Wanderlust is out today from Cerridwen Press. It’s a contemporary romantic suspense set in India. Since I’ve already covered the travel through India angle of my new release, today I thought I’d talk about murder and intrigue.
1. The first murder in Wanderlust happens before the book starts. It takes place in Aleppo, Syria in a crowded market place. When we visited there were lots of narrow roads, running through a confined space. People shared with donkeys, camels, and noisy motorbikes. With all the pushing and shoving I could imagine a motorbike colliding with a person. The first death appears to be a hit and run. It’s not…
2. The most common cause of death in the USA is heart attack followed by cancer.
3. The current medical-legal definition of death: Death has occurred when all cerebral function has ceased and is irreversible.
4. I’m not afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens. ~ Woody Allen
5. Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me. ~ Emily Dickinson
6. A smell of a patient’s breath or body may help identify toxins or other medical conditions. e.g. Ammonia – Uremia (kidney failure), Violets – turpentine, almonds or bitter – cyanide.
7. The law requires a physician or the coroner or medical examiner to certify the cause of death. When a person is declared dead, the exact time must be recorded for legal purposes. The term “time of death” refers to the legal time of death, and is the moment that a professional person first sees the body and declares it to be dead.
8. If a body is warm, the person has been dead less than three hours; if cool to the touch, between four to six hours; and if cold and clammy, eighteen to twenty-four hours. Loss of warmth varies with environmental temperature, but averages a drop of 1 1/2 degrees per hour.
9. One of the characters in Wanderlust is found in a lake. Suicide by drowning is rather uncommon, and it is very difficult to prove without other circumstances (suicide note). Death in the bathtub is frequently suicide. Often the person is under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of death.
10. Food poisoning is still a common killer around the world, involving everything from botulism, to mushrooms, to puffer fish in Japan. Something to ponder when reading Wanderlust…
11. Falling – there are two ways to fall: a vertical “controlled” fall, with the person landing upright and feet-first; and an “uncontrolled” fall, with some other part of the body hitting first, such as landing on your head, back, stomach, etc. the important thing to remember is that you can “kill” one of your characters by having them fall short distances, or survive falls from great heights if your plot calls for it. Just saying…
12. What are your chances?
Your chances of dying by a terrorist’s hand if you travel overseas 1 in 650,000
Your chances of dying from skiing 1 in 500,000
Your chances of dying from rock climbing 1 in 5,000
Your chances of dying from parachuting 1 in 4,000
On the news yesterday I heard a teenager had recalculated the chances of a huge meteor hitting Earth 1 in 450. I’m sure I heard that right. Evidently it’s more possible than they initially thought.
13. A link to the Australian museum online – for all things about death.
14. – a bonus for the ghoulish amongst you – The Death clock. Plug in the information to calculate the day. I just couldn’t bring myself to do this.
Sources: Cause of Death, a writer’s guide to death, murder & forensic medicine by Keith D Wilson.
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April 17th, 2008 at 4:08 am · Link
Putting Wanderlust on my TBB list right away! Woo-hoo!
April 17th, 2008 at 4:51 am · Link
Fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Happy T13!
April 17th, 2008 at 8:39 am · Link
Such a morbid topic should be called Friday 13.
April 17th, 2008 at 8:55 am · Link
You mean the time of death could be days after the real death? Or would they estimate it.
April 17th, 2008 at 9:19 am · Link
Congrats on the release! Research is always full of such interesting little bits of trivia and details to make it all so plausible and believable. Cool TT, Shelley!
April 17th, 2008 at 9:29 am · Link
Congrats on your release!! Woohoo!
April 17th, 2008 at 9:37 am · Link
My chances of dying from rock climbing or parachuting are 0. :D
I wonder if this kid’s calculations of Earth’s chances of being hit by a large meteor included a given time span, like “in our lifetime”…
April 17th, 2008 at 11:14 am · Link
Congrats on the new release – this was an interesting TT13. I couldn’t even visit that death clock thing, so you’re a better woman than I.
April 17th, 2008 at 11:25 am · Link
Congrats on the new release!!! Happy sales!
April 17th, 2008 at 12:53 pm · Link
YAY Congrats on Wanderlust! Happy Thursday!
The link to the death thing was kinda freaky, though. LOL.
April 17th, 2008 at 12:55 pm · Link
Congrats on the new release – very intriguing post!
April 17th, 2008 at 1:05 pm · Link
Did the death clock thing – apparently I’ve got until March 24, 2050.
Time will tell
April 17th, 2008 at 1:27 pm · Link
I’m supposed to die November 16th, 2046. That will make me 78. Interesting.
These is a great TT.
To add to the morbidity, let me add that patients sick with cancer have a distinct smell. I couldn’t describe it to you, but they do. And diabetics also have a certain smell.
When I worked as a CNA, I got to where I could just tell.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:49 pm · Link
Very interesting info. Sounds like something I would see or learn on CSI.
April 17th, 2008 at 1:51 pm · Link
Ooh, that death clock is creepy.
Chloe
April 17th, 2008 at 2:14 pm · Link
I thought the death clock was creepy, too. I couldn’t put in the info for myself.
Thanks for the release congrats. It’s always so exciting having a new book out.
April 17th, 2008 at 6:34 pm · Link
Congrats, Shelley! Fascinating T13 – writers have to do lots of fun research (love scenes) and lots of other research that could make a person seem like a rather dangerous sort (ways of dying.) I don’t know about you, but I can never get enough of research of any kind.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:43 pm · Link
I know, Julia. We have a “cool” job!
April 17th, 2008 at 8:30 pm · Link
Very interesting list!
Happy TT!!
April 18th, 2008 at 6:17 am · Link
DUDE, that was totally gruesome but very interesting. GREAT TT topic!!
April 19th, 2008 at 3:17 pm · Link
What a ghoulish Thursday 13.
Congrats on the new book.
April 19th, 2008 at 4:27 pm · Link
Thanks, Ashley. I promise to be more cheerful next week!
April 20th, 2008 at 12:48 pm · Link
Eew. Death and dying when I’m on such a high… that’s just wrong.