Gory Ponderings

 Not because it is the season of Hallowe'en, but simply due to the nature of my writing, my browser history now contains such alarming phrases as "treating gunshot wounds," "human bite measurement," and "repairing torn muscle and tendon."

The rabbit holes I've fallen through have been enlightening, as well. Can you guess the famous person who painted this wonderful Gallery of the Louvre? I'll give you a hint. The long and short of it is, Jacqueline's little automatons start babbling in telegraphic code, and in researching how they could manage to do that before the wireless telegraph was invented, I discovered this painter.

"Zombie powder" and "Zombie potion" are also in my browser history. Amid all the references to movies dating back to George Romero's original Night of the Living Dead I found hypothesized drug and herb and venom combinations that not only render one a zonbi, but also explain the craving for raw flesh, bones, and brains.

And, by the way, the original spelling of zombie did not have an "e." My autocorrect is going bonkers reminding me to add the "e"; however, since my setting is 1843, before the "e," I insist on "zombi."

Another factoid that plays a significant role in my Book 4 is that it's not that easy to kill someone simply by slicing their throat, even if you cut the jugular or carotid. Those arterial sprays you might see that shoot out three or four feet only come from a small puncture, and while the effect is visually spectacular, it's not difficult to close. Browser history: "How fast can you bleed out if the jugular is cut." I now have to rewrite a bunch of chapter 8.

For this novel so far, I've had to investigate rabies and other saliva-spread infections, venomous fish and reptiles, broken legs, 19th century wheelchairs, famous English physicians... Very important that you distinguish between a physician and a surgeon. A surgeon could be a barber or a dentist; a physician was the genuine doctor.

Writers before Google had it rough.