Croceus poison

When I sat down to begin Amethyst Chronicles, I made several different outlines. I'm not one to do a lot of planning, but even though this was going to be a novella series, I knew there was a lot I wanted to put in it and I didn't want to forget. I designed Ember Wilson to be a strong, powerful, and sexy leader, capable of taking on impossible tasks. The first book told the story of her and her amazing team practically superheroes. She even makes a joke partway through. But every superhero as a weakness.

Enter Croceus

I did a lot of research on various substances. I wanted to find something that would seem harmless but would be deadly. My fascination in Latin words brought me to croceus. It actually means saffron. Yellow. I've seen the name combined with another as a scientific term for a flower or a butterfly. Dug a little deeper into saffron. Saffron is used for asthma, cough, whooping cough (pertussis), and to loosen phlegm (as an expectorant). It is also used for sleep problems (insomnia), cancer, “hardening of the arteries” (atherosclerosis), intestinal gas (flatulence), depression, Alzheimer’s disease, fright, shock, spitting up blood (hemoptysis), pain, heartburn, and dry skin. Sounds helpful, but what if the yellow substance could be turned into something deadly?

Ember Wilson: powerful, cunning, major badass. Nearly killed by a crushed yellow flower. Something poetic in that, don't you think?

Next time you feel life beating you down, that you can't defeat the odds, remember that. And smile.