I'm a real fan of any series that is brave enough to kill off key characters and if there's one thing you can expect from TWD it's that ANYTHING can happen to absolutely ANYONE.

With the Season 3 finale a few days away, the big question is who will survive and assuming the writers don't cop out by sacrificing some of the minor but recurring characters, here's who I think could be at risk.

Glenn: He's really been through the mill this season and as much as I love his relationship with Maggie, I don't see where else the writers can take his character. I know he's a fan favourite but I feel he's fast becoming another T-dog. Sorry Glenn, but you win my nomination for most likely to become zombie fodder.

Hershel: He's survived one zombie bite but the loss of his leg puts him in a risky position. He's vulnerable and the group knows it but there's nothing they can really do about it. Let's face it, the odds are against him and if it doesn't happen now, it'll be soon.

Carol: Without a doubt Carol is one of my most favourite characters. She's come such a long way since Season 1 and I am WILLING for her relationship with the truly delicious Daryl to evolve to the next level. But with the introduction of Tyreese, I worry this means we're going to see something happen that will split Daryl from the group and cause Tyreese to step in as Rick's second and what would be more likely to do that than Carol's death?? I will be absolutely gutted though as I don't want to see her go.

Rick: This has been the hardest season yet for Rick and if he survives, will it be with his sanity intact? Okay, it's unlikely he'll die and as far as I know there haven't been any reports that Andrew Lincoln has decided not to renew his contract, but what a twist that would be!

Andrea: I confess she still annoys the hell out of me. I wouldn't be sad to see her character go and now we have Maggie, is she really necessary? And yet I can't see her being killed off just yet as I think she'll manage to create more conflict in life than in death. Reintegrating with the group after everything that's happened will certainly prove a big challenge for Andrea and I hope the writers don't make it too easy for her.

Maggie: She's turning into one tough cookie and I find her much more likeable than Andrea. I don't think the writers will kill her off unless they think it will open up other storylines and I surely can't be the only one who wouldn't be half as interested in seeing how Glenn copes with Maggie's death as I would be in seeing how Maggie copes with his.

Carl: He's had to do a lot of growing up this season and thank god he did because he was such an annoying pain in the arse last season, I was positively rooting for the zombies to take him out. I've had a real change of heart towards him this season and as one of the youngest members of the group he's naturally got a lot of growing up still to do. Will he walk the same path as his dad or will we eventually see conflict between them? There's obviously a lot further for him to go.

Beth: We've not really seen much of Beth yet in spite of her screen time. She's always been shown as the softly spoken innocent and you assume she's unwilling to hurt others and therefore unable to protect herself. I think we're going to see more from Beth and I think she's going to surprise us.  

Michonne: One of the most magnificent kickass characters EVER! That fight, that glorious fight between Michonne and The Governor when she killed his zombie daughter and put his eye out, just wow! It's much too soon for her to go. End of.

Daryl: I've put him at the bottom of my list because let's face it, if Daryl goes, we're all turning off!

What do you think? Who do you hope will survive? And who would you really miss if they didn't make it to the next season!

I spent last Saturday night sobbing to my husband.

There are 2 things of which I am certain. He will have an affair and leave me, and I will die early, due to either ovarian or cervical cancer, and my boys will not remember me. My brain is very specific about both of these things.

And I cried and cried because knowing that this is what will happen is so very, very painful and I don't understand why my brain functions this way and I don't know how to change the way I think. It's all too big, too much.

I know I need to take control and there are practical things I can do to help, like booking a smear test and trying to rebuild my flagging self-esteem, but it's an uphill battle when your brain's telling you "what's the point? this won't change anything, there's no point in trying".

The thing is, if I died today, I would look back on my life with regret. It's littered with missed opportunities and inaction. Husband says it's good that I have this knowledge because I can do something about it. But that essential spark that fires you up to try new experiences and follow your dreams is missing and I can't seem to get started.

I look on with envy as family and friends embrace their work, hobbies and pretty much any creative idea that jumps to mind and I think why aren't I doing that? I have ideas. I want to find out what it is I feel really passionate about. I want to create. Why can't I get started?

Logically, I know the only thing that's stopping me is me but how do you get past that? I really need some ideas because I want more out of my life. Seriously, if you have any suggestions, please let me know xx

DOWN THESE STRANGE STREETS - Stories of Urban Fantasy edited by George R R Martin and Gardner Dozois

PUBLISHER: Ace US

RELEASE DATE: 13 February 2013

GENRE: Fiction - Fantasy

A collection of urban fantasy stories from some of the freshest writers around, including Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Diana Gabaldon and many more.

In Charlaine Harris's tale "Death by Dahlia", set in the world of Sookie Stackhouse, vampire Dahlia Lynley-Chivers heads to a lavish party which soon turns deadly. Patricia Briggs, author of the Mercy Thompson series presents a thrilling tale of "In Red, With Pearls" where a werewolf PI races to crack a case involving zombies, witches and ... lawyers! 

Bestselling author of the Outlander series, Diana Gabaldon's tale "Lord John and the Plague of Zombies" follows Lord John as he journeys to the beautiful but sinister island paradise of Jamaica, where he immediately stumbles upon a mystery full of spiders, snakes, revolutionaries and zombies. 

With these and 13 more tales, Down These Strange Streets takes you to the cities where fantasy and mystery collide and where private eyes who have seen it all find something lurking that is stranger still ...

I was so excited when this book arrived. I'm a huge fan of urban fantasy and not only are several of my favourite authors featured in this anthology but there are several others that I've been itching to try out for quite some time now.

For once I read the foreword. I never normally do this but as it was written by the incredible George R R Martin, I decided to make an exception! And I'm glad I did because George took the time to explain what he feels is meant by "urban fantasy" and why he and Gardner Dozois didn't restrict themselves to assembling an anthology of stories written by contemporary urban fantasy authors. Okay, I don't necessarily agree with his definition but at least I was prepared for the fact I was going to encounter stories, which I wouldn't necessarily have classed as being in this particular genre.

You might remember that when I reviewed Seductress - Erotic Tales of Immortal Desire, one of the things I liked about it was that I could dip in and out of it as when I liked and I didn't have to keep track of any characters or of what I'd read before. The same goes for this collection.

What I also liked was that it surprised me. There were stories I'd assumed I would love, like Charlaine Harris' ""Death by Dahlia", which I actually felt quite "meh" about and stories I thought I wouldn't enjoy because they were written by a historical fiction author or a mystery author, but which turned out to be really well crafted.

The highlights for me were:

The Bleeding Shadow by Joe R Lansdale: Wonderfully drawn characters whose voices seemed to leap off the page directly into my head. A real sense of time and place, a great pace and an unexpected detour into sci-fi.

Hungry Heart by Simon R Green: Author of the Nightside series, which was been on my want-to-try list for far too long, this is the story I most looked forwards to reading. I wasn't sold on the character of Holly Wylde, a witch who claimed to have literally had her heart stolen and who seemed quite 2 Dimensional to me. Thank goodness for John Taylor, PI and the Nightside; both of which were much more well drawn. I think this character and setting is probably better suited to a full length novel and I wonder whether this will grow/lessen the subconscious comparisons with John Constantine that I found myself making, not that that was a problem at all!

Pain and Suffering by S M Stirling: Having not read any of the Shadowspawn series, I found this story a great introduction to it. I'm assuming it's either a prequel to the series or an opportunity to expand on some of the characters included in it, but either way it felt gritty and vivid and you have to love the fact the author saw an opportunity to mock the whole "Twilight vampires sparkle" thing and went for it!

Hellbender by Laurie R King: A story about genetic experiments, intolerance and a PI trying to find the missing brother of a beautiful woman. It starts out innocuously enough - you'd be forgiven for thinking this was going to be a standard mystery - when the author throws in a sudden bombshell that makes you realise the story isn't set in the World as we know it. The whole idea of the Regeneration Experiments is disturbing and I really liked the ending. I would definitely read more about these characters and the version of the World they inhabit.

The Difference Between a Puzzle and a Mystery by M L N Hanover: What do you do when your murder suspect claims to be Beleth, the King of Hell? Detective Mason finds himself working with Richard Scarrey, a Consultant who might be able to help. I'm not going to say anymore because I would never have guessed how this story was going to go but you need to read it! And then let me know whether you think it's a puzzle or a mystery.

Lord John and the Plague of Zombies by Diana Gabaldon: Anyone that reads my blog regularly will not be surprised to see I've picked out a story with a title that includes the word "zombies" as one of my highlights! The way that these zombies are made, and the consequences of doing it, makes a nice change to the more contemporary zombie post-apocalyptic novels that are prevalent at the moment.

What I realised from reading this book is that it's all too easy to keep on reading your favourite authors and not always so easy to convince yourself to branch out and try something new. An anthology is a great opportunity to do this and I definitely recommend this one.

I recently discovered Polyvore; a fantastic website that allows you to create your own sets showcasing your style tips, products you love, accessories that complete an outfit and much more. 

I've had so much fun putting together 2 sets based on an animal print blazer similar to the one I mentioned in this post and I'm really enjoying having this way to explore my new-found interest in fashion and style.

Here's the very first set I created ...

Have fun with animal print by thelastslayer featuring cat jewelry

Why don't you come on over to Polyvore? Even if you don't fancy creating any sets yourself, I'm sure you'll find plenty to inspire you.