M.J. Rose

Did you hear about the thought-to-be-extinct giant insect they found on Ball’s Pyramid in the middle of the sea?

(Atlas Obscura)

From Atlas Obscura –

“The remnants of a massive volcano, Ball’s Pyramid juts 1,843 feet out of the Pacific Ocean. Discovered in 1788, the barren, rocky spire was thought to be devoid of life until 2001 when a group of scientists discovered what may be the world’s rarest insect.

The Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis) had not been seen alive in over 70 years. Known as “land lobsters” or “walking sausages,” the six-inch long insects were once common on the neighboring Lord Howe Island, but were assumed to have been eaten into extinction by the black rats introduced to the island when a supply ship ran aground on its shores in 1918.

Yet in 2001, the scientists found a colony of the huge Lord Howe Island stick insects living under a single bush…”

For the complete piece click here to go to Atlas Obscura.

Here’s some exciting news: M.J.’s novel, THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES, is coming out in trade paperback today.

THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES was the Indie Next Pick for March of last year, Best of 2012 – Suspense Magazine, and Best of Spring Mystery/Suspense PW and Amazon – with a starred and boxed PW review.

In case you have not read the book yet, here is the story straight from M.J.:

“Cleopatra, the last pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, was fascinated with and some say obsessed by scent. Marc Anthony built her a fragrance factory and the famous queen was said to have kept a recipe book for her perfumes, entitled Cleopatra gynaeciarum libri. That book has been described in writings by historians Dioscorides, Homer and Pliny the Elder.

No known copy of the book exists today.

That missing book stirred my imagination and became the seed for THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES. While writing, to remain in the world of the novel, I burned incense and my favorite candles – those created by Frederick Boucharday. When the novel was finished I searched out Boucharday to give him a copy of the yet to be published novel.

Boucharday was intstantly intrugued by THE BOOK OF LOST FRAGRANCES. First, as a reader, he said he was taken with the mystery and romance of the story. In my tale scent plays a strong role when it comes to ones memory. Boucharday, who creates using oils and classic ingredients, said that it spoke to him as a perfumer.

The ancient fictional fragrance at the heart of my novel is called, Âmes Sœurs, which means “Soul Mates” in French. Inspired by the book, Boucharday has brought the scent to life with his version of Âmes Sœurs , the scent of soul mates. Âmes Sœurs hints of Frankincense, Myrrh, Orange Blossom and Jasmine. It’s smoky uncommon finish suggests the past and the future, and lost souls reunited.

In what I hope will be a perfect combination of fragrance, fact and fiction, Boucharday and I have brought both perfume and storytelling to a new place.”

Here are some of the excellent reviews we mentioned! –

“Compelling… suspenseful tale. Once you catch a whiff, you will be enchanted”. —Associated Press

“Enthralling… A supple and elegant thriller…There is simply no more daring writer than MJ Rose, and her blisteringly original The Book of Lost Fragrance shows why.” —Providence Journal

“Provocative…a sweeping sense of romance and history.” —Cleveland Plain Dealer

“A time-defying journey filled with passion and danger…A kaleidoscope of memorable characters and exotic locales.” —Shelf-Awareness.com

“Rose has entered another realm and written what is bound to be one of this year’s best books.” —Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“Deliciously sensual novel of paranormal suspense.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred and Boxed Review

What if? No really, WHAT IF? What if there were a website that answered “what if” questions in a completely scientific and fun way? Well there is. And it is amazing…

Welcome to WHAT IF. Click here to enjoy so very many incredible explanations of wonderful things! And see below for a sample:

Laser Pointer

If every person on Earth aimed a laser pointer at the Moon at the same time, would it change color?

—Peter Lipowicz

“Not if we use regular laser pointers.

The first thing to consider is that not everyone can see the Moon at once. We could gather everyone in one spot, but we learned our lesson about that a few weeks ago. Instead, let’s just pick a time when the Moon is visible to as many people as possible. Since about 75% of the world’s population lives between 0°E and 120°E, we should try this while the Moon is somewhere over the Arabian Sea.

We can try to illuminate either a new moon or a full moon.

The new moon is darker, making it easier to see our lasers. But the new moon is a trickier target, because it’s mostly visible during the day—washing out the effect.

Brightness aside, an ideal time would probably be 2:00 PM EST on December 27th, 2012, when a full moon will be high in the sky above Mumbai and Islamabad. At that point, the Moon will be visible to approximately five billion people—most of Asia, Europe, and Africa—about as many as can ever see it at one time.

But let’s pick a quarter moon instead, so we can see the effect on the dark side….”

Click here for the rest. You will not be sorry!