of forensic evidence that can be accidentally messed with, let alone leaving behind some of your own, so it's better to Not Touch. Buuuut, if your character decides they have to for some reason there are a few other things that can be looked for:

Prearicular sulcus region.

>The prearicular sulcus. This is going to be on the top side of the sciatic notch, close to the auricular surface (the rough patch if the sacrum has become disconnected, or next to the sacrum is still attached, right by that). If there's a small, long divot (sulcus) there, then it's more likely to be female.

>There are three traits that are found on the pubis bone of the pelvis (each half of the pelvis is actually made up if three, fused bones [in adulthood] that are known at the ilium, ischium, and pubis). The pubic bone is the one that comes together in the front, belly-side of the body in the pubic area (hence the name!). These traits are kind of hard to describe without actually looking at a bone but if you're curious, these are things that can also be analyzed:

Ventral Arc: A is female, B is male.

Subpubic concavity: C is female, D is male.

Ischiopubic ramus ridge: B is female, F is male.

-Ventral Arc.
-Subpubic Concavity.
-Ischiopubic Ramus Ridge.

Yay! So, that's the best way to tell what sex an individual was in life. Do keep in mind this doesn't mean their gender :) (I always kind of wonder if this gets any more particularly confusing in areas with large LBQT communities where the sex an individual is born with can be different from their gender--the underlying bones don't change without obvious modification...something random I think about, which is probably an insight into my mind that you didn't want to know!)

Questions?

Guest Post with Conda Douglas, author of A CRISPY RICE CHRISTMAS (and rice crispy treats!)

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

It is my special treat today to bring you Conda Douglas and her awesome treats! Be sure to shout out a warm welcome in the comments!

Crispy Rice Cereal Bar Recipe (almost foolproof)

Hi Meradeth, thanks so much for having me on your blog today. In honor of my upcoming release, A Crispy Rice Christmas, a story about a gal with boyfriend and baking troubles, I'm sharing my recipe for these bars (and check out the variations) and the story of the one time they were a disaster.

Last Christmas I made these in the eggnog version and decided to add red food coloring to make it more, um, festive. So I added a generous tablespoon of red. And then another. And another. Till I'd used up all the red food coloring, the whole bottle. Still the rice crispy treats remained stubbornly pink instead of Christmassy red. With a shrug, I took them to a Christmas party, after all they tasted great. But no one would touch the ultra-pink bars. No one. Ah well, live and learn.

So, here's the recipe (without any food coloring):

Basic Recipe:
4 tablespoons margarine or butter
6 cups crispy rice cereal
1 16 ounce bag of marshmallows (fresh white mini marshmallows work best, not the multi-colored ones, trust me)
In a large saucepan, heat the butter on medium heat until it melts. Add marshmallows and stir constantly until marshmallows all melt. Remove from heat. Add crispy rice cereal and stir well. Using a greased spatula, spread mixture in a buttered 15 X 10 inch pan. Cut into bars when cooled.

Okay, now for the variations:
Add vanilla or rum or orange or lemon extract, a teaspoon or two.
Add a cup of nuts, or raisins or any dried fruit, or a cup of chocolate or butterscotch bits (or a third a cup of each!).
Add any spices you like, nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, or cardamom. This time of year, you can make "eggnog" bars by adding a bit of vanilla and rum extract (more rum extract) and some nutmeg.
Add 1/3 cup of cocoa.
Or be daring and trying adding a little bit of chili pepper spice to the cocoa! Strange but good if you like it weird and spicy!

A Crispy Rice Christmas is available here for pre-order (all e-book formats) at 20% off! http://tinyurl.com/9w5ku6f

If Beth can't figure out a way to seduce her love's picky appetite, she fears her relationship is toast—burnt. She cooks up a plan only to have it boil over. What's a terrible cook to do? Can Beth brave a winter storm in search of a Christmas dish to save her relationship—or will the holidays be a distasteful disaster?

For more about me here are a few links.
Blog: http://condascreativecenter.blogspot.com
Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/condadouglas/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/Conda_V
Amazon author page: https://www.amazon.com/author/condadouglas

Winner of the Book of Your Choice Giveaway!

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:36 AM

Thank you SO much to everyone who entered my Thankfulness Giveaway. It was an amazing turn-out and I loved reading all of your comments. And it's always fun to get new followers *waves.*

So, without further ado, the winner chosen by the awesomeness that is random.org is:

Allie Liang!!

A hearty congratulations to Allie! I've emailed you, but if I don't hear back in 72 hours, I'll pick another winner.

Again, thanks a million to all who entered! I'll have to do something fun in the New Year, so stay tuned!

The Liebster Award

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:00 AM

A very big thank you to Lorrie Struiff for nominating me! Very much appreciated :) Also, she has an awesome blog, so I highly recommend checking it out!

What is The Liebster Award you ask?
Well, it's an award given to up-and-coming bloggers who have less than 200 followers. Think of it as a virtual pat on the back. A bit of recognition for doing a good job and encouragement to keep going.
And let's not forget the bloggers that have been blogging for a while and have great blogs.
(Yeah, that last line is needed here--definitely don't exactly fit the 200 followers thing, but that's cool!)

So Lorrie has some great questions for me to answer:

Perfect!

1. If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would purchase?
>A plane ticket somewhere warm. Preferably with a large house on the beach somewhere waiting for me. (Can you tell is hasn't been above freezing here for a while. Brrr!)

2. Is there something unique about you that you’d like to share with the readers?
>Unique or weird? I could do either... I'm going to go with weird. It's more entertaining. Okay, so I can move my eyelids back and forth horizontally (not just blinking). I should take a video to make this clear, but I'm really soooo not going there.

3. Where is your dream place to live and why?
>Hmm, somewhere warm! Actually, if I had my druthers, San Diego if I were staying state-side, and probably somewhere in Spain if not.

4. What do you find is the most difficult part of the writing process?
>Revisions! Arg. I love drafting. Fixing my giant mess into something resembling a book afterward? Not so fun :)

5. Tell us something about yourself that we don’t know.
>Hmm, what secrets hadn't I divulged on here? Probably that I hate veggies. Honestly, don't eat em. It's not something I'm proud of, and I'll regret it at some point I'm sure, but that's okay.

6. Do you have any pet peeves?
>Aside from students who expect to be spoon-fed their studies without having to put in any effort? Not really :)

7. Do you have any special habits you do when you write?
>I adore writing in cafe's, or any place with other people. People watching is particularly inspiring for me!

8. Did you ever write your friends or family members in your books?
>Nope. And hope I never do! I may borrow little quirks and such, but never a whole person (Mom, you can stop worrying about this now!)

9. What is your favorite drink?
>Hot chocolate. I make it from scratch just about every day.

10. Who gives you the best encouragement to keep writing?
>The utter release I get from writing--escaping into my own private world is seriously the best reward.

11. Do you have a critique group or a special author circle?
>Oh, thank heavens, yes. I love my writing buddies. They keep me sane!

Okay, the last part of this award is to list 11 random things about myself. This may get strange!

1) I love studying dead people--no really. Like long dead. 2) I can name all of our hominin ancestors and write them out in the currently understood order. 3) I'm a scientist of the white-coat variety, can ya tell? 4) I think PCR is quite possibly the most elegant thing one can do with heating and cooling and heating again (I hate that this really good joke will be lost on most, but watch this to see what I mean--it's too funny!). 5) I still hate statistics, even though I have to teach it. 6) I've been writing in my journal daily since I was too little to write--I used to make my mom do it for me. Wow am I a nerd. 7) If I could figure out genetic engineering, I'd totally figure out how to give the ability to fly. 8) Are you still reading this? Seriously? 9) If I could meet anyone from the past I'd love to have a long chat with Gregor Mendel. I have a historical crush on the guy. 10) I make jewelry in my spare time. What spare time? The same spare time I use to write books. 11) Someday I'll be a best-selling author, come hook or crook!

Okay, so for the tagging, I am beyond pleased to pass along this award to Katie Carroll (have you read Elixir Bound? You really need to!) and her fabulous blog. Go check it out!

Also, another fellow MuseItUp author Michelle Pickett! You should also seriously go check out her Concilium series--it's awesome!! Check out her blog here!

Both of these awesome ladies are asked to answer the questions I was given above, and pass along the award :)

MAKE BELIEVE launch day!

By: Meradeth Houston on 4:00 AM

Announcement:

Exciting news! Lynda R. Young’s short story titled Birthright has been published
by J. Taylor Publishing in the
Make Believe anthology launched TODAY! Virtual cake for everyone!!
Make Believe is currently available in e-book format and includes
Paranormal Romance and Fantasy stories inspired by the image on the cover. This will make
great holiday reading.

Birthright by Lynda R. Young
Christa can mask the pain and hide the scars, but running from a birthright is impossible.

She’s tried to escape her grief by fleeing to a small town in Florida. Much to her
frustration, the locals think they recognize her even though she's never been there before. To
make things worse, a man named Jack spouts outrageous theories about her.

Both spur Christa to bolt, to start fresh yet again, but there’s something about Jack that
intrigues her enough to stay. The only problem? Someone else wants her to leave, and they
won’t stop until she’s dead.

Blurbs from all the stories included in Make Believe can be found on the J. Taylor
Publishing website HERE</
a>.

Purchase Links: Don't forget to fill this in. Go here for links: http://
www.jtaylorpublishing.com/books/17

About Lynda R. Young:

Lynda R. Young lives in Sydney, Australia, with her sweetheart of a husband who
is her rock, and a cat who believes world domination starts in the home. She writes
speculative short stories and is currently writing novels for young adults. In her
spare time she also dabbles in photography and all things creative. You can find her
here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads

Science Sundays: What is punctuated equilibrium?

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:00 AM

Welcome back to Science Sunday! If you haven't had a chance to enter my giveaway, hop over and do that really quick, okay? Trust me, you won't regret it!

So, today, I thought I'd talk about a part of evolutionary theory that's always, always getting messed up on TV and movies. This is punctuated equilibrium, which is basically when evolution speeds up during a period of time, creating change at a rate that was faster than what had previously been seen.

Here's the thing about evolution (which at its most basic is just change over time--species and traits slowly change over time) is that there are a few things about it which are very interesting. What I'm dealing with here is the fact that the pace of change (evolution) can change. During times when a species is existing in a stable environment that it's well suited to, and no new adaptations have arisen due to chance, then a species may sit in stasis and not change a whole lot over long periods of time. Think about the alligator as a good example: that species hasn't changed much in ages!

But, there will be times when something will shift in the environment, or a new really beneficial mutation will randomly come along, and a species will change really fast. This happened in our human ancestor's brain size: the brain size remained small--not much bigger than chimps--for a very long time after the human lineage split with our closest relative. But about 1.8 million years ago we see a dramatic shift in brain size, a jump to a size that while not the same as ours, was still much larger than a chimps.

Do keep in mind that these rapid periods of change don't forgo the basics of how evolution works. It's just a faster process from time to time. So, something kicks of a change in the population (this is most likely going to be a change in the environment), and only those with a certain trait survive. They then pass along the trait that allowed them to survive to their offspring, and suddenly the population looks different in this new generation as there are more of the genes that were beneficial that were passed along. If this process is fast, or severe (so lots of individuals without the trait) die, then it can look like really a really fast change. The underlying process is no different from a gradual shift though.

This last part is what I always see getting mixed up, where shows think that very rapid evolution means they can skip over the randomness of a new mutation arising, or the process of it coming to high frequency in a population. Le sigh. I tend to yell at a lot of fictional characters....

So, tell me what you think? Does that make some kind of sense?

When Revisions Bite Back

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:18 AM

(Side note to plug my ongoing giveaway--have you entered yet?)

Okay, so I've mentioned this here and there, but I'm in the middle of revisions for my WIP An Absence of Light. Aaand it's kicking my trash. To top that off, I just received my first round of edits from my editor for Sary book #2, The Chemistry of Fate. Yay. So, I think I will probably be editing until my fingers fall off. Fun image, right? Writers out there, you totally know what I mean :)

While thinking about this this morning I started making my Plan Of Attack and thought I'd share it here, mainly in hopes of hearing your battle strategies on how to go about handling the mass of revisions that may get handed your way.

1. To start, I read through all the comments I have. This will either be from my beta-readers (I love you guys, you have NO idea!), or my editor (who is fantabulous. Yes, that required using a made-up word--appropriate, yes?). I like to have a sense of everything I need to fix before I start.

2. Make a list of the biggest things that are going to need to be changed. I have a notebook to do this in, or my whiteboard, but it needs to be written down somewhere so that I can check it off at some point. I *live* for that check-mark of "done-ness."

3. Go through the whole thing and fix the minor things, misspelled words, horrible turns-of-phrase, and get a sense of where to start. Sometimes I can't help myself and I start in on one of the bigger changes that needs to happen at this point, thought I should probably wait. This also helps to refresh my memory on all the little plot points and things I may have forgotten since I wrote the thing.

4. Start in on the list. I usually tackle the biggest things first, like deleting a character (I'm so sorry Eddy from my WIP--but you had to go. I will miss you in all your awesome hottness, but you weren't working out). I usually try to stick to one or two major things at a time, get those working, then move on. This way I don't end up with a jumbled mess that can't ever be pulled back together (because I've never done that...no never *whistles and looks around all innocent*).

5. Once the main things are done, I go back through looking for places that are too bare, need a pretty word, or better description. Also, I live in fear of paper-thin characters, so I do my best to ensure they're okay at this point too.

6. One last read through to make sure it all makes sense.

7. Usually another round of beta-reading if I can ~~connive~~ convince them to read it again :) Then start the process all over again.

Oh wow I'm tired just thinking about doing all this right now. Again. Thank heavens I love it!

After Reading: The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:14 AM

(Little note to say that if you haven't entered my giveaway for a book of your choice, what are you waiting for??)

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? it's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House...before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

I've been meaning to pick up the Darkest Powers series for quite a while now as it's come very highly recommended, so it was a treat to finally get to read them! I did enjoy this first book in the series, though it took a bit for me to get into it. It wasn't until later in this book that things picked up, which I guess is a factor of it being a series, so that's fine. I did enjoy the concern Chloe experienced at really thinking she might be schizophrenic, as that certainly would freak me out--I kind of wish Armstrong would have played on this more. But, learning the truth about Chloe's abilities was certainly interesting. And Lyle House, um, freaky central! Anyhow, I will look forward to the rest of the series, and hope it picks up with the action that this one ended on!

Have you read this series? Thoughts?

Science Sunday: Where were turkeys domesticated in the first place?

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:56 AM

Welcome back to Science Sundays! First things first: have you entered my giveaway for a book of your choice? Just leave a comment at this post, and enter the rafflecopter! Very simple :)

And if you're looking for a lovely, 5* read for this Sunday afternoon, Colors Like Memories is on sale at my publisher's website--50% off! Worth checking out, right? Still want Amazon? It's on sale there too :) (Why yes, that was a shameless plug for my book, but hey, someone's gotta sell it. And buying a copy earns you oodles of entries in my giveaway!)

Okay, science, back to it!

So, today, as many of us indulge in post-thanksgiving turkey leftovers (I need to learn how to make turkey soup!) I got to thinking about where turkeys come from in the first place. My friend, and professor at the University of Washington, Dr. Brian Kemp, and his co-authors (Camilla Spencer) have done a little ancient DNA research into this very topic, so I thought I'd draw on their article and talk about it here!

For those of you who don't know this, turkeys are birds indigenous to the New World, and according to Spencer, Kemp et al were domesticated at least twice in Native American populations. To figure this all out, they looked at mitochondrial DNA in modern and ancient turkey samples and compared the diversity found there, which allowed for figuring things out much more conclusively than the archaeologists studying this had been able to do.

The first domestication of turkey probably took place in Mexico, where there was a huge civilization center with ongoing agriculture in the form of maize (corn), beans, and many other foods. Seriously, Mexico was the place to be! There is a species of turkey in this region that was domesticated, most likely in south-central Mexico.

The other area where domestication took place was in the Southwest of the US. Here we also see a huge cultural area, with farming and all kinds of massive architecture and cultural centers (this is the area where I did my dissertation research and I adore it here!). It's thought (though not known for sure) that the knowledge of turkey domestication was brought into the area, along with some turkeys, and the people decided that they could exploit native turkeys--the Rio Grande/Eastern breed that comes from this region.

The turkey you may have had on your table this past week came from the Mexican domestication event. The turkeys were brought to Europe in the 16th century, spread around over there for a while, then were brought back in the 18th century. Weird how that happens, right?

If you'd like some more information on this fun topic, definitely check out the link to the article above!

So, what's your favorite turkey leftover?

After Reading: The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

By: Meradeth Houston on 7:00 AM

(Okay, quick note to say that you should totally go enter my giveaway! Just need a comment to enter!)

“There are only two reasons a non-seer would see a spirit on St. Mark’s Eve,” Neeve said. “Either you’re his true love . . . or you killed him.”

It is freezing in the churchyard, even before the dead arrive.

Every year, Blue Sargent stands next to her clairvoyant mother as the soon-to-be dead walk past. Blue herself never sees them—not until this year, when a boy emerges from the dark and speaks directly to her.

His name is Gansey, and Blue soon discovers that he is a rich student at Aglionby, the local private school. Blue has a policy of staying away from Aglionby boys. Known as Raven Boys, they can only mean trouble.

But Blue is drawn to Gansey, in a way she can’t entirely explain. He has it all—family money, good looks, devoted friends—but he’s looking for much more than that. He is on a quest that has encompassed three other Raven Boys: Adam, the scholarship student who resents all the privilege around him; Ronan, the fierce soul who ranges from anger to despair; and Noah, the taciturn watcher of the four, who notices many things but says very little.

For as long as she can remember, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love to die. She never thought this would be a problem. But now, as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she’s not so sure anymore.

Writer envy (n): a feeling of longing to be able to write as amazingly as another writer. Often induced by incredible language, word use, world building, and characters that practically leap from the pages and sit next to you, whispering, while you read. AKA: the way I always feel after reading one of Maggie's novels :)

At the risk of sounding all fan-girly (and who am I really kidding, I'm totally a fan-girl here) READ THIS BOOK. Seriously. It's amazing, and just so real. Okay, yes, there's magic, but it's the kind that wraps around you slowly, and makes you think that maybe if you just looked hard enough you'd spot it once you put the book down. And the characters. Sigh. Just so wonderful. I have a major crush on Adam at this point and the way his whole situation was portrayed was so strikingly real and painful that it made me remember so many things it hurt... And Noah, ahh, totally didn't see that coming!

And then there was that last line!

Okay, it's hard to find other things to write about without getting majorly spoilery, so I'm going to leave it at this. Have you read The Raven Boys? However are you going to last until the next one comes out?

Interview with S.S. Hampton Sr. Author of BETTER THAN A RABBIT'S FOOT

By: Meradeth Houston on 8:01 AM

I'm incredibly happy to be joined today by fellow MuseItUp author SS Hampton! He has some incredible stories to share with us all, and it's always a pleasure to host another anthropologist :) Just as a quick reminder, please check out my giveaway (just a comment to enter to win a book of your choice!), and if you are interested in being hosted here on my blog, shoot me an email!

Take it away!

(Q) Thanks for stopping by my blog! Let’s start with the basics: where are you from? Is there any place online you’d like to direct us to learn more about you?

Meradeth, thank you for having me. I’m from Muskogee, Oklahoma. As for knowing more about me, well, there is my Facebook – S Hampton Sr.

(Q) I always love hearing about how the idea for a particular book came about. Please fill us in on how you got the idea for “Better Than a Rabbit’s Foot.”

Serving in the Army National Guard, including being mobilized for Federal active duty away from home followed by an overseas deployment, presented a wealth of opportunities. I had infrequent contact with my children while mobilized and deployed. Because I was one of three Mail Clerks in my company I saw up close the happiness when Soldiers received letters and packages from home, particularly when from wives or girlfriends. I felt a sense of happiness when I received a letter or package from kind strangers who took the time to write “TO AN AMERICAN SOLDIER.” I also thought how much better it would be if I did have a loved one who wrote to me. The mission of the artillery battalion that I and other Soldiers from Nevada and Maine served in as volunteers was a SECFOR mission—security force for supply convoys bound for a variety of camps throughout Iraq. Just about everyone had a lucky charm of one sort or another—I wore a Celtic cross on the chain with my “dog tags,” the little metal ID tags that identify your blood type, or simply to identify you, just in case. So among the many ideas and thoughts developed through my deployment, was the story of a Soldier who discovers his own lucky charm.

(Q) Which authors have most influenced your own writing?

The writers who most influenced me are Arthur C. Clarke, Ray Bradbury, Frederick Forsythe, Jean Larteguy, H.P. Lovecraft, and Robert E. Howard. I appreciate the writings of James Michener and Leon Uris. I am also, surprisingly to me, impressed by Steinbeck and Faulkner.

(Q) What do you do for fun other than writing?

I like to paint, though so far I have not discovered any unique talent for it. One can always hope, though. I like to visit with my grandchildren, and meet with fellow Guard Soldiers for lunch or dinner, and a few drinks. Because I live in Las Vegas, once in awhile I like to go by a casino to gamble less than $5.00—I dislike losing money, and Vegas was built on the money of losers—and have a couple of beers.

(Q) If you could describe your ideal writing spot, where would it be? What music would you listen to (if at all)? What treats would you have on hand?

My ideal writing spot would be a carpeted study and plenty of bookcases for hundreds of reference books, a big wooden desk with everything I need at hand, particularly coffee with French Vanilla Creamer, and a pack of cigarettes (I have been advised to give up cigarettes, but decades long habits are difficult to break). A couple of beers substituted for coffee is okay too. The music I like ranges from Blackmore’s Night to Buddha Lounge to Eric Clapton to Enigma to Lady Gaga. My favorite treat is apples with Kraft Caramels.

(Q) Plotter or pantser? Both? Neither?

It depends. Usually I will plot what I am going to write, but sometimes the writing takes on a life of its own, and the plot goes out the window. Sometimes the change is the result of seeing how the work might be better, other times the change is simply because a shift in direction without knowing how it will impact the overall work feels better. It is kind of like a gut feeling. And when I listen, my gut feelings have never failed me.

(Q) Do you have any new projects that you are working on? Care to share?

Well, I am working on a short story presenting my version of a zombie apocalypse. I also have a Cthulhu-based novella in progress that takes place during World War II. And, there is another novella in progress—a haunted German Tiger tank in North Africa during World War II. Though I enjoy writing in a variety of genres, I tend to lean toward horror and the supernatural, usually combined with a military background.

(Q) What kinds of marketing do you think are the most successful in terms of getting your name/book out there? (Curious minds are taking notes!)

At the moment, the only marketing strategy I use is guest blogging followed by a promotion of one of my works. I do not have any figures that can prove or disprove the success of this avenue. I also bought my first SWAG a couple of months ago, bookmarks, so that the editors from one of my publishers could take them to a writers gathering. I do not know if that resulted in any increase in sales either. I also plan on trying different SWAGs during the coming year. And someday soon—I have been saying this for six months—I will have my own website up and running. Also someday soon, I plan on putting up an Author’s page on Goodreads, and Amazon, among others.

(Q) If you'd like to add anything, please do so.

Well, considering the time of the year, I’d like to wish everyone Happy Thanksgiving. To those serving on the far frontiers, stay safe, and when you finally return home, “Welcome Home!”

(Q) How about an excerpt to tantalize the readers?

EXCERPT: “People like a happy ending.”
Sergeant Jerry Stanton, an M4 Carbine slung across his chest, glanced at the dark form that trudged alongside him in the hot, early morning darkness. It was all the darker for the dust storm howling across the small camp, a dusty and sandy convoy support center, CSC, a mile south of the Iraqi border. He placed his hand over the tall styrofoam coffee cup from the messhall that was open at all hours to serve those about to head out on a mission. He felt the itchy dust filtering down his back, along his arms, and coating his fingers.
In spite of his short time deployed to Kuwait, he had learned that dust storms were worse than sand storms; they were hot and itchy while the sand storms stung exposed skin and chilled the air. Breakfast was good but tasted flat, more due to the question of whether their mission would be a go or no-go because of the storm that roared out of the midnight darkness hours before.
“What?”
“People like a happy ending,” the soldier repeated. He was a gunner from another gun truck as the squat, venerable M1114 HMMWVs, which were never meant to be combat vehicles, were called. He held up a rabbit foot that spun frantically in the wind and added, “I like a happy ending. Especially now.” They rounded the corner of a small building, actually a renovated mobile home trailer with a covered wooden porch lit by a bare electric bulb. The gunner pointed to a small black flag, suspended from a log overhang, flapping furiously in the wind.
“Oh shit.” Jerry sighed as a cold chill raced through him.
“It’s been there for an hour or so,” the soldier said as he enclosed the rabbit’s foot within both hands and brought it up to his lips as if to kiss it. He glanced at Jerry. “I’m not superstitious, but still, I mean, there’s nothing wrong with having a lucky charm. You know?”
“Yeah.” Jerry nodded as he watched the twisting flag. “I know.”
The soldier looked once more at the black flag and then walked toward the shower and restroom trailers beyond which were the air-conditioned sleeping tents they called home…

BLURB: Sergeant Jerry Stanton is a young soldier serving in the War in Iraq. He is a gunner on a gun truck nicknamed “Lucky Bear,” one of those tireless workhorses that escort supply convoys from camps in Kuwait to destinations scattered throughout the war-torn country. In the early morning hours before a scheduled mission, a dust storm howls across his camp and threatens to bring convoy operations to a halt. Worse, the camp receives word that a gunner from his company was killed by an IED while on a convoy mission. Unlike most soldiers, Jerry doesn’t carry a lucky charm, but upon receiving news of the death of the gunner, he begins to mull over/ponder the merit/virtue of a good luck charm—only, what would work for him? Perhaps mail call will provide the answer.

A bit about this picture, because it's incredibly cool:
It's taken on the steps of Great Ziggurat of Ur, Sumeria (Tallil AFB, Iraq).
Cool, right?

SS Hampton, Sr. is a full-blood Choctaw of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a divorced grandfather to 13 grandchildren, and a veteran of Operations Noble Eagle (2004-2006) and Iraqi Freedom (2006-2007). He served in the active duty Army (1974-1985), the Army Individual Reserve (1985-1995) (mobilized for the Persian Gulf War), and enlisted in the Army National Guard in October 2004; he was mobilized for active duty for almost three years after his enlistment. He continues to serve in the Guard, where he holds the rank of staff sergeant. He is a published photographer and photojournalist, an aspiring painter, and is studying for a degree in anthropology—hopefully to someday work in underwater archaeology. He has wanted to be a writer since he was 15 years old; his first short story was published in 1992, after which it wasn’t until 2001 that he had another short story published. His writings have appeared as stand-alone stories, and in anthologies from Dark Opus Press, Edge Science Fiction & Fantasy, Melange Books, Musa Publishing, MuseItUp Publishing, Ravenous Romance, and as stand-alone stories in Horror Bound Magazine, Ruthie’s Club, Lucrezia Magazine, The Harrow, and River Walk Journal, among others. As of December 2011, he became the latest homeless Iraq war veteran in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Thankfulness Giveaway: Win a book of your choice!

By: Meradeth Houston on 6:00 AM

Today is one of those absolutely beautiful days, it's even a little warm, and I'm feeling particularly grateful for my blessings. This past year has certainly brought a lot of them! I've had some awesome opportunities to travel, got a great job, and have an awesome family. And, of course, my little blog here has grown a ton and I'm incredibly grateful for those people who have stopped by, left comments, or just lurked. It's been wonderful! So, in light of that feeling, and because it's Thanksgiving season, I thought I'd do a little giveaway :)

Who wants a book of their choice from The Book Depository? Okay, really, who doesn't want a book of their choice? All that you need to do to enter is leave me a comment telling me what you're most grateful for lately, and enter the rafflecopter. There are plenty of other ways to gain additional entries too, for those of you so inclined. And if I get over a hundred people entered, I will add another item to the giveaway (details on that will be announced if it happens).

This is an international giveaway, in so far as The Book Depository ships to wherever you live. Let's keep the book of your choosing under twenty dollars, too (that new job doesn't pay all that great). Other questions? Drop me a note (email on the sidebar or in the comments).

Something I try to remember...and am pretty lousy at most of the time...

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Science Sundays: The Random Nature of Mutations (or why we won't ever turn into the X-men)

By: Meradeth Houston on 11:18 AM

Okay, so for today's Science Sunday post I thought I'd hit on a topic that seems to be regularly misrepresented in general science stuff on TV and in books. Just this week I saw it messed up in a book I was reading (I won't get into which one, but I've already reviewed it here) and in an episode of the X Files (yeah, I love that show and watch reruns all the time, but sometimes Mulder gets a little jacked up when it comes to basic evolutionary theory).

So, here's the low-down: mutations are random. This means new adaptations that are based on the changes that these mutations create are random. And just because we NEED something to happen in order to survive, well, we can't make that happen just because we want it to. Confused? Let me give an example:

Le sigh, this is just dumb....

Say there's a massive change in the environment that happens really fast, such as Climate Change melts all the ice caps and drowns most of the world's landmasses (yeah, there's been a few movies about this). Well, humans would all do a whole lot better if we could breathe under water, right? It might allow our species to survive. We really *need* that mutation that allows us to have access to our vestigial gills. But just because we need it doesn't mean we're ever going to have a mutation occur that's going to allow us to access those bad boys, a la Waterworld.

In reality, the only way humans would survive this kind of situation would be if someone, somewhere had already had this random mutation (or was born with it in time to make use of it) and this random event allowed them to survive, have offspring, and pass along that mutation for gills (something that was probably pretty hard, seeing as how A. they're probably the only one on earth with gills, and B. human "gills" aren't really gills in the sense that work that way, but whatever, it's just an example).

Hopefully that makes sense :)

Just because we need, want, or would find a particular ability totally useful doesn't mean we're going to get it. We are constrained by the random nature of whatever mutations occur in our DNA that produce a different phenotype (or outward expression of the genes or genotype) and the right kind of situation that will allow for selection of that phenotype, so that it becomes more common in the population through natural selection.

There has been some recent research into this using bacteria and mutations that allow them to process types of food that were usually harmful or poisonous to them, and finding ways to survive, but the underlying principle is the same: the mutation that allows for the bacteria to feed off something new is still random and not exactly "induced" by the environment.

If we *were* hypothetically able to induce mutations due to need, you can bet your bucks that someone, somewhere would have figured out how to induce mutations for superpowers (probably through lots of radiation, which in reality would just kill you...). Or, induce mutations to change haircolor or texture, or anything along those lines. Right? I mean, if I really, really needed to fly (and I've give a whole lot of money to be able to do so) I'd find some way to induce that kind of mutation. But that's just not how it works.

Bummer, really.

In reality, most mutations that occur and create changes in our DNA, and then in our phenotype, are usually crappy. They lead to things like cancer and a host of other unpleasant genetic diseases. No fun. So, the next time you hear about genetic mutations, think less about the X-men, and more about cancer.

Next time maybe I'll go into the awesome world of Punctuated Equilibrium, another topic that Mulder clearly needs some schooling on... :)