For those of you who read my blog last week at the Aphrodisia blogsite, you'll know I'm on a science kick. In my last blog, I described how one particular spider puts a fake spider in its nest so that the predators eat the decoy instead of the spider itself.

I'm still on a science kick. In fact, I'm still on a spider kick. Maybe its the fact that it's close to Halloween, and there are spider decorations everywhere. Maybe it's the fact that it's fall, and there are spiders all over my house. Whatever it is, I don't think I'm alone because spiders are all over the news.

Yesterday, on the NPR site, I read about a vegetarian spider. Let me tell you about it...

I've got the website open, and a huge spider is filling my computer screen.

"Guess what?" I ask my husband as he walks up the stairs after a day at the office (poor guy).

He glances at the huge spider on my computer. "You're thinking of new cake ideas for Halloween?" he guesses.

"No, I--"

But he cuts me off. "You're writing a new book with a shape shifting spider!"

I roll my eyes. "That has so been done. Now listen to this--"

"What do you mean it's been done?! It's a great idea. Spiders are fiercer than wolves, and just think of all the werewolves. Who has a shape shifting spider?"

"Umm," I say sarcastically. "Marvel Comics?" I start humming the tune to Spiderman.

That stops him short. Thank god. I attribute this rare case of cultural amnesia to the fact that his mind has been numbed at the office.

"So why are you looking at a picture of a spider?" he asks.

After all the book ideas he's been throwing at me, my internet discovery seems kind of lame now. "It's a vegetarian spider," I say.

"There's a spiders that doesn't count as meat?" He starts to take off his shoes so he can't see that I'm staring at him like he's turned into spider man. "I suppose there are people who count crabs as meat, and spiders and crabs are related to each other," he says.

He thinks people eat spiders? I knew my in-laws were strange. Now, I strive for patience. Its really not one of my virtues, but I love him so it's worth the effort. "No," I tell him. "The spider is a vegetarian."

He looks across the room at the computer and cocks his head. He's really cute when he does this. I don't know what it is, maybe that I've engaged him or something. But... yum. "Is that unusual?" he asks.

I've just read the NPR article, so I am the current expert on spider diets. Ha. "Out of all the 40,000 spider species known to science, this is the only one known to eat a vegetarian diet." I really like the way the phrase '40,000 spider species known to science' rolls off my tongue. I sound like I know exactly what I'm talking about.

"What's it eat?"

Again, I am the expert. "The tips of leaves," I say. Don't ask me which leaves. "It turns out that ants like the same leaf tips." Don't ask me which ants. "Sometimes they eat the ant larva."

His shoes are off now and he's loosening his tie. In all those old movies, where the director is trying to make the hero look sexy,he has the hero loosen his tie. There's a reason for that. It makes the heroine want to loosen it for him, and I am no different. I leave the computer and walk toward him. He's sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Let me do that for you." I take the silk between my fingers, and I can feel the heat of his body radiating against mine.

"Should I be worried about what we're having for dinner?"

"Not at all." I push him down the to the bed. "'Worried' isn't the word I'd use."

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I write action-packed paranormal romances, and my next book, SCARLET NIGHTS, comes out next month. If you'd like to win a copy, leave a comment and I'll pick a random winner next Wednesday.