But do you love the ocean THIS much?

Eternal Cruises is offering you a chance to ride the "voyage to infinity". Perhaps you love the ocean soooo much that you wish you could ride the waves forever. You've thought about having your ashes sprinkled in the Atlantic but there's so much pollution and you'd really rather not ride along with empty water bottles and fish poop. Well, now you can book a cruise with Eternal Cruises. Once you're dead of course.

Your ashes will be placed in a lovingly appointed container and for a one-time fee of $50,000 that container will ride on ships destined to visit various exotic ports around the world. And you won't be alone. You'll visit the ports with nearly a 100,000 other ash bundles.

You may not have had the opportunity to travel much while you were alive but isn't it nice to know your ashes could see the world once you're gone?

This is just one of those little gems I stumbled across while researching death and cremation for a scene I'm writing. Have you heard of any unique locations for the ashes of the dearly departed?

Do You Chew?

You may have heard that gum chewing is the new coffee. That is to say that chewing a piece of gum supposedly makes you more alert. At least that's what the scientists at the Wrigley Science Institute would like you to believe.

Yesterday I performed my own little experiment. I was out of coffee and had no time to stop for a Starbucks but I did have a pack of gum. I crammed a couple pieces in my mouth to help boost my energy during my late afternoon case of the doldrums. My own experiment proved that, yes, chewing/smacking/snapping gum helped keep me alert but only for the time I spent chewing it. After fifteen minutes I was bored of the gum and the minute it was gone I felt tired again.

Conclusion: Two pieces of Extra Gum did not boost my energy as much as my usual triple-tall-no-fat latte.

Are you a chewer? If you are, do you find it gives you a boost?

How Gross is too Gross?

I enjoy a good gross-out. That doesn't mean that every book I read has graphic autopsy scenes or horrific detailed murders but, yes, some do. In addition to the thrillers, mysteries and crime novels I read, I also enjoy a lot of feel good romances.

Sometimes when I write I need someone to point out that I've gone too far. That the scene I've written is perhaps a little too stomach turning for my particular readership. Sure I don't mind the odd ewwwww comment but I don't want readers turning my books away because they're too grossed out. My editor pointed out a scene in Devil May Ride where I needed to scale things back a bit. It didn't change the story so I was fine with it.

I don't often get that shuddering ewwww feeling when I read. Maybe I have a high tolerance for ewwwww. I remember reading Shadow Man by Cody McFadyen and having a major ewwwww moment. It didn't stop me from reading the book. It was a great story and the scene played an important part in the telling of the tale. However, it did make me shudder with revulsion while simultaneously wanting to read more.

How about you? Have you read any books that you had to put down because you were grossed out? Or do you have a high ewwwww tolerance?