I spent a good part of January going over edits for my soon to be published dystopian novel, Mixed In. This novel has been proof-read professionally, edited twice, and still I did find some mistakes. This is completely normal. Now, it moves forward to its publication date-March 7th.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at the timeline and process I’ve gone through thus far.

May  2015 My previous novel, Natural Attraction was published. I began marketing efforts–blog tours, radio interviews, readings. I also read indie fiction and the news to get an idea of what was being published and what was happening in the world. I wanted my next novel to be more contemporary with a simpler plot.

My short story writing class at Central College discussed world and national events with concern. My analytical chemistry class gave presentations about new devices. One was a laser bubble device & a cell-phone spectrometer developed by one of my former professors-Alex Scheeline. This helped set the stage for Mixed In. It would be a dystopia.It would be set in the very near future. The protagonist would be a chemist. She’d help develop a device. Since I study chemicals in plants, the novel would also be about plants. And agriculture. It would be set in the midwest.

Late fall 2015 I further formulated and collected ideas for my second novel. I asked Facebook friends and posted blog quizzes about how much sex they’d like to see in a novel, what types of science they were interested in, and what might make a dystopia. The verdict was to have it be slightly naughty. Huffington Post provided some inspiration about women becoming in touch with their inner passion.I decided to make the dystopia close to home–something based in the world of agriculture. This would be a combination of A Handmaid’s Tale, Idiocracy, and chemistry.

January 2016 I earnestly began Mixed In, set in the authoritarian business focused city-state of Cochtonville. Cochtonville was also the setting for my short story “Grave to Cradle.” Grave to Cradle was first published by Slink Chunk Press, then added to an anthology published by Shade Mountain Press.  The working title for the novel was “No Regrets.”

March, 2015 Writing when I got up in the morning and before bed, I now had 50K words. For many authors, the abandonment point comes around 40K words. I was happy that I broke through. My goal was 73,000 words. (The final book is 76,00o words.)

October,2015 I finished the first draft. As you can imagine, it was filled with errors, inconsistencies, bad sentences, worse punctuation, and the worst proof-reading. I hated myself for even trying to write it. Yet I revised. Revision is the key to writing. For most of us, the first draft is terrible and embarrassing.

April 2016. I sent the revised novel to a professional editor for comments on plot, character, and continuity. I sent the first fifty pages to another reader for comment.(I pay people for this)

I got the comments back from the two hired editors. Both agreed that other than the first chapter, there were three boring chapters that needed to be cut or reworked before the book got interesting. I revised the manuscript, making Chapter Two more active and cutting Chapters Three and Four.

May 2016. I sent the manuscript out to be proof-read and copy edited. (I am an atrocious proof-reader. I hire people to help me.) During this time I looked over the City Owl editors’ wish lists. On Heather’s list was a dystopia that didn’t have to do with zombies or vampires. My dystopia had no vampires or zombies. But I wasn’t going to make the “open reading period” deadline because the manuscript was being proofed. I wrote Heather and asked her if I could submit after the deadline. She said yes. I sent the manuscript to her at the end of May. I began another novel to pass the time.

July 22, 2016 Acceptance!

July 31, 2016 Signed contract!

August 2016 First round of edits by City Owl editors.

Late September 2016 I discussed cover concepts with an editor and a cover artist.

We perfected the tag line and the pitch–thanks Facebook friends.

Later in the month, I began discussion with the editor and artist about the cover specifics. I wanted the cover to feature a splash of beer/dirty water.

November 2016 More edits.

December 2016 Cover approved. I love the splash.

January 2016 Second round of edits.

Received a copy of the sales sheet.

Official Cover reveal (January 24, 2017)

January 21-25. Final read.

As you can see, it has been a year since the first few pages were written. My head is spinning as the project moves ahead. It was meant to be a comic dystopia. Suddenly, I see parallels with current events…kind of like when you are pregnant and then it seems like pregnant women are everywhere.

Looking ahead: Pre-order date is March 5. Publication date March 7, 2017

 

1. 

   Before chemical tests, doctors used the taste of urine to detect diabetes. Sweet urine meant the person was diabetic.

2. People incorrectly used  a urine test involving pee and nails in corked jars  determine if someone was a witch. If the cork popped out of the bottle they were guilty of witchcraft.
3. A genetic enzyme disorder called alkaptonuria makes urine turn black in air.
4. Blue or green urine can be caused by the substance methylene blue, used to treat methemoglobinemia or bladder spasms and irritation or by Viagra.
5. Porphyria can change the color of urine to purple or possibly blue. It’s thought that  King George III suffered from this.
6. Dark urine is a sign of dehydration.
7. Orange urine may be sign that you have eaten blackberries or rhubarb.
8. Red urine may be due to beets but it’s usually blood!
9. Dark purple urine is often seen in kidney failure and with people who have frequent use of catheters.
10. For a full list of urine colors and their causes, visit http://www.urinecolors.com/ or here.
11. No matter how big or small, most mammals take 21 seconds to pee.
12. Can you smell asparagus pee? It’s genetic.
13. In the past, urine was used to tan animal hides and poor people sold their urine, unless they were too poor to have a pot to piss in.
14. The element phosphorus was first isolated from urine in 1669.
15. There’s a musical called Urinetown.
16. Urine may be either acidic or alkaline depending on your diet. 
17. Urine is considered a bodily fluid and is not sterile and the bacteria vary from person to person.
18. Urine, piss, pee–what word came first? According to the on-line etymology dictionary, it’s urine!
19. Most people do not wake up to urinate at night. It might be worth a trip to the doctor if you do.
20. Being “pee shy” is a social phobia that affects a little less than 10% of the population.
21. Urine is over 90% water.

Do you known more fun facts about urine? Please leave comments! And now that you know a lot about urine, enjoy crushing this quiz.

For an updated version, go here. 

Last week the temperatures dipped far below freezing and someone asked me if there was a point at which ice-melt won’t work anymore. The answer is yes but don’t panic.

These substances work by disrupting the bonds between the ice molecules –making it harder for them join together and make a solid–but there is a limit to which they can depress a freezing point. The first study I could find on this topic was published in 1918 by Worth H. Rodebush.  He measured the eutectic points of various salt solutions, essentially the lowest temperature they can reach before being solid. His figures match those found today so here is a partial list:

Salt,  sodium chloride, NaCl -21 C or 1-6 F (works efficiently to melt ice at temperatures above 15 F). This is what Iowa uses primarily.

Calcium chloride -51 C or -60F ( for practical purposes it works above -20 F)

Potassium acetate -30C or -76F  (safest for grass and concrete and most effective above -22 F)

Magnesium chloride -15 C or -5 F (best above 5 F)

The list above is for salts, inorganic compounds with ionic bonds.

Glycols such as propylene glycol are carbon-based compounds that can be used as deicers. These have a eutectic point of around -55 C which is -67 F. These are most often used on airplanes.

As you can see, these substances do have their limits but thankfully we rarely face these extreme temperatures–although we do on occasion reach -22 F in Iowa.

A temperature of -93 C or –136F has been recorded in Antartica by a satellite device with -128.6F (-89 C) being the coldest official temperature measured by a thermometer. So there’s a spot where de-icers wouldn’t be effective.

What’s the coldest a substance can get? Helium freezes at -458 F or -272 C. You’ll probably never see any of these temperatures so enjoy your de-icers in moderation, using caution below -22 F.

Why in moderation? De-icers can  “aggravate” flaws in concrete and of course when wet, they make part the perfect combination to corrode your car–electrolyte, water, and air. They are the electrolyte. Besides eating up a lot of local and state road budgets, They also contribute quite a lot of sodium and chloride to the local waters.

Don’t forget, the lower temperature of deiced pavements can make pet paws get so cold that they can get frostbite, so protect your pets this winter and travel safely.

I’m excited to share the cover for Mixed In created by artist Mary Cain. Mixed In will be released this spring by City Owl Press.

Today was the last home market for Prairie Roots Farm, the organic farm started by my former colleague and chemistry professor Louise Zaffiro. I want to make leeks and she had some gorgeous ones. I asked her if they were hard to grow. The short answer is “yes.”

Zaffiro explains that she starts the seeds inside in February under grow lights. When planting comes in early spring, the work begins. She makes a series of holes–9″ deep– with a dowel rod, a device she made herself as suggested by Eliot Coleman. She places each tiny plant in a hole and lets the dirt fall over the baby leek. The buried part of the leek is what stays white and she recommends letting the soil fall naturally and gradually over the leek. Give them plenty of moisture and nutrient rich soil and they’ll be ready in the late summer through the fall.

Leeks are in the Allium family and are very nutritious–good for prevention of cancer and blood vessel problems among other benefits. They’re also a national symbol of Wales.

I asked Louise if being a scientist helped her with her new venture of organic farming–taken up when she was sixty years old. She said it definitely did. Scientists make a habit of record keeping which is important in getting organic certification. She also appreciates the chemistry of fertilizer and the use of the organic fertilizers such as manure and fish meal. These nutrients release nitrogen slowly to the plant which has benefits. One, they don’t leech into the water as ammonia based fertilizers do. They release the nutrients slowly in a form that the plant can use. Two, less nitrogen helps keep pests down. Apparently insects are attracted to crops that get a sudden burst of nitrogen as you’ll get with most commercial fertilizers. Additionally, the organic matter helps the soil form aggregates called peds which allow it to aerate. These peds are destroyed by commercial cultivation.

Zaffiro enjoys her new career. She finds it rewarding and intense with long periods of hard work and no downtime. (It’s not however, as much work as being a beginning teacher.) She likes making a difference in the health of the planet  and its citizens and this makes all the work and the stress of a new career worth it.

Here’s my simple recipe, based on one from the Delightfully Dutch cook book:

1 cup of sliced leeks

1 cup of sliced carrots

Boil in 2cups of water until tender.

Drain, saving the water.

Melt 2 tablespoons (or maybe a little more) of butter. Add two heaping tablespoons of flour and mix well. Add water and mix.Add leeks. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar. Salt and add plenty of pepper. Enjoy!

 

 

 

 

I live in a Dutch town and I’m from a Dutch one too. Dutch people do not like to be told what to do. They didn’t have last names until Napoleon conquered the Netherlands in 1810. He ordered the population to take surnames. Some names chosen were sassy such Hogenboezem (High Bosom). Some had religious connects such as Branderhorst (Burning Bush). Dutch names could be a whole other blog post.

The Dutch are in general people who are tolerant , reject nationalism, and dislike class differences. I’m not 100% Dutch, I’m not even tall, and have never been to the Netherlands but oddly enough, those values beat through my heart as well. Today,  I wanted to share some Dutch proverbs from this book. How many do you agree with?

He that embarked with the devil must sail with him.

He that despises the little is not worthy of the great,

The roadside carpenter has many advisers.

A cat that meows much catches few mice.

Even the best knitter sometimes drops a stitch.

Better to speak sense occasionally than nonsense continuously.

He who takes his wife along never comes home too late.

Love makes a small bed wide.

Blossoms are not fruits.

When God means to punish a nation he deprives its rulers of Wisdom.

and my favorite

We hang little thieves and let the great ones escape.