Smart Bitches Trashy Books | All of the romance, none of the bullshit.

I am trying out Akismet on the Bitches today to see if it can put a stop to some of the irritating as hell comment spam we’ve been attracting. However, if this interferes with your ability to comment, please let me know via and let me know if you were a logged in user or not, and what happened when you tried to say howdy.

Thanks - and my apologies for the unavoidable delay, mind the gap, and thank you, drive through. 

Three men have been arrested in London after a suspicious fire was set at “the home and office of publisher Martin Rynja”, aka Gibson Square Publishing, the UK publisher of The Jewel of Medina. According to the BBC, the three men were arrested under the Terrorism Act of 2000, “on suspicion of the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism.”

The police confirmed that there has been small fire inside the property in Lonsdale Square, which had to be put out. “At this early stage it is being linked with the arrests,” the spokesman added.

[Scotland] Yard officials have refused to identify those arrested or give any information on the nature of the terrorist plot they are alleged to have been planning.

Residents in Lonsdale Square said armed police, assisted by fire-fighters, broke down the door of number 47 at around 2.30 this morning.

My reaction: holy fucking shit. You have got to be fucking kidding me.

Thanks to Marianne and Faellie for the heads up. 

From Lucinda Betts: a truly fascinating article on why and how our brains are wired to enjoy stories. Seriously - worth a read over your morning weekend coffee.

We tell stories about other people and for other people. Stories help us to keep tabs on what is happening in our communities. The safe, imaginary world of a story may be a kind of training ground, where we can practice interacting with others and learn the customs and rules of society. And stories have a unique power to persuade and motivate, because they appeal to our emotions and capacity for empathy.

Storytelling is one of the few human traits that are truly universal across culture and through all of known history.

Kimberly needs help: she needs you to name her cactus.

I vote “Prick.”

Seriously. It’s transfixing.