Kassandra Lamb's Blog, page 24
March 16, 2020
Stay Calm and Wash Your Hands
Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash by Kassandra Lamb
We interrupt our regular blogging schedule This is not what I had planned to write about this week, but its an important reminder to stay calm. Not only for our mental health, but for our physical health as well.
Why is it important to stay calm? Because stress reduces the effectiveness of our immune systems. So stressing about getting sick can increase the chances of getting sick.
We humans have a variety of mental defense...
March 3, 2020
The Importance of Backstory (Or How the Brain Connects the Present to the Past)
by Kassandra Lamb
I’m over at Janice Hardy’s Fiction University today, talking about characters’ backstories, the human brain and implications for writers.
Here’s a teaser…First, a brief excerpt from my own backstory—I recently let go of someone whom I have loved dearly my entire life. I did so because he was acting in a way that was far too reminiscent of my dysfunctional family.
I spent many hours and beaucoup dollars in my youth on therapy, and it was successful. For a very long time...
February 24, 2020
IRL Mysteries: The Mystery Behind That Annoying Tamper-Resistant Packaging
by Kassandra Lamb
You know what I’m talking about – those frustrating, multiple layers of plastic, foil, paper, and/or cotton that keep you from the pill that will wipe out your headache, calm your anxiety or dry up your allergy-produced drippy nose.
Pills weren’t always distributed that way. Here’s the in-real-life (IRL) mystery behind tamper-resistant packaging, which is still unsolved to this day.
In 1982, seven people died mysteriously. Three were in one family, but the rest were...
February 17, 2020
An “Off” Week Goodie: Why Hugs Are Good For You
by Kassandra Lamb
I saw this article yesterday and wanted to share it.
Why Hugging Is The Most Beautiful Form Of Communication
Photo by C.Valdez on Unsplash I don’t know about the whole Chakra thing, but it is true about the cortisol levels going down and hugs encouraging the release of oxytocin.
The latter hormone makes us feel good, and also facilitates more social interaction.
In other words, the more we hug, the more we like being around people, and thus the more likely we are to...
February 10, 2020
Why Is the Divorce Rate So Low? (encore)
by Kassandra Lamb
No, that is not a typo in the title—I am asking why the divorce rate is so low. As I contemplate the approach of the 44th Valentine’s Day I will spend with my husband, I thought this was a fitting time to again offer up this post I originally wrote in 2012.
I am absolutely amazed that anybody makes it for 44 years, or longer even, without divorcing. Or committing homicide.
The Divorce Rate is Lower Than You Think
My mother and I going into the church before my wedding. I had...
January 28, 2020
An Introvert and an Extrovert Walk into a Bar…
by Gilian Baker
If an introvert and an extrovert walked into a bar, how could you tell them apart?
Easy! The introvert would quietly order a drink, wince at the noise level while she waited for the bartender, and then move to a remote table where she could watch the surrounding activity.
An extrovert would walk in and high-five the people she knew. She’d stop several times on her way to the bar to chat with acquaintances. Once she had her drink, she’d sit down in the middle of a table full...
January 20, 2020
Where The Research Takes Us: Weird Stuff We’ve Researched Lately
By the whole gang! Researching our stories has taken us to some rather unusual places recently. Here’s some of the weird stuff we’ve researched lately.
First up…K.B. Owen
Part of the fun of being a mystery writer is the research tidbits you discover. I’ve learned a lot of esoteric stuff in the course of trouping through the Library of Congress, writing to museum curators, and ordering/reading books such as a 19th century pamphlet on bomb-making by anarchist Johann Joseph Most (much to the...
January 6, 2020
6 Questions to Ask to Avoid New Year’s Resolution Failure
by Kassandra Lamb
(image by Nevit Dilmen CC-SA-BY 3.0 Wikimedia Commons) I sat down today to write a New Year’s post. I looked at past posts, seeking inspiration, and decided that I couldn’t improve on last year’s, so I’m re-running it. If you find your resolutions/goals are out the window by February, here are 6 questions to ask yourself to avoid New Year’s resolution failure.
The problem may be with how you are wording the resolutions/goals. Or perhaps they aren’t quite the right ones for...
December 23, 2019
A Short But Loving Holiday Message from Misterio
Our blog is officially on hiatus until January 7, 2020, but we thought we’d share some fun music. This first one isn’t exactly a Christmas song per se, although it’s on Pentatonix’s Christmas album this year.
But it very much expresses how we at misterio press feel about you, our readers. You’re the best!!
And another fave Christmas song, also a cappella!
Hope Everyone has a Great Holiday!!! See you in 2020.
We blog here at misterio press about twice a month, usually on Tuesdays....
December 16, 2019
Merry Christmas, Sherlock Holmes Style
(Illustration by Sidney Paget, 1892. Wikimedia Commons.)
Here’s some short and sweet holiday fun from K.B. Owen’s archives—Merry Christmas, Sherlock Holmes style.
Happy Holidays! As a mystery lover, Christmas reminds me of one of my favorite Sherlock Holmes stories, “The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle.” The mystery starts with a dropped hat and a Christmas goose left behind.
But Holmes isn’t confined to Doyle’s own writings. Since then, numerous post-canon stories in the Holmes tradition...
