Shelley Munro Blog

When my husband and I traveled through India, we went with a group. Much like the characters in my new release Wanderlust, we traveled in a truck, both camping and staying in hotels during our circuit of India. At the beginning of the trip we decided we’d play a game that’s all about murder. Here’s how it works:

Everyone receives a slip of paper, one of which bears the word “murderer”. Once the murderer is picked he or she quietly tells one member of the group they are murdered and how they must die. That particular person must pretend to die in the chosen manner and then he or she is out of the game. The murderer chooses his next victim and waits for them to die before choosing another. The object of the game is for the person acting as the murderer to kill off everyone before someone in the group discovers his “or” her identity.

One person acts as the judge. All players can take one guess at the murderer’s identity. If they make an incorrect guess, they are out of the game.

Here’s a little real life drama from when we played the murder game during our trip to India. My husband was in charge of lighting campfires each night, and the murderer suggested he died very realistically with fire. He scared me half to death. I was so angry and upset I refused to play the game any longer. I also didn’t talk to my husband for a few hours. Mr. Munro won the prize for the best death, and we still have his small plastic Oscar trophy. It’s bright orange – for those who’d like to picture it.

In Wanderlust, the passengers play the murder game. Anna, the tour leader isn’t very amused with her passengers when they pretend to die. And when her passengers start dying for real, she’s not impressed with the game at all!

I’m guest blogging over at Jenyfer Matthew’s blog today. The excerpt over at Jenyfer’s site shows the first death in the murder game. Everyone who comments on Jenyfer’s blog goes into a draw to win a download of Playing to Win. What are you waiting for - hop over and say hello.

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.