Author Archives: Sally de la Rue Browne

What Is The Inspiration for a Character in a Book?

What is the inspiration for a character when writing a book? Inspiration can take many forms and ends up providing the author with characters that can be used in the book being written.

Inspiration Helps Authors with Book Titles

What Inspires the Name of a Character?

When I first started thinking of ideas for my children’s book The Fairy Hollow Chronicles, I took inspiration from my own children to create the characters. My daughter loved fairies when she was very young so that provided me with the idea for four fairies. Adventures are always fun when you are a child so the idea that the fairies had to go on an adventure was born. Then, the names came easily as I chose names of her friends from elementary school. Now there are three books in the series. The names in Book 3 – The Fairy Hollow Gold Treasure Adventure came from a few relatives including a great niece and nephew! With pirates names such as Captain Bootlace Bill, Lightning Lance and Notorious Nigel, who can resist finding out where the gold treasure is with their help?

Characters from Book 3 The Fairy Hollow Gold Treasure Adventure

What Should Characters Wear?

Authors need to describe their characters. In The Fairy Hollow Chronicles, the four fairies are tiny so it was easy to have them dressed in ballerina tutus with their hair in buns. Ballerinas always wear buns. Young girls who take ballet enjoy wearing the tutus and having their hair in buns. The mayor in the book needed to be in a suit as he means business. The idea for the toad came from various stories I read as a child and also the toad character fits the mayor character perfectly.

The four fairies in tutus from Book 1 – The Fairy Hollow Chronicles
Character of Mayor Dayle from The Fairy Hollow Chronicles

For my future book on my Mother’s work with Canadian soldiers during WW2, I can draw inspiration from the photo below which shows her dining out with friends in Vancouver. Three women drinking coffee or tea and eating pastries while smiling with their hats on! The hats are quite fascinating and also all appear to be wearing dresses. All these clues help an author when writing a story to place the characters at a specific period in time. This photo was taken on my Mother’s arrival in Vancouver after the war ended and she had volunteered at the Beaver Club in London. This photo will help me decide on the ending of the book!

My mother having tea with two friends.

Photographs

Ideas for other books that I am writing came from photographs. Sometimes a photograph can inspire an author to write a story based on what might be happening in that photo. The photos from WW2 in England are an inspiration and ask me to write about what the young men and women in the photos are laughing about, worried about, thinking about and how the war affected them. As the daughter of parents who went through WW2, I am intrigued to include in my book these points to round out my characters.

My mother and her friend in 1935 – A photograph for inspiration – What is going on in this photo?

Inspiration is the Summary of Many Ideas

The inspiration for characters in a book comes from everything including family, friends, photos, artwork, current fashion, and the author’s imagination. By using all these ideas, the characters come to life which makes enjoyable reading for all of us.

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Tips for Food Safety at Easter

Easter Foods

Easter is a wonderful time of year when we gather and share a meal or hunt for Easter eggs! Who can forget the exciteent of an Easter Egg Hunt with the kids?

Safe Preparation

Egg Safety

I remember dying eggs as a child and watching the changing colors. Another fun thing to do was an Easter Egg roll where hard-boiled eggs were painted and rolled down the kitchen floor. This was not food safe but fun to do.

When working with eggs for a meal or for decorating, do not let them sit out at room temperature for more than two hours.

Remember to keep hard-cooked eggs in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

All cooked egg dishes should reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 74 C as measured by a food thermometer.

If you plan to eat the Easter eggs you decorate, use only food-grade dye. One suggestion is to make two sets of eggs. Children can decorate and hide one set. The second set can be saved for eating. You can also use plastic eggs for your Easter egg hunt, though the chocolate ones are everyone’s favourite.

Main Meals

Traditional Foods

If you are serving ham or poultry this Easter, here are some important tips for safe preparation.

Easter Hams

Ham is a popular meat for the Easter table. Different types of ham require different preparation methods. Ham is either ready-to-eat or requires cooking before eating. Be sure to read the package instructions carefully.

  • Fresh, uncooked hams must be cooked to reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 74C.
  • Ready-to-eat hams are cooked at the plant and can be safely eaten right out of the package and can be served cold or heated to serve warm.

Chicken & Turkey

1. Properly defrost the poultry in the refrigerator or in a sink with cold water.

2. Prepare the poultry for cooking. Either place the stuffing inside the bird before placing in the oven OR cook the stuffing separately. The stuffing acts as a sponge and can hold in bacteria such as Salmonella if not cooked properly.

3. Cool the poultry after serving and cut into smaller pieces and place in the refrigerator.

4. Do not use the same plate for raw poultry and cooked poultry. Keep raw and cooked utensils separate.

Easter Display

Happy Easter!

Have a wonderful Easter safe meal with the foods you choose to serve.

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Social Media Is Really Anti-Social

When Social Media first came out, I thought the name wasn’t appropriate. There isn’t anything social about it. As human beings, we need to interact face to face with others so we can have conversations, watch our facial expressions and understand what we are saying to each other.

Using the Ipad for business

Are We All Addicted?

Social media has positive and negative outcomes. Our brains are bombarded with so many images at once. We tend to veer towards the photo or video of the car crash as opposed to the vase of flowers. The car crash video is captivating to our brains. The rest becomes clickbait. The companies on social media have made a fortune.

Office Meeting

From the time we wake up until we go to bed, we are constantly on our cell phones or other mobile devices. Addiction explains why people still drive and use their cell phones. They are addicted to know who is calling. They have to make another call or send another text. Everyone knows not to use a cell phone when driving because the driver must concentrate on the road at all times. However, addiction has taken over. People can’t top using the cell phone when on the road which has caused tragic accidents from the loss of focus.

On the cell phone while studying

I’ve also noticed people on cell phones who walk down the street and sometimes never look up. I had a near crash with one person who wasn’t looking where she was going but madly texting away on her phone. Fortunately, we both didn’t get hurt. She should have paid attention to where she was walking instead of being so distracted.

The Proof of Addiction

Computers for Office Staff

Adam Atler, a professor at NYU, has written a book called Irresistible. He lays out the evidence for the hidden danger in our lives called behavioral addiction. From tracking social media “likes” to constantly counting our steps, we are being guided by the technologies we use.

Instead of letting addiction rule our lives, we can take steps to live more productively. This behavorial addiction is preventing us from forming meaningful relationships, raising empathetic children, and separating work from sleep and play. Who would have thought a decade ago that Facebook would attract 1.5 billion users? As the author suggests, many of these users wish they spent less time on the site. Also Instagram users spend hours uploading and liking sixty million new photos every day on the app. More than twenty million people daily count and monitor their every step with a small wrist-bound device.

Suggestions he makes include workplaces shutting down at six pm and disabling work email accounts between midnight and five am the next morning. Games, similar to books with chapters, can be built with natural stopping points. Social media platforms can demetricate which is removing the numerical feedback allowing damaging social comparison and chronic goalsetting. Children can be introduced to screens slowly under supervision instead of all at once. Our culture needs to make space for a work-free, game-free, screen-free downtime to make it easier to resist the lure of behavioral addiction. This will result in us communicating with others directly which will make us happier than any screen time or device could ever do.

SOURCE: Irresistible: The Rise of Addictive Technology And The Business of Keeping Us Hooked by Adam Alter

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Characteristics of the Plot

What characteristics does the writer consider when deciding the characters in a plot? I am working on a future book based on my mother’s experiences in England during World War 2. I know there are a lot of books written about women and the war. However, my mother did something unique. She volunteered in London at the Beaver Club. This was a place where Canadian soldiers could come to get sandwiches, coffee, new socks and maps to get around London while on leave. Of course, I won’t be calling the book The Beaver Club for obvious reasons.

The working title is The Maple Leaf Club. The Club had various women volunteering there mainly with the food preparation and serving. Many of the women have long since passed away and perhaps their sons and daughters didn’t know much about it. The book includes a murder in the Club in the life of Olive, the main character, who works as a secretary for a British firm and really wants to start a new life in Canada.

Research is required for this book. The photos I have of my Mother are helpful and the reunion photo is amazing. Many ladies fit into one large photo but all in black and white. I once asked my mother if she had dated anyone at the club. She replied, “Oh no, not me. I was too shy!”

What stands out in this story is the selflessness of the women who volunteered their time to work in the Beaver Club in London in the middle of the war. Life in wartime London was tough enough but these ladies volunteered their time to help Canadians. I’m looking forward to researching this book and learning what my mother experienced during the war.

My mother as a young woman in London, England.

Olive with friends having tea when she lived in Vancouver.

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Children’s Books Mean So Much

Reading Clubs at local libraries are a fun and provide challenges to children to read different books and receive prizes! Children’s books are meant to challenge their imaginations, provide stories they can relate to and improve their literacy. Books can accomplish this in many ways and promote a life-long love of reading.

Illustrations Are Important

A young reader with my first book The Fairy Hollow Chronicles

As a children’s book author, I know how important it is to have illustrations with the story. The story comes alive when children see the characters which ignite their curiosity. Movies and videos for kids don’t always allow them to use their imaginations. Imagination is a powerful tool and helps the child create or use their mind to imagine what could be or what the characters could do.

The third book in the series The Fairy Hollow Chronicles – The Fairy Hollow Gold Treasure Adventure

In my Fairy Hollow Chronicles series, my illustrator, Barbara Warwick, used vivid colors and attention to detail to bring the characters to life. What children see on the above book cover are three pirates. However, look at the details which bring them to life. The Captain has a sword and a skull and crossbones on his cap. The second pirate is tall with a black eye patch cover over his eye and is barefoot. The cat looks interesting with the tiny pirates hat on the cat’s head. The third pirate is wearing the large gold buckle on his belt, high top boots and a black eye patch cover on his right eye. Now the reader has a visual description of what the characters look like which helps to understand the story.

Writer’s Tool Kit

Writers of children’s books really need to appeal to children and can do so by challenging their imagination and use of descriptive words. Books can have simple wording or use more complex phrases again to challenge the child’s mind. One tool for the children’s book author is the use of colorful illustrations. Children are fascinated by different color images. In the story above, the child is not just walking down a path but is wearing bright-colored shoes, pink overalls, with flowers, her pet dog and cat, her doll and last of all her baby brother all at once. There is a lot going on in this scene. The reader can discuss with the child when reading the book together which is what the author had in mind.

Stories That Children Can Relate To

Rupert Bear in his famous yearly annual for children

Happy Endings

Children like stories with happy endings. With Rupert, children can look at the world of adventure and fun through different animals who are dressed in brightly colored clothing. These animals would not be like this in real life. However, the characters are helpful to children to think about the world they live in and their friends and family in a different light. They will want to join Rupert and his friends on adventures too.

Sally with her children’s book The Fairy Hollow Chronicles illustrated by Barbie Warwick

The Best Part

By making children’s books colorful, interesting, challenging and fun to read, children are off to a great start in the world of books. They will enjoy reading as they get older and venture into longer books with no illustrations. Most importantly, children’s books help children begin their journey into literacy which will benefit them for the rest of their lives.

Another young reader with her Grandma reading The Fairy Hollow Chronicles

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Historic Castle Series: Eilean Donan Castle, Scotland

Entrance to Eilean Donan Castle

Eilean Donan’s History

The name Eilean Donan means island of Donan. It was most likely named after the 6th century Irish Saint, Bishop Donan, who came to Scotland around 580 AD. There are several churches dedicated to Donan in the area and he could have formed a small cell or community on the island during the late 7th century.

View from Castle

The first fortified structure was built in the 13th century as a defensive measure, protecting the lands of Kintail between 800 & 1266 against the Vikings who controlled, raided and settled much of Northern Scotland and the Western Isles. From the mid 13th century on, the sea became the main highway with the power of the feuding clan chiefs in this “Sea Kingdom” of the Lord of the Isles. Eilean Donan offered the perfect defensive position.

The castle has changed size over the centuries. The largest was the medieval castle, with towers and a curtain wall that encompassed nearly the entire island. The main keep stood on the island’s highest point. By the end of the 14th century, the castle area was reduced to a fifth of its original size. This was due to the number of men required to defend the castle. Canons were introduced by the 16th century on a hornwork firing platform added to the east wall.

The Jacobite Risings in Scotland

Outside Castle

Eilean Donan also played a role in the Jacobite risings of the 17th and 18th centuries which resulted in the castle’s destruction.

In 1719 the castle was garrisoned by 46 Spanish soldiers who were supporting the Jacobites. They had established a magazine of gunpowder, and were awaiting the delivery of weapons and cannon from Spain. The English Government discovered the intended uprising and sent three heavily armed frigates The Flamborough, The Worcester, and The Enterprise to the area. The castle was bombarded for 3 days with limited success due to the enormous thick castle walls which were up to 14 feet thick in some places.

Finally, Captain Herdman of The Enterprise sent his men ashore and overwhelmed the Spanish defenders. Following the surrender, the government troops discovered the magazine of 343 barrels of gunpowder which was then used to blow up what had remained from the bombardment.

Eilean Donan

For 200 years, the ruins of Eilean Donan lay neglected and abandoned. Lt Colonel John Macrae-Gilstrap bought the island in 1911. Along with his Clerk of Works, Farquar Macrae, he dedicated the next 20 years of his life to the reconstruction of Eilean Donan, restoring her to her former glory. The castle was rebuilt according to the surviving ground plan of earlier phases and was formally completed in the July of 1932.

Eilean Donan Today

Eilean Donan has starred in many films including:

Bonnie Prince Charlie starring David Niven (1948)
The Master of Ballantreee starring Errol Flynn (1953)
The New Avengers (1976)
Highlander (1986)
Loch Ness (1996)
James Bond – The World is Not Enough (1999)

A more recent movie was Made of Honour, a romantic comedy from 2008 starring Patrick Dempsey & Michelle Monaghan.

Wedding at Eileen Donan

Besides movies, weddings are popular at the Castle. It’s well worth a visit if you are planning a trip to Scotland!

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Historic Castle Series: Inverary Castle, Scotland

Inverary Castle
Front Entrance Hallway to Inverary Castle

A Visit to Inverary Castle

Inverary Castle is located in Argyll, Scotland. It is the home of the 13th Duke of Argyll, Sir Torquhil Ian Campbell, his wife Eleanor and their family. The castle has played a major part in Scottish and British history. The displays inside the castle show how the family lived over many generations.

Welcome to Inverary Castle

The Front Entranceway

Hallway with Rifle Display

The most fascinating part of the entrance hallway, besides being so tall, is that there is a circular rifle display on the wall which is stunning.

Inside the Castle

Amazing Room Displays

Imagine living in a castle! Better yet, having to maintain all the furniture and the building itself.

The Dining Room and the China Display were fascinating. The china has been used at the castle over the generations of the Campbell Clan.

China Cabinet
The magnificent Dining Room
Inside the Kitchen

The Castle Gardens

The Castle In May

Visitors can walk around the gardens which are beautiful and well cared for.

Gardens on my visit

Inverary Castle is well worth a visit in Scotland. Further information is at:

https://www.inveraray-castle.com/

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Food Safety Makes Sense

In my former career, I was a public health inspector/environmental health officer and ran my own business called Enviro-Food Consulting. I trained a large number of restaurant and foodservice workers on food safety techniques.

The public forgets that food poisoning cases are happening worldwide and are preventable. It makes sense for us to remember that food safety is important to all of us.

The Attitudes of Food Service Workers

I have taught many groups of workers from teens to seniors. For most of my students, food safety is not treated seriously. Working in a restaurant is thought of as just another job. Management is not always supportive. If workers notice that management doesn’t take an interest in them, they are not concerned about food safety. That means sanitizing isn’t done carefully, hands are wiped not washed and dirty cloths are not replaced. Sanitizing is extremely important in preventing food poisoning.

Cappucino

Food Prepared & Purchased in A Typical Day

On a typical day, many of us consume food made at home or nowadays may enjoy a takeout item such as coffee. We all forget how much we depend on the food supply chain to provide us with safe food to eat which won’t make us ill. Many cases of foodborne illness are not reported as symptoms tend to mimic the flu. There are times when you may not have had the flu but food poisoning instead.

Breakfast Egg Sandwich

Consider The Following Points

For example, if you had an egg sandwich for breakfast in a restaurant, do you consider the following points?

1. How old is the egg that was used to make the sandwich?

    2. Did the food handler preparing the sandwich wash his/her hands before preparing the sandwich?

    3. Was the egg cooked properly to the correct temperature?

    4. Was there any cross-contamination with other menu items being prepared on the grill or at the same time?

    Food Handler Washing Hands
    1. Was the handwashing done properly not just using a shot of hand sanitizer? Hand sanitizers are wonderful when sinks with hot and cold water are not available. However, in a restaurant kitchen, there is a designated hand basin to use. Handwashing with hot or warm water and liquid soap sanitizes hands most effectively.
    2. Was the work area sanitized? This should be done with an approved sanitizer in a spray bottle and clean cloth. If the cloth is dirty, contaminants will be spread around the surfaces.
    3. Was the sandwich cooked to the proper temperature?
    4. Is the purchased sandwich hot, lukewarm or even cold? Uneven temperatures mean the food is in the Danger Zone where various food poisoning organisms can grow.

    Do You Still Want to Eat the Egg Sandwich?

    After thinking about all these points, do you still want to eat the egg sandwich?

    Food safety affects us! Don’t take it for granted. Food safety does make sense.

    More Breakfast Food
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    Travel Memories: Santorini, Greece

    A Trip to Santorini

    How To Get There

    Santorini is a beautiful Greek Island and was very popular with tourists when I visited on a cruise stop a few years ago. Hopefully, once the earthquakes subside, tourism will return.

    When a cruise ship docks, there are two ways to get up the hill.

    The first way is by cable car which is a steep ride up to the top with amazing views.

    Cable Car up hill

    The second way is to take a donkey ride or walk up the steps which takes a while. The donkeys must know the route by memory as they constantly walk up and down the steep slope.

    Donkeys and tourists walking up the steep slope to the top.

    I chose the cable car because it was fast and also a fun way to quickly get to the top.

    Donkeys waiting on steps in shade.

    A Special Greek Island

    Santorini is an island in the southern Aegean Sea, around 200 kilometers from the mainland of Greece.

    It is the largest island of a small, circular archipelago, and is a remnant of a volcanic caldera. A caldera is a caldron-like hollow which forms shortly after the magma chamber empties in a volcanic eruption. The walls of the volcano cave in resulting in the cauldron-like appearance of the island. It can also be considered a crater though it looks more like a giant sinkhole structure due to the eruption and the build-up of magma over time.

    The Churches

    The principal city in Santorini is Fira. The cycladic style are the white buildings built like an amphitheatre on the hillside. The blue domed churches really stand out against the white buildings built with narrow pathways between them. The churches were my favourite part of Santorini because they are so beautiful and I had never seen anything like them before.

    A Return to Santorini

    When it is safe to return to Santorini, it will be worthwhile to re-visit this amazing island with the beautiful views.

    A church dome.
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    Travel Memories: Mykonos, Greece

    A Popular Greek Island

    Windmill on Mykonos

    On a cruise a few years ago, we visited the Greek island of Mykonos, also the name of the main town.

    A Town By The Sea

    Mykonos is a lovely town with some buildings and restaurants up to the water’s edge. It is nicknamed “The Island of Winds” due to the very strong winds which blow across the island which we experienced.

    The cruise ship in the distance.

    Greek Dining

    We were able to sit outside and enjoy some Greek food while almost on the water.

    My husband Al and myself sitting outside at Mykonos restaurant.

    We had some Greek appetizers which included olives and hummous of course!

    Hummous

    They also brought us olives, bread and tsatziki.

    Appetizers

    We had to try the cappucino!

    Cappucino

    Greek Octopus

    One thing we didn’t try was the octopus! This one was sitting outside on the bar all ready to go!

    It was a fun day in Mykonos and well worth the visit.

    Dining by the sea.
    Mykonos Pottery showing the famous windmills.

    I look forward to returning there again in the future.

    Narrow streets in Mykonos.
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