With Halloween around the corner, I thought I'd hand out some fun facts about the best holiday ever. (If you disagree, you are wrong. 🤪)

1. Samhainophobia is the medical term for the irrational fear of Halloween. The root word is expressive of the ancient Celts who held a ceremony called Samhain in order to honor the harvest cycle.
2. Americans spend nearly $400 Million on Halloween pet costumes each year.
3. On Halloween in 1981, John Belushi got the hardcore punk band FEAR to play live on SNL, causing an estimated $200,000 in damages.
4. Many shelters won't allow black cats to be adopted around Halloween, for fear that they may be sacrificed or tortured.
5. All Hallows Eve, Witches Night, Lamswool, Snap-Apple Night, Samhain and Summer’s End are all names for Halloween.
6. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown aired in 1966 and is still a must watch Halloween show today.
7. The largest pumpkin on record weighed 2,625 pounds. The record was set in 2016.
8. Originally, you had to dance for treats.
9. Halloween has been recognized as the 3rd biggest party day following New Year’s Eve and Super Bowl Sunday.
10. In the USA, One-quarter of the candy sold annually is purchased over the Halloween.
11. The world’s fastest pumpkin carving time is 24.03 seconds that was created by Stephen Clarke.
12. Halloween is really old. It is believed that Halloween traditions began in the year 4,000 B.C., which means that humans have been celebrating Halloween for over 6,000 years.
13. The candy-drugging was a myth. In 1974 a young boy ate a piece of heroin laced candy which led to a mass fear of drug-laced candy being passed out during Halloween.  As it turns out, that young boy had gotten into his uncle’s drugs and it was never meant for the Halloween candy.

​Do you have any fun facts to share about Halloween? Will you be dressing up and trick-or-treating? What is your favorite candy? Did you know I have an annual book even at my other blog where authors hand out books like candy?

Today for Monster Monday, we travel around the world to New Zealand to dive into the mythical Taniwha. Thanks to Kate Larkindale for telling me about this monster.

The Taniwha is a creature of Māori mythology. They are beings that live in deep pools in rivers, dark caves, or in the sea, especially in places with dangerous currents or deceptive breakers. They may be considered highly respected kaitiaki (protective guardians) of people and places, or in some traditions as dangerous, predatory beings, which for example would kidnap women to have as wives.

What a Taniwha looks like depends on where you see it. Out in open waters, it will appear as a whale or giant shark. When in inland waters, like rivers or streams, it may look more like a gecko or tuatara. No matter where you see it, it will be gigantic. There have even been reports of seeing the Taniwha as a floating log, which behaves in a disconcerting way. I'm curious to what people witnessed.

There are many legends about the Taniwha. In one, "The Taniwha of Kaipara", three sisters went out to pick berries. One of the sisters was particularly beautiful. The Taniwha caused havoc on their walk back and the sisters fled. The Taniwha caught the sisters one by one, trying to capture the beautiful one. On succeeding, he then took her back to his cave. Many years passed and the woman bore the Taniwha six sons, with three like their father and three fully human. She educated all her sons and in particular taught her human sons the art of war, helping them to fashion and use weapons. The human sons then killed their three taniwha brothers, and eventually their father. They all went back to their homes. (source: Reed A,W.,`Reed book of Māori mythology`(2004), pp.285-286)

In more recent times, the Taniwha spirits being referenced in both court cases and in various legal negotiations. Beliefs in the existence of Taniwha have a potential for controversy where they have been used to block or modify development and infrastructure schemes, such as the case where a major highway was rerouted to protect the area the Taniwha resided on.

What do you think of this mythical monster? How would you react if you saw a log acting in an unusual fashion? What monster should I cover next?

The first Wednesday of every month is the Insecure Writer's Support Group. Posts go up the 1st Wednesday of every month. Check it out here and join if you need support with your writing. Don't forget to stop by and say hello to the co-hosts: Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor!

Last month, I was enjoying a break from insecurity. I honestly didn't expect it to last long, but surprisingly, it has. This month, I'm not feeling terribly insecure. (Although, sales do still suck, but I at least got a few unlike last month.) There was a point I did worry my productivity was going to tank because I wasn't writing every other day like planned.

But I took a moment to think, and instead of panicking, I reorganized my schedule. Now, instead of writing every other day, I'm writing Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday. That small change got me back on track and I ended up writing almost three  thousand words this past Wednesday!

It got me thinking about how easily we panic when things start to go wrong. I could have fretted over it and tried to force myself to stay with writing every other day. Especially since it had worked well when I started. But by stepping back and allowing myself to change my work flow, I got back on track quickly. I don't think that would have happened if I hadn't swapped my writing days. Sometimes what works well, only works for a little while then we need to shake things up.

How has your writing been this month? Did you see the monthly question? Do you have a writing schedule that you stick to no matter what or do you have to swap it around every once in a while to stay productive?

September being IC Awareness Month, and given I currently suffer from it, I decided to write a post about it to help spread awareness of this invisible illness.

Interstitial Cystitis is a chronic illness that affects the bladder. IC may also be referred to as painful bladder syndrome (PBS), bladder pain syndrome (BPS), and chronic pelvic pain. I refer to it as one thing mostly:

Annoying.

I was diagnosed with it in May of 2016. Overnight, the way I ate changed. I tossed the majority of the food in my cupboards because they were damaging my bladder and if I wanted to have a chance of healing, I couldn't be tempted. I went cold turkey with caffeine. At the time, I worked the 6AM shift at a local deli. Boy, did that suck.

Interstitial Cystitis, along with being a mouthful to say, is incurable. I take a daily medication that may or may not partially heal my bladder. The hope is that, one day, I'll be able to reintroduce foods back into my diet. Probably not Mountain Dew, but given they've started adding fake sugar to pop, I can't really complain. But I would like to eat chocolate again.

Have you ever heard of IC before? Can I get some good vibes sent to the people researching this disease so they can find a cure?