ERIN TEAGAN,

I always come home from vacation feeling re-inspired with new ideas and stories. We travel a lot, and often to places that are just off the beaten path. We camp in our little camper (the ‘beach house’ in the summer and the ‘ski house’ in the winter) and explore. Last week we were on Hatteras Island until the mandatory evacuation on Thursday due to Hurricane Arthur. We salvaged the rest of our vacation on the banks of the Rappahannock River where there is nothing but desolate

Something that appears in almost all of my manuscripts is some kind of terrible bug (I don't know why, really... I don't do it on purpose.) I just got comments back on the manuscript I'm revising and one question was: Should I know what a spider cricket is? And the answer is: Yes. Yes, you must know. And so, here are ten things about the spider cricket. 1. Supposedly they live in most states across the east coast but I have only seen them in Virginia. (I would check this

Ten things about working in science: 1. There is almost always a chance of an explosion. And this is why your chemistry teachers made wearing lab goggles a grade. Because they KNOW THIS. 2. Sometimes your boss will ask you to wear a bunny suit in a vacuum sealed room so you can make medicine that will save people's lives. ALWAYS use the restroom first. 3. Visit the supply room often for new pens and notebooks. Scientists are just like writers in that they appreciate a