If you could see my favorites...

Or my recent searches, it just might freak you out a bit. Then again, you are reading a paranormal authors' blog, so maybe not. But I've often wondered what "Big Brother" would think if they would bother hacking into my computer and browsing the history?

Would I become the subject of an FBI watch list? A psychological intervention? Or merely a shake of the head? I'm really not one to judge.

For my last novel -- now sitting in my editor's inbox -- I found I had to look up details regarding a rather gory death. Since I don't have a medical professional in the family, it wasn't a question I felt comfortable just calling up a stranger and asking about. These days with zero tolerance run rampant, you have to be careful. However, I felt rather like a ghoul while trying to find out exactly how long someone could live after having their throat cut.

I told it was gory.

Yes, I've spent hours researching such mundane topics as the type of shoes worn by peasant women in 1700's Ireland. But other topics interest me now that my feet are firmly planted in the present and otherworldly realm of writing. These include the names of predominant demons, for example... and the best way to kill said demons -- or other preternatural creatures. Everyone knows they don't die easily. What would be the fun in that?

I've also searched for werewolf legends; ancient warriors with swords; ghosts; haunted houses; mediums; tarot readers; and dragons... all of them trouping through my computer like a Halloween parade in the making. Now I'm moving on to other gifted individuals and deciding who gets to be immortal and who must die.

A bit god-like? Writing always is. But mostly I'm feeding the imagination. Because where would we be without it?

Meg Allison