The Jellyfish Book

The book's fabulous. And I loved all the stuff about antivenin - really unusual medical and it was a breath of fresh air.

Nearest deadly encounter I've had is seeing a stone fish at the local Sealife Centre (the one that's camouflaged like a stone, and if you stand on it you're dead within minutes... oh, now there's a lightbulb for killing off a characters *g*). And there was a very thick wall of glass between me and it. Ditto the shark tunnel. (Someone proposed by getting divers to take a banner into that particular shark tunnel, on Valentine's day last year - he was only about 19 or 20, bless. So romantic!)

As I'm in the UK, we don't really do dangerous species - adders are our only poisonous snake and they're so incredibly shy that you practically never see one.

And as for the nasties in your neck of the woods - all I'm saying is eight legs...

I heard about the jellyfish book at it's inception too and immediately fell in love with it. When does it come to Aus shelves, Amy? I need a fix and I need it fast.

As for killer wildlife, I live high on a plateau in rural Australia. I've conquered the spiders. I'm bigger, meaner, and I'm usually holding a thong (footwear, people, flat rubber FOOTWEAR).

Snakes are my weakness, but having said that the Red Bellied Black snakes are my favourite killer slitherer. They're timid, small, and they run from you - and an old man once told me that if you have Red Bellied Black's around you won't get the others. Tiger snakes make me nervous and King Brown's stop me... dead. We had an enormous King Brown hanging round our chook (hen) shed last autumn. It overwintered in the hayshed, and we relocated it (to a better place) in the spring.

Did you know that Australia has more venemous snakes than any other country in the world?  

I've never encountered a box jellyfish though. Aren't their ghostly, fragile, and extremely poisonous tentacles something like three meres long?  Kelly

HI, I took the kids to the museum today and they spent ages and ages in the BUGS ALIVE section while I quietly freaked out at the spider display and gave thanks I don't live in Sydney where the Funnel webs are!  Prior to the antivenom being invented in 1970 something, a famous Australian doctor was heard to say, 'if you get bitten by a funnel web first make peace with your God and then go and see the doctor!' 

Looking forward to the jellyfish book, Amy!

Cheers

Fiona

Australia is sure an adventurous place to live, isn't it?

If I had known about the spiders and snakes when I visited Western Australia in 1987/8, I would have given Oz a pass.

Can't wait for your jellyfish book to hit the shelves downunder, Amy. The cover is just gorgeous.

We got as up close and personal as I want to with one of Oz's nastier deadlies today on an Ord River cruise.  Some big estuarine crocodiles sunning themselves on the sandbanks - they look lazy but I think they're scarily aware of everything that's going on around them. I must say I would camp on the banks of the river for quids!

:)

Sharon

Thanks for being our first designated poster, Amy, and getting our new blog off to such a great start.

As an avid watcher of wildlife documentaries, I found the jellyfish info really interesting.  I've only encountered them once, many years ago, when we were on holiday in Ireland.  There was this beautiful beach, miles of white, soft sand, but a strip of it near the tide-line was covered with hundreds, maybe thousands, of jellyfish.  Small ones, almost transparent and largely colourless, but I don't know what type they were.  And thankfully I didn't get stung!  

Aside from unsubstantiated sightings of a "big cat" - (which I've never seen myself) - there are no dangerous beasties to encounter in my corner of Scotland.  At least, there shouldn't be.  But I share Jill Shalvis's pathological phobia of spiders and, like Jill, I have been known to exit a moving car in the past when confronted by one that wafted in through an open window!  I know it's illogical but I can't help it.  Arachnids, from a tiny money spider upwards, throw me into a panic.   It's bad enough when they are stationary, occupying a little corner where wall joins ceiling, nerve-racking when they are on the move, but the horrifying worst thing is when they go missing!  Then I don't want to go back into the room concerned until it's either back in its place, located and/or removed.  Even webs give me the creeps!  I can't stand the feel of a strand of spider web silk on my skin ... aarrggghhh!  Now I need to go and lie in a darkened, hopefully spider-free room, to recover!

Best wishes,

Margaret

www.margaretmcdonagh.com

Hey, this topic is making me think about that Will Smith movie.

My poor dog (the dog prior to my current dog) got bit by a rattle snake while on a walk with my husband.  He didn't even wince and my husband had no idea it had occured.  They arrived home, no complaints from Max (the dog) but I noticed a drop of blood on his front leg.  Didn't think much about it until an hour later I looked out my kitchen window at him laying in the back yard with his leg three times its normal size and the swelling moving up his chest.  I practically jumped through the window!  Of course it was a Sunday so we had to scramble to find an emergency vet.  The dog weighed close to a hundred pounds, and I couldn't lift him into the car by myself (husband had gone off to play tennis before he new what had happened and before we had a cell phone)  Horrible, horrible nightmare.  Anway - MAX SURVIVED!  Poor dog suffered so much, though.

Can we change the topic? Can't wait to read your book, Amy!

I'm looking forward to reading your Jellyfish book aka Greek Doctor, Cinderella
Bride.  It sounds great.

I'm not big on deadly creatures.  Our cottage is located in Rattlesnake country.  I was thankful I wasn't in the boat at the time, but my husband was driving when he heard the rattle and sure enough there was a snake curled up enjoying the sun.  My husband idled the boat, got the oar and tried to lift the snake over the edge of the boat without getting near his fangs.  Thankfully he succeeded with the help of another boater realizing his situation.  Now it just a story but I would have been a nervous wreck and panicking - not what my husband would have needed.

Linda Margaret thanks for the Canada Day wishes.

You're VERY welcome Amy!

Jayne

to the book and enjoyed hearing all the stories except the dog story was a bit too close. Poor doggie. When I was a kid we were horseback riding and crossing a creek. My horse shied and threw me when he spotted a water moccasin. I landed in the water but got the heck out of there as fast as I could. I was so scared and I learned later you shouldn't move when it's a venomous snake but who can think when you're looking at something like that. I live in Texas and have seen rattle snakes and others but not as up close and personal as that one time. I have several friends that have been bitten by the brown recluse spider and that is bad too. We've been stung by jellyfish but nothing too dangerous just painful. We also had an experience while swimming in the ocean. All of a sudden a fin popped out of the water and then another. I almost freaked knowing my kids were also swimming but then we saw the snouts and they were dolphins. This group of dophins came three mornings in a row. It turned out to be an awesome experience even though they wouldn't let us get too close we can still say we swam with dophins.

but the only time I've ever seen them is behind glass. Not too many dangerous snakes or bugs in my part of Canada--Alberta. We do have bear and cougars. You can run into deer and moose. What has me the most scared right now is mosquitoes and the West Nile Virus that's moved into our province.

I didn't know where else to reply... I am glad you liked my review... I really loved this story. And yes, it was my first official medical romance.I have another one of yours... The Italian Count's Baby... it is 7 books away from the one I am reading.... so in a week from now I shall post my review...

Currently my reading is going to be affected because I have to translate a boiler installation manual for my father's company.... Italian to Spanish... and it is 61 pages plus 25 diagrams. I am a translator at times... I speak 4 languages... my natal tongue is Spanish... have learned English, Italian and French... if you, or anyone else, need help with translations or words in these languages for your books don't hesitate to ask.

You asked me what my signature means.... it is a song from an Italian singer/composer called Massimo di Cataldo... the title is "Meravigliosamente" (Wonderfully) it means: "wonderfully, life I will live, instant after instant, and I will not stop oh no, not me"