I am starting to feel like a normal person (well, as normal as possible for me…) again after a rather hectic period of editing Book 2 of the No Safety in Numbers trilogy, No Easy Way Out. I am so excited about this book. I wish I could give it to you right now! Alas, this cannot be…
So instead, I give you THIS MONTH IN HYPOCHONDRIA!
I hope this isn’t a spoiler, but No Safety in Numbers deals in part with the effects of a biological attack on a suburban mall. (There. Now I’ve ruined EVERYTHING!) In researching biohazards for the book, I found that there are many terrifying things in the real world that don’t require all that fancy biological weapon stuff! Things that are terrifying simply because they are ALREADY OUT THERE! (Mwa-ha-ha!)
Things like the new SARS-like virus that killed one man in Saudi Arabia and left another in critical condition. SARS is caused by a coronavirus, which is the same type of virus that causes the common cold. In 2002-03 more than 8,000 people caught SARS and one in ten of those infected died. Health teams have converged to try to find the source of this new virus, which appears to be deadly, but not easily transmissible between people.
Or how about the swine flu variant that is transmissible from infected pigs? More than 300 people caught a type of swine flu from pigs at state fairs this summer.
There has also been research showing that flu viruses found in commercial pig herds, which exhibit genetic properties from human, bird, and swine flus, can mutate to become deadly and highly contagious. Scientists cautioned that the virus used in this experiment was not concerning because it resembled an existing form of the flu, meaning the majority of people have some immunity to the type of virus.
Why all the hullabaloo about the flu? Well, flus are kind of serious business. Just ask anyone who lived during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. Or watch this excellent American Experience video about it. Or rewatch the last few episodes of last season’s Downton Abbey. (Now THERE’S a spoiler…)
I mention all of this because it is the beginning of the flu season and thus, it is time again to break out the hand sanitizer. Get your flu shot! Wash your hands! Cover your mouth when you cough and turn away from others when you sneeze! Everyone around you will be grateful:)
And now, in other science related news, two baby walruses were rescued in Alaska and appear to be the cuddliest, cutest things on earth….after my buddy Peetles, that is.
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What I’m reading: Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson (Yet another classic that I’ve never read before)
What I’m watching: Mythbusters (Because it is awesome…and is on Netflix)
What I’m listening to: “Die Young” by Ke$ha (Don’t judge me)
Hello. I just wanted to ask when I could expect a release date for No Easy Way Out? I’m halfway through the first book, and so far it is amazing…
Hi Jake! No Easy Way Out will be released summer 2013. I can’t wait to share it with you! Glad to hear you’re enjoying No Safety in Numbers!
So sad…the only thing my 12 year old son Mo can think to put on his C-mas list is Book #2 of your No Safety in Numbers series…and I’ve come to your blog to see if I could be “Momma of the Year” and find the release date…So sad!!!! I see I won’t even be able to get the book for his 13 b-day because that is in May…oh well…I’m sure it will be worth the wait for your summer release….but we must tell you that we absolutely love your book and are dying for the rest of the series. Now, we are readers, and we enjoy good books…but we are not “hop on the bandwagon” people—so let’s just make it clear…when this series becomes as popular as the Hunger Games…we loved you from page 1:0)
So, I’d say Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays…but since book # 2 won’t be under our tree…all I can say is…SKIP THE EGGNOG and keep writing!!!
Thank you so much, Jill! I am writing away right now, starting the final book in the No Safety in Numbers trilogy. I can’t wait to share Book 2, called No Easy Way Out, with you in the summer!
This is pretty much totally irrelevant, but Mythbusters is completely awesome.
And so is No Safety in Numbers. My mom left me in Barnes and Noble for about an hour this summer and was like ‘You can buy ONE book. ONE!’ (I was just like ‘D:’) I picked up No Safety in Numbers and I think I read it about 5 times that week.
This is random, but I had a really good friend called Marco. He moved about 2 years ago.
It’s a bit disappointing that I can’t read up more about the deadly illness raging around those people as they form huge, violent mobs and absolutely flip out over the attack. I checked this book out from a language arts teacher in my school and I blazed through it. I loved this book and I would recommend this book for absolutely anyone with a love for sciency-conspiracy stuff. I was actually scanning her shelf for a zombie book. I saw this, thought it would be a good book about survivors of a zombie plague, and I got a great book about survivors of a mall plague. Can’t wait to read book 2 OR 3!
I’m thrilled to hear it, Bradley! If you’re interested in learning about the fictional Stonecliff Flu, you should check out the real Spanish Flu. I used it as a model for my variant of the disease. The Spanish Flu epidemic is a super terrifying period in American history!