Today, in history, the worse killing spree happened.

Poor Private Gitchell wasn't feeling good. Thinking he had a cold, he made his way to the infirmary where he was stationed awaiting deployment to Europe to fight in the War to End All Wars. Within a few hours, 107 other men were admitted with bad colds as well. By the end of two weeks, 1,127 med were sick.

This strange "cold" turned out to be influenza or the Spanish flu. Within eighteen months, over 500 million people were affected around the world. Out of that ghastly number, 100 million people died. 100 million people died! 

During WWI over two thousand soldiers died a day on the Western Front. Over 9 million lost their lives fighting there and about 21 million civilians died. But those numbers seem small in comparison due to one little germ spreading it's nasty disease. A second wave hit America at the end of war, killing more; strangley, it killed young people between the ages of 18 and 35. So if the men and women didn't die in combat, they probably died in bed with the flu.

Experts disagree on where the flue started; some say Canadian lakes, others say pigs wallowing near Fort Riley, or maybe the seaport of Étaples, France, while others suggest it hit Europe when the 'doughboys' arrived from America. But it didn't stop; it came in three more waves, last one being the worse. The crazy thing is, young people between 18 and 35 were affected the worse and most died.

"On September 28, 200,000 people gathered for a fourth Liberty Loan Drive. Funding the war effort and showing one’s patriotic colors took precedence over concern for public health. Just days after the parade, 635 new cases of influenza were reported. Two days later, the city was forced to admit that epidemic conditions did indeed exist. Churches, schools, and theaters were ordered closed, along with all places of “public amusement.” Members of the press condemned the closings as a violation of common sense and personal freedom. Meanwhile, the ranks of the sick and dying continued to grow. By mid-October, their numbers ran into the hundreds of thousands. Hospitals quickly reached capacity. Church parish houses and state armories doubled as shelters for the sick."

Happy Women's Day! WWI Style

Women came out in force when the men left for war. They worked in factories, ran phones, worked gardens, drove ambulances, became unlicensed doctors, psychiatrist and nurses. WWI changed the view of the world for everyone, most especially for women. They now knew they really could do anything. It would a little bit of time for the rest of the world to catch up with that thought.

Happy day to all my favorite women out there!

You are an inspiration to me and those around you!

2017 Reading update!

I read 137 books.
Which equals over 45,000 pages.
My longest read (I actually listened to it) was:

Here are a few of my favorite reads (in particular order) from last year:

Repost of Megan Whalen Turner interview

I've been studying three of my favorite authors to help me push through to writing again. My first, and all time, favorite is Megan Whalen Turner. I love her stories; I love Gen; I love the layers of writing.
As I've read interviews with Megan I remembered I got to do one with her! I MET HER! She was kind and funny and gracious. I loved that she knitted the whole time we sat around her and gawked and plied her with questions.
So, in honor of searching inside myself to become a better write by studying my favorties, here is that interview from 2013:

Welcome Megan today! I want to be her when my author shelf grows up. If you haven't read her THIEF series, now is a good time.

 Now for Megan's interview:

What was the first book that turned you into a reader?

Probably it was the Narnia books by CS Lewis.  I remember foisting them on my third grade teacher and I knew I'd read them many times over by then.


What's your favorite snack?

Er?  How could I pick just one?  Hmmmm, probably Vinegar Potato Chips, although I am sure I should say something healthy like "Carrots!  I love carrots!"


What is your most memorable high school experience?

Passing notes to a friend between classes.  We wrote whole epistolary novels together on pieces of paper torn from our notebooks.

What do you never leave home without?

I can leave anything at home. My keys, my wallet, my cell phone.  I have not ever actually left my head behind, but only because it is securely attached to the rest of me.

Do you have any pets?

No, though I occasionally borrow them from friends.  For several years my neighbor's cat felt it owned my house, too. I used to come home and find it asleep in the sun in my study.

Do have a favorite getaway?

The library.

What was the first book that turned you into a reader?

Wait, wait, I answered that one already!

What is one piece of advice you would give aspiring writers?

Watch out for self-indulgence.  It is the bane of writers.  It tells you it's okay to quit for the day when you could keep on writing.  It tells you that it's okay to skimp on the plotting or the characterization in order to get to the "good parts."

What are your goals for 2013?

My goal is to write more quickly.

cheers,
Megan

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe, read by Neil Gaiman

KID AUTHORS: True Tales of Childhood from Famous Writers by David Stabler & Doogie Horner

The series that includes Kid Presidents, Kid Artists, and Kid Athletes now chronicles the lives of Kid Authors! Here are true tales of famous writers, from long before they were famous--or even old enough to drive. Did you know:
- Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain) loved to skip school and make mischief, with his best friend Tom, of course!
- A young J. R. R. Tolkien was bitten by a huge tarantula--or as he called it, -a spider as big as a dragon.-
- Toddler Zora Neale Hurston took her first steps when a wild hog entered her house and started chasing her!
The diverse and inclusive cast includes Roald Dahl, Beverly Cleary, J. K. Rowling, Langston Hughes, Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, Stan Lee, and many more.


 Opening line:
"Everybody loves a good story--and we all know that a well-told story has a beginning, a middle, and an end."

This was a fun and quick book to read. Little interesting insights to a few writers with cute illustrations for each.
Ronald, aka, J.R.R. Tolkein was bit on the foot by a Baboon Tarantula. They are ginormous! Remind you of anything spiders in his stories?
Roald Dahl loved candy. When he was thirteen he was sent to a dismal school BUT it doubled as an undercover testing lab for Cadbury! He us to daydream about the inside of that factory.
Sam, or Samuel Clemens or Mark Twain (his name has something to do with boats...) us to get into all sorts of mischief with his best bud, Tom.
There are more snippets of interesting facts about more kid authors at the end of the book
I think this would be a great addition to any home or classroom.

THE FIRE QUEEN by Emily R. King

In the second book in The Hundredth Queen Series, Emily R. King once again follows a young warrior queen’s rise to meet her destiny in a richly imagined world of sorcery and forbidden powers.

Though the tyrant rajah she was forced to marry is dead, Kalinda’s troubles are far from over. A warlord has invaded the imperial city, and now she’s in exile. But she isn’t alone. Kalinda has the allegiance of Captain Deven Naik, her guard and beloved, imprisoned for treason and stripped of command. With the empire at war, their best hope is to find Prince Ashwin, the rajah’s son, who has promised Deven’s freedom on one condition: that Kalinda will fight and defeat three formidable opponents.

But as Kalinda’s tournament strengths are once again challenged, so too is her relationship with Deven. While Deven fears her powers, Ashwin reveres them—as well as the courageous woman who wields them. Kalinda comes to regard Ashwin as the only man who can repair a warring world and finds herself torn between her allegiance to Deven and a newly found respect for the young prince.

With both the responsibility to protect her people and the fate of those she loves weighing heavily upon her, Kalinda is forced again to compete. She must test the limits of her fire powers and her hard-won wisdom. But will that be enough to unite the empire without sacrificing all she holds dear?


 Opening line:
"Death has a stench, and it is not decaying flesh but the bitter scent of smoke clawing into my pores."

I enjoyed this book just as much as the first one! I was enthralled from the beginning and had a hard time putting the book down (I'm two hours behind in my chores!!).
Kalinda is the same brave woman we watched grow in book 1 but now she feels guilt for making bargains to save her empire and those bargains didn't quite work out.
Deven is still the devoted guard who wants to help and protect everyone.
The two are separated and a new "man" comes on the scene: Prince Ashwin. He is instantly enamored with Kali. Unfortunately for him, he looks just like his daddy who Kali killed: Turek.
There are also new friends added, who I really like, and new relationships. There was tons of palace intrigue that I thought Kali could dismiss because of who she was and how strong she is but that didn't happen. There are reasons...
I was so annoyed and frustrated with certain characters that I didn't mind when they were no longer part of the story. :)
Kali has a decision to make: be set free or defend her people. It's a big decision with lives and love in the balance.
Emily King does a great job developing characters and worlds and pulling readers in from the beginning (and the readers don't get the floors mopped because they. can't. stop. reading!).
I WILL read the third book! I can't wait to see what happens next!

Violence: fighting, whipping, death
Sex: kissing
Language: none