Category Archives: Killing Off Characters in Writing

When Sleep is Not Possible

We all need sleep to survive. Sleep is a natural process that allows the body to recharge, refresh and prepare (both physically and psychologically) for a new day of adventure. Scientists understand the chemistry that causes us to become sleepy—the … Continue reading

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ANTIMONY – A Shimmery Toxic Metal

Antimony is a naturally-occurring metal usually found in ore deposits. Although it is a rare element, it’s extensively used in the manufacturing industry and is present in many household items. Its appearance is described as “a silvery, luscious gray metal” … Continue reading

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Murder At 30,000 Feet!

Modern pharmaceuticals are excellent alternatives to more invasive procedures when a medical cure is required. Such medications not only prolong life but also enhance it in the process. Ironically, those same wonder drugs can become instruments of death when they … Continue reading

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Lethal Adrenaline Rush

Adrenaline is our friend! It’s one of those hormones that floods our bodies when we severely injure ourselves, feel afraid, or do strenuous exercise. It’s known as “the fight or flight hormone” (along with some help from norepinephrine and dopamine). … Continue reading

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Whey is Way Cool These Days!

Whey, the tart liquid by-product when making cheese and yogurt, is often sold as a protein source in many nutritional supplements used for bodybuilding and in meal replacement products. It’s also used to enrich baked goods and to produce bread … Continue reading

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The Drugs Women Use To Kill

Women are more sedate killers! Statistics indicate that only 39% of killers using a gun to murder their victims are women, and women are six times more likely to use a poison or a drug to kill (2.5% for women … Continue reading

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SAMARIUM – The Good and The Bad

In the past I’ve blogged about lethal radioactive chemicals (here and here) as possible murder weapons to use in your murder mysteries and thrillers. There is another rather dramatic radioactive agent—a beneficial medication at that—which could take center stage in … Continue reading

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Got Milk or Brucellosis?

I’ve often blogged about biological weapons—both those used in the past and those with potential for use in your new thriller plots. The world’s population has certainly been victim to biological warfare in the past. In 184 BC, Hannibal’s warriors … Continue reading

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Conspiracy Theory Heart Attacks

In previous blogs (here and here) I’ve discussed how to construct a murder plot using a drug or medical device that could mimic a heart attack that would be virtually undetectable as a murder—the so-called perfect murder weapon! But there … Continue reading

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TOXIDROMES: Wet vs Dry Symptoms

In last week’s blog, I introduced the concept of toxidromes—defined as a group of specific symptoms and clues which medical examiners use to identify the specific substance used to poison a victim. In that blog, I discussed two of the … Continue reading

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