For those of you who don’t necessarily follow console gaming trends, but are always looking for new ways to work out, then this may be welcome news to you. Last week, Microsoft unveiled their new peripheral for the Xbox 360, Kinect. Originally codenamed “Natal”, Kinect will enable people to play video games purely by using their own body as the controller. Obviously, when it comes to fitness games, this is a pretty large breakthrough in terms of technology.

We’re pretty excited about this here at ShrinkGeek Orbital HQ. Why? Well, join us behind the break as we run down the reasons why we think Kinect may well be the answer to some of our exercise gaming prayers.

Laurell K. Hamilton

There’s one name that comes almost immediately to mind when the phrase “paranormal romance” is mentioned: Laurell K. Hamilton. Her two series of novels, based on the characters of Merry Gentry and Anita Blake, have brought a decidedly darker take to the serial romance field, and did much to rekindle the sex appeal of the various creatures of the night between Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire novels in the mid 1990′s and the recent, and decidedly more youth-oriented, Twilight series. Adding to her geek cred is an upcoming collaboration with Jennie Breeden (of The Devil’s Panties) on the next Anita Blake novel, Flirt.

We’re used to various supernatural characters we encounter having powers beyond what most mortals are typically capable of. Fortunately, Laurell possesses a few of her own – not the least of which is a wickedly fast pair of hands at the keyboard.  Don’t believe us? Check out the daily page counts on her Twitter feed.

We had a chance to catch up with Laurell to see how her workout regimen fits in with her life and writing, how  pumping iron helps her pump out words, and whether Anita, Merry, or any of the other characters who go bump in the night are liable to be gym rats.