I wasn’t initially going to add this section, but then I realized there wasn’t much online about actually selling the book to a publisher and getting an editor for the project. I was COMPLETELY CLUELESS going in, and while not exactly necessary, a little knowledge would have been nice. So you want to write a … Continue reading
If you’ve skipped ahead or landed here randomly, the advice I have is generally for non-fiction. It’s a slightly different process for fiction, but the parts on this page about researching agents and query letters certainly works for both fiction and non-fiction, it just happens that my only experience is on the non-fiction side. So … Continue reading
So in the previous post I updated you all on Nature’s Poisons and the forthcoming book, you can check it out here: Nature’s Poisons, the Book! There’s a saying “everyone has a book in them.” I don’t know if that’s true, or if everyone should let that book monster out, but if it’s something you aspire … Continue reading
I have some very exciting news! You can probably guess what it is based on the title of this post, but that’s OK, I’ll say it again. I’m writing a book! I always wanted to write and be a writer. Even as a little kid, I envisioned living in Maine (why I don’t know, but … Continue reading
The upas tree is ripe with legends and myths, going so far as to say no one can get within 10 miles of it without dying. Explore the legends and science of the famed upas tree, here. Continue reading
The 100th post on Nature’s Poisons! The Poisonous ABCs: From Aconitine to Zetekitoxin. Continue reading
The fall of 1952 was a busy time of year in Storm Lake, Iowa. Farmers tended to their crops, as the hot, dry summer poured into October, and children eagerly anticipated Halloween. It was especially busy for State Conservation Officer Frank Starr. He spent October burying bodies. A lot of bodies. By his count, there … Continue reading
I love dogs, they really are our best friends, and for good reason. The most important being that a dog is less likely to eat you when you die. If your body is found a week after you die, your dog is probably going to be found, hungry, beside you. A cat? They won’t wait … Continue reading
You all know my penchant for things to be descriptively named, like Death Camas. With a name like that, you know to leave it alone and definitely not eat it. I’m also not a fan of foraging, there are too many poisonous look-alikes out there. I’m not an expert in identifying wild edibles, and likely … Continue reading
We all know the fable of the three little pigs. The first pig made their house from straw, the second made theirs out of sticks, and the smart one a humble abode of bricks. The Big Bad Wolf easily destroyed the first two homes – they were made of straw and sticks after all. But … Continue reading
I don’t write a lot about insects, but there’s a good reason for it. I’m allergic to insects. Pretty much all of them. If I get bit or stung I swell up and ooze pus for a week. I was that kid that almost died from a mosquito bite on his neck when he was … Continue reading
Walking sticks aren’t very cool unless they’ve got a sword or a blowgun hidden in them. Fortunately, Mother Nature provided us with her own vision of walkingsticks, insects capable of ejecting a noxious chemical spray with astonishing accuracy, blinding its victims. Now that’s cool. Anisomorpha buprestoides is the common walkingstick native to the southeastern United … Continue reading
My mother warned me about the pretty ones. I’m fairly certain she was talking about girls, and I’m positive I didn’t listen to her, seeing how I married a pretty one. If I were to pass along the same advice to my three girls I’d be talking about plants instead of girls. Not like they … Continue reading
I like things to be self-explanatory, like Death Camas – with a name like that, you’re fairly certain what you’re going to get. But a plant named Tutu? I don’t blame you if the first thing you think of is a troupe of ballet dancers, but if you’re interested in poisons, know that it’s a … Continue reading
Saltwater algal blooms can give rise to harmful toxins that accumulate in filter-feeding mollusks, like mussels, clams, and oyster. While these toxins may be harmless to our shellfish friends, they can be particularly harmful, even deadly, to the humans that eat them. It’s taken a while, but we’re finally at the last installment of shellfish … Continue reading
Last week I told the tale of a German forager who mistook Gentiana lutea with Veratrum album – gentian root for white hellbore – with some not so pleasant effects. In describing the pharmacology and toxicology of the two plant species I briefly mentioned that the medicinally useful gentian root is used in the production of the soft … Continue reading
People forage for wild foods, we’ve been doing it for tens of thousands of years, but it’s become a lost art. It’s easy to see why: we have supermarkets on every corner and if you don’t want to leave the house Uber can deliver meals to you. For people that still partake in foraging, either … Continue reading
People that do postmortem work see and hear a lot of weird stuff. The myriad ways people try to harm themselves or others is truly impressive at times. We also get a lot of “someone done them in” calls when a loved one dies, presumably because they watched CSI the night before – we call … Continue reading
Give me a sign, any sign, that winter is over. Here in North Carolina, that sign is Sanguinaria canadensis, commonly known by the sinister-sounding name Bloodroot. As soon as we get a bit of warm weather, in late February or early march, Bloodroot emerges and graces us with magnificent blooms of dainty white flowers. It is … Continue reading
At it’s core, postmortem work is morbid, and being surrounded by death every day makes its practitioners a bit…odd. Or maybe we were weird from the get go. Regardless, one of our pastimes is discussing how we would kill ourselves*, i.e. “the best way to go.” Morbid, I know. Most of us favor carbon monoxide, … Continue reading
Nature's Poisons 