A Day in the Life

Many people ask what a writer's day is like. Strangely enough, my day is anything but what the typical writer's day. At least the typical writers I've read about. I don't start the day with coffee, sit at my desk and write for eight hours. Matter of fact, I don't even sit at a desk to write. Usually, I'm on the couch with my lap top. I seldom wake up, get my coffee and begin to write.
So when do I write, you ask?
I've often woke up in the middle of the night and wrote throughout the night. I learned early on in my career not to ignore a thought. If I don't write it down immediately, it's gone. I woke up one night with a dialogue from a work in progress. Thinking I'd remember it the next day, I turned over and went back to sleep.The next morning I remembered little of it. A few words here and there. In fact, not only was most of the dialogue gone, so was the idea.
So now I get up and write it down immediately. That often leads to other ideas and hence, the reason I ended up writing all night. Fortunately, my children are grown, my husband was on the road and I didn't have to answer to anyone. If I wrote all night and slept all day no one was the wiser.
Although seldom did I sleep all day. Sleep, in my opinion, is a waste of time. I hate naps, always have. Well, as long as I remember anyway. So I'd sleep for a couple of hours and if an idea hit, I'd write all day also.
So, what is my typical writing day?
Truthfully, I don't have a typical writing day. Sometimes I write first thing in the morning, sometimes in the afternoon. Sometimes, I don't write at all. Lately, I've not written much because my characters refuse to speak to me. They can be stubborn that way.
I must have made them angry or they don't like the way the story is going. I'm sure they'll lead me in the right direction eventually. In the mean time, I'm reading what I've already written and revising/editing as I go along. I'm hoping by time I get to the point where I left off, I'll figure out which direction they want to go.

For now you can find my books at Amazon

Did you know ...

By Michelle Lee

BWL Art Direct and Resident Bio-Geek

Following up my summer reading list, I wanted to take a moment and share some fun biological facts with you.  Some are interesting, some kinda gross, and a few are in the category of what the heck?  You have been warned.

Those that are on the BWL Facebook Group might have seen a couple of these already ...

There are going to be a lot of links provided in this post to fact based sites.  To make reading the post the most enjoyable, stop and click the links where provided.

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Fun Fact 1: You know that long 'kee-eeeee-arr' sound that a Bald Eagle's make in commercials?

Like this one ...

That sound that has become an almost iconic Bald Eagle sound ... isn't actually an Eagle.  Bald Eagles have a weaker, whistling or thrilling call.

So if it isn't a Bald Eagle, just what are you hearing?  It's a hawk of some kind, normally a Red-tailed Hawk.

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Fun Fact 2: The chemistry of fireworks

What makes fireworks so breathtaking is the various different colors they come in.  What makes those color possible is the different color certain elements produce.

"Sodium produces yellow/gold colors. Barium creates green, copper compounds produce blue, strontium salts give you red and titanium metals give you silver colored sparks.

Other commonly used chemicals are carbon which provides the fuel, oxidizers which produce oxygen for burning, magnesium which increases the overall brilliance and brightness, antimony that gives you a "glitter" effect and calcium which deepens the colors." ~ Science Is Awesome

For more information on the colors and what element they are created from check out:

How Do Professionals Make the Colors in Fireworks

The Chemistry of Fireworks

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Fun Fact 3: Lobsters

BLUE LOBSTERS 

That's right, the lobsters that we consider a food of the rich (which used to be considered trash food, or food for the poor, and there were laws about how often someone could feed them to their servants - little tid-bit for you history buffs) have a 1 in 2 million chance of a mutation that gives them blue pigmentation. 

It is a mutation that causes an overly large amount of a specific protein that combines with the red carotenoid molecule, turning the lobster blue.

for information on Toby, a blue lobster that found a home at the National Aquarium in Washington DC.

Other color variation are:

Orange at 1 in 10 million odds

Yellow at 1 in 30 million odds

Orange and Black calico at 1 in 30 million

Split color varieties at 1 in 50 million 

White at 1 in 100 million odds

Info about the process by which lobsters get their color.

For you history buffs, check out the history of the Lobster 

For more information on the biology of a lobster

As if that wasn't enough to blow your mind about lobsters, how about this?

TWO-TONED LOBSTERS

It is believed that this occurs when the egg is first fertilized.  Often times, the lobster will show characteristics of both genders.

It's believed that odds of a lobster being two-toned are about 1 in 50 million, maybe even 1 in 100 million.

Links for more info:

Nat Geo: Halloween Lobsters

NBC News: Two Toned Lobster

Lobster Dressed For Halloween

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Fun Fact 4: Two-Gender Animals

As mentioned in the fact about the two-toned lobsters, some animals can show characteristics of both genders.  Now I am not talking true hermaphrodites.  I am looking at something else called Bilateral Gynomorphs - where an animal is literally half male and half female.

What is believed to happen is that two embryos, with unique DNA, fused together and developed as a single fetus, resulting in an individual with two sets of DNA in a single body; sometimes the two embryos are the same sex/gender, and other time ones is male and one is female - which is what results in such breathtaking color/morphological contrasts - such as these butterflies.

This phenomeon has been seen in animals such as the lobsters mentioned before, insects such as butterflies, and also in birds such as this cardinal.

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Fun Fact 5:  Placobdelloides jaegerskioeldi

What the heck is that?  It's the elusive Hippo Leech.

There is actually a leech that is found in the last 10 cm of the rectum of hippos.  Yep, you read that right.  There is a butthole leech for hippos.  Ever wonder why they are in such a bad mood?  LOL  Well wonder no more.

While it is the dream of many field biologists to discover a new species, I am just not sure I could enjoy that claim to fame.

Parasite of the Day: Hippo leech

Hippo Leech Revisited

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If you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for more bio fun facts to come.

Just who is Michelle Lee ...

It has been suggested to me that you might like to know a little bit more about me.  I am not sure that I agree, since I am a fairly boring person.  I am a true introvert, with a healthy dose of shy added on just for good measure.  But in a series of posts over the next little while, I am going to attempt to give you a glimpse of BWL's OZ, the woman behind the cover art curtain.

So, why do a say I am fairly boring?  Well, to give you a hint, my idea of a good time is reading scientific journal articles and books.  Now don't get me wrong, I like reading fiction books.  Love them in fact.  I am a voracious reader, and can put down 3-10 fiction books in a week, depending upon what I have going on in my life.

But I am also a bit of a geek.  Ok, so remove 'bit' and sub in 'enormous' and you have a better reflection of me.  So really, it should come as no surprise then that I have a few summer reading books that aren't fiction.

To put things into perspective for you, I am currently working on my Masters in Biology, with a focus on ecology and bird survival rates.  My undergrad is in Biology Education.  My favorite animal group are birds (Class Aves).

So now that you have some background about geeky me, you'll understand a little bit more when I share my summer reading list.

(If you have an interest in any of these books, the covers link to the books on Amazon where you can find more details out about them).

Ready?

I plan to start with TAKING WING, which examines the evolution of bird flight.  So from the first "known" bird ancestor to modern day.

But you can't look at flight itself without also considering one of the most important aspects that allows it - the FEATHER.

So next on my list is a fascinating look at FEATHERS.

After that, I am going to take a step back and look THE ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF BIRDS.

After that, it is a toss up.  I will probably read both of the following books at the same time, since one is more of a birder guide companion and the other is a textbook.

If I still have time, I plan to then get into a specific set of bird, my absolute favorite - OWLS.

In addition to OWLS OF THE WORLD, I also have several other owl books focusing on specific regions of North America.  But I figure that is about all I will get to this summer.  Ah well - there is always next year.

Now, if you like birds and have an interest in my suggestions for the best reading for an Amateur/Beginner Birders, just let me know in the comments.