G: A to Z Blogging Challenge

For my 2016 A to Z Challenge, I’m sharing three facts for each letter. The genres I write and love to read are mostly science fiction and high or epic fantasy. In fantasy, there is often magic associated with crystals or metals. They also used herbs both for medicine and for magical spells. Each day I will post a short description of an herb or a mineral you might find in medieval or fantasy writings. For the record, most of the herbal remedies I’ve investigated are not recommended by the FDA. Many are actually poisonous and dangerous. As tribute to my second love, I will post a scientific fact that may deal with physics, biology or health science. And because another name for a writer is wordsmith, each day I’ll share a strange word that I would probably never use in my writing, but that amuse me in some way. So enjoy my trio of quick facts. And don’t forget to visit the IWSG site where we’ll share a writer’s resource for every day of the challenge.

Gammer: An old woman.  Guess that means me!

Goldenseal was used by Native Americans to treat diseases, paint skin and dye clothing. The early settlers learned this from them and nearly harvested it into extinction.

Genetic Engineering is not science fiction. Hopefully, it will be used to fight diseases but the fear is always there that eventually it may be used to design desirable traits instead of letting it occur naturally. I used this trope in my Recon Marine Series of space opera novels.

Have you ever seen or grown goldenseal? Know any gammers? Do you think humanity will eventually go down the rabbit hole with genetic engineering?

"To desire nothing beyond what you have is surely happiness." Carleton Mitchell