The Book Boost Blog: It's All in the Weeds...err...Cards With Guest Blogger: SM Blooding

Win a set of Tarot Dolls &

meet author SM Blooding

today at the Book Boost!

She's here to discuss making magic out of weeds and here's what she had to say...

I love being outdoors! I love walking in it, biking in it, reading, writing, drawing, playing…anything I can do inside, except watching TV, I’d prefer to do outside. There is so much inspiration out there! I mean, indoors, sure, you’ve got your walls. And your TV…*shrug*…It’s a necessary evil I could probably live without. You’ve got the same old pictures…Great. You’ve got your decorations that you change up every now and again, maybe.

It’s easy for my mind to become stagnant by remaining indoors all the time. I love to people watch, dog watch, geese watch. I love watching geese chase people. That’s awesome. Unless it’s the geese chasing me, and then the awesome’s OVER.

The thing that inspires me the most, however, are weeds.

Weeds are one of those things that people hate. There are chemicals to destroy them, which seem to help them grow, while killing the grass. It’s marvelous. People will go and pull them, then complain about the level of effort it took to do so. There’s yelling, complaining, bribing others to take care of them for you, and I’ve seen more than one post about them. Also, I had an entire—okay, almost entire—hand-written letter (I’m dating myself here) from my grandmother complaining about the weeds in her garden.

They’re AWFUL. They destroy the look of beauty of our yards. They choke out the more delicate flowers and herbs (herbs are weeds too, that were adopted into the non-weed family) in our garden. They’re a nuisance.

However, we hate them for the all the reasons that make them awesome.

The weed has learned to adapt. It can grow just about anywhere, as anyone with a yard can attest. They grow when you don’t water them, when you over water them, and they generally look healthier than the plants you paid for and purposefully planted.

They’re hardy. Killing a weed is not impossible by any sense of the word, but it is difficult. Once a weed has decided to GROW in your garden, once it’s got its root-hold in your yard, you should just own it. It’s yours. The end. Forget about the flowers that really aren’t suited for your climate. Just take the free weeds, give them less water and be done with it.

They’re FREE. You don’t even have to buy them. They come into your yard on their own. You don’t even have to ask for them. They just arrive, free of charge and make your yard and your garden green. Isn’t that nice?

Now, let’s talk about our DEAREST friend, and my favorite flower, the dandelion for just a second. Dandelions have been used for medicinal purposes since the tenth century. I would guess, it’s been longer than that, but who am I to say. You can eat the leaves. The roots help with your liver. It makes a wine I’ve never tried, and its nutritional value is amazing. It has almost as much iron as spinach, and is high in Vitamin A. It also has protein, fat, and carbs, as well as calcium, magnesium, and Vitamin C.

That’s pretty amazing, isn’t it?

Can’t you see this book? Now, granted, I wouldn’t write about a talking dandelion. No-no. However, I would create a character called Leo, and embody the richness, the wonder, the muted power of the dandelion. Then I’d make him wholly unwanted. I’d throw in a villain intent on eradicating him from the face of the planet, and then bring on an apocalyptic event in which the only person who could save the world is…Leo. I’d give him bushy blond hair, and make him fall in love with a woman called Rose. It’d be EPIC.

Okay. Okay. So, obviously, I need to work to flesh that one out a bit, because I’m pretty sure I’ve read that book. However, I could tweak it, throw in a dragon—no, no. Not a dragon because that has definitely been done. How about a vampire. Yeah. A vampire. And make him glow in the dark. No. Make him sparkle with shadow. Yeah. That could work. Then I’d put him smack dab in the middle of…Vail, Colorado. Oh, yeah. This is working out swell. And he doesn’t drink blood. He drinks…melatonin. *evil giggle*

Sometimes, when people ask me what inspired a story, I always cringe a little. It’s the smallest things that inspire the best stories. If you were reading one of my interviews, what would you say if a weed inspired a book? Would you want to read it? It’d probably be a worthwhile read

A Note from the Book Boost: Thanks for joining us today, SM. Your enthusiasm is very welcome here and I'm in total agreement about the geese (go away you long-necked hissing things). Please tell us more about your book!

Blurb:

She imprisoned and beat him.

And now she thinks he’s her trophy.

Synn El’Asim will do almost anything to prove her wrong. But he’s only proving her right. Queen Nix awakened his Mark of power and inducted him into the House of Wands. She knew what she was doing. The son of the two most powerful Families standing against her is the ultimate prize. What she didn’t take into consideration was that maybe he was too strong for her.

Maybe.

The Families are weakened, and it’ll take a lot more than one young man with a powerful Mark to take on…

The Hands of Tarot.

Want More SM?

Visit her on the web here: www.smblooding.com

Follow her blog here: http://www.smblooding.com/blog/

Pick up a copy of her book today! Click here.

Contest Time: