Avoid the diseases, acquire the leeches.

I intentionally bought a home near a swamp, and then went looking for good places to collect leeches. You never know when you're going to need some leeches. I also researched the species in my area, and which ones were known to carry diseases.

SO MUCH BLOOD.

Right? How is Hannibal to somehow greet @divinecoffeebinge.bsky.social if she doesn't have a taste for human blood?

Oh that is brilliant.

Mind, my friend Jim, who at the time was the main genre bookbuyer for Barnes & Noble, was on the panel. This is why my publicists sometimes don't want to let me out of the house.

When I finished, beaming and proud of myself, the attendee said, "Okay, great, but my actual question was...why?"

This was The Best Question I Had Heard All Weekend. I was Excited. I was Delighted. I promptly launched into an explanation of how I went leeching (cling film, an over-tight swimsuit, and a spatula are all involved).

The panel continued, and we eventually reached the Q&A at the end. Someone approached the microphone and said, hesitantly, "I had a question about the leeches?"

Second fun leech story of the week: During a panel at San Diego Comic-Con several years ago, I casually mentioned going wading in the local leech pond to collect leeches for my axolotl.