For more about why this author writes sci-fi eco-adventures, visit her website: KHBrower.com

Thursday, October 20, 2016

Lion's Mane:
Cognitive Boosts in a Writer's Life

Lion's Mane, Hercium erinaceus, with its distinctive shaggy look
Lion's mane is typically difficult to find in the wild, but earlier this week I spotted this beauty on a fallen tree a few steps off a city park trail. I left the lovely specimen tucked under some foliage undisturbed, hoping it will continue to grow and no one else will snag it before I return to harvest.

Though experts disagree on efficacy, lion's mane shows promise as a nerve regenerator that functions as a cognitive enhancer, as well as serving in traditional medicinal uses for a variety of health concerns, including digestive and cholesterol issues.

I've been getting another kind of cognitive boost this past week. I've been taking an online writing class from the University of Iowa, and in my first assignment I wrote a short story based on a character and an event that Virginia and Gordy witness in Mission to Green Tara. It's the moment when a colonial pod stuffed with "volunteers" from the cruise ship is released into deep space and dropped off in the middle of nowhere. The Maderas kids know the pod has no navigation, communication, or oxygen filtering capabilities. In other words, it's a death sentence for the volunteer colonists. Story structure wise, it's the moment when Virginia crosses the first threshold and takes action. Specifically, it's the moment when Virginia decides to defy authority in a really big way, escape from the massive cruise ship controlled by ruthless despots, and rescue her mother after a decade of being lost in space.

My new short story, "Release and Settlement," is told from the perspective of a young girl who is released with the volunteers. After fielding notes from my writing group and my revisions, I plan to submit the short story to sci-fi publications.

To learn more about why I write sci-fi eco-adventures, and to find out more about my work-in-progress and how writing Mission to Blue Grannus requires my research into fungi and myco-remediation, tap on KHBrower.com.