Dawn Brookes

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Spring & Seasonal Reading

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Spring is Here!

Spring is probably my favourite season. As that first flower emerges, new life starts to appear after the winter when everything that lay dormant comes to life again! I always feel invigorated at this time of year, and renewed energy helps me focus on new ideas. I like to write ideas down as they come to me and have a notebook for this purpose.

Seasonal Stories

Some authors write seasonal books, not only to generate sales all year round, but also to capture the feeling of the season or month they are in.

Dawn Brookes

My plots continue all year round and are not intended to be seasonal. That said – quite by chance, I have written a couple of children’s books inspired by the seasons. Ava & Oliver’s Bonfire Night Adventure obviously centres around November 5th. I wrote that one as I’m not a fan of Halloween, and the traditional bonfire night appears to be waning. Ava & Oliver’s Christmas Nativity Adventure focusses on preparations for a church nativity play using real animals, I love that book! My favourite, because its based in my favourite season, is Danny the Caterpillar. Seasonal books for children not only sell books, they help children learn about nature and the traditions that we all cherish as part of our culture, and that’s why I think they’re important and there remains a place for them.

Spring Cruise for Rachel Prince!

My Rachel Prince mystery series is based on a cruise ship, and despite Rachel being able to travel the world through all the seasons, they are obviously holiday focussed. That doesn’t mean they can only be read on holiday, though. The latest book, Killer Cruise follows Rachel on a spring cruise – get the gist! It’s not my intention to make the books seasonal, but to some extent they will be set in different seasons. I will be writing a Christmas centred plot for later this year, that will be Book 5 in the series. Other than that, they are all year round reads – who wouldn’t want to escape on a cruise on dark winter nights?

What Next?

Bluetit

Nature will always inspire me, and as I have a bird camera box in my garden where a bluetit has just finished building her nest, I can’t help but think that I will have to write a story for children about bluetits! This is one idea I jot down in my future notebook as I’m currently working hard on the Rachel Prince Mystery series and starting a new Private Investigator series. I’m also trying to finish the third in my Hurry up Nurse series that readers have been patiently waiting for, and which is long overdue!

As you can see, like so many others, I’m busy being productive all year round, but it’s good to take a step back, breathe in fresh air and pause for a moment to appreciate the wonders that go on around us every day.

If you are interested in reading books relevant to the seasons, then Killer Cruise is available on preorder and will be released on 9thApril. Danny the Caterpillar is available on Amazon and can be ordered through bookstores. If you’re not a seasonal reader, grab any one of my books at anytime. I like to read historical fiction and this can be read at any time of year!

Plotter, Pantser or Planter

Plotter, Pantser or Planter?

You may have heard the term plotter and probably pantser and I’ve been mulling these writing styles over in my head and while doing so I’ve come up with a combination of the two, planter! What on earth is she talking about? All will become clear…

Plotters

In terms of writing, a plotter is a person who sits down and outlines a plot of their story following a structured approach. This approach will most likely drill down to chapter headings and a rough outline of the contents of each chapter ending with a finale. 

A story outline such as this is a requirement for submissions to agents and/or publishers and it is an approach many authors follow rigidly.

Pantser

The opposite to a plotter, the pantser sits down and writes, allowing their creativity to take over. There is no plan, the story develops itself on the hoof as the author writes. Authors who rebel against the traditional plotting already mentioned might swear by this approach arguing that the former inhibits their creative side. 

Some people argue that pantsing results in better stories while others say that it is damaging. Who’s right? Neither. It’s whatever works for the author or more importantly, the reader as he/she is the ultimate judge of whether it is working.

Planter 

In reality many authors use a combination of the two approaches and you can see what I’ve done here – creating one word from the two. I personally use a combination and when I was playing with this word initially it was a bit of fun. 

The more I think about it though, planting is what I do as an author. I have a seed of an idea, I start to write and for me as the story develops or the plant starts to grow, I start to structure my story by outlining chapters and what I want to include in those chapters. In my planter analogy this would consist of planning the next steps for the plant e.g. adding compost, fertiliser, re-potting and deciding where the plant will end up. 

The planter analogy even lends itself to the editing process where the plant or story is trimmed back, shaped, nurtured and turned into something beautiful.

Mystery Writer

As I am in the early stages of my writing career I wouldn’t presume to be an expert in anything but for now I am a Planter(a combination of pantser and plotter). I am discovering in my own writing life that when I plot out who my murderer is likely to be (usually a choice of two characters), as I weave the story, this changes and the murderer ends up being someone completely different to my initial one. The way I see it is that if I can’t guess who the murderer is it creates more of a challenge to the reader!

These are just my thoughts written down for consideration and for your information I used the Pantsermethod of writing for this short post, it is not meant to be a treatise on the subject! I hope my musings have been entertaining if not useful….

Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting

Posted on 1st February 2019 inCozy Mysteries, Cruising, Rachel Prince Backstory, Rachel Prince Behind the Scenes, Wine Tasting

Wine Tasting

Rachel Prince attends a wine tasting lesson in the book ‘Deadly Cruise.‘ I thought it would be fun to put together a summary of what she may have learned!

Introduction to Wine Tasting

In terms of fine dining, no drink plays nearly as important a role as wine. Top restaurants and cruise ships have their own sommeliers to advise guests with regard to the wines suitable for accompanying their food choices.

A good wine is an experience in its own right. Accordingly, wine tasting is growing in popularity as more people have opportunities to dine out and to take cruises. Many cruise lines offer wine tasting lessons on board ship with the ship’s own sommelier and visits to wine growing vineyards as part of a land-based tour. In particular, a vineyard tour offers a unique insight into the inner workings of wine growers.

Wine tasting provides an excellent opportunity to engage intensely with wine variants. By practising wine tasting you will learn which grape varieties and dishes can be combined. This helps you choose which wines are suitable for which occasion and what specialties you can serve with what wine. You will learn to sensitise your taste buds and your nose for the different flavors!

What is Wine Tasting?

When it comes to wine, tasting wine is not synonymous with drinking. Tasting comes from engaging and stimulating the senses including those of sight, smell and taste. Wine tasting is a skill needed to analyse wine to check it is suitable for serving and that there are no imperfections.

You will use the eye to check colour and clarity, the nose to check aromas and the mouth to detect flavors and textures. Tasting also involves the pleasure of recognising aromas, identifying flavours, assessing the style of the wine, and sometimes its vintage or origin.

As a result, tasting then becomes a journey in your memory, in time and in history.

Visual Examination

The glass is filled to one-third, and then the process of examining the dress of the wine. A sommelier might explain that visual examination provides information on the age of the wine, its concentration and its power.

In most cases, reds become lighter over time, with purple robes turning to ruby ​​and garnet. The intensity of the dress, which goes from strong to weak, gives information on the power of the wine.

Reflections reflect the age of the bottle, purple or pink raspberry reflections are the hallmarks of a young wine, while reflections of orange suggest an older wine, already well evolved.

Finally, the brightness of the wine confirms these first indications, the wines becoming less and less brilliant with age. The information thus collected must be consistent with the label and following the tasting. Thus, lack of brilliance and ruby ​​reflections could be indicative of a wine defect.

Smell

The olfactory examination helps detect the volatile aromas present in the wine. It informs and completes the first assessment gathered by the visual examination. The smell of a wine indicates its evolution, quality and origin. Begin by holding the glass still as this enables you to detect intensity, finesse and aroma.

You will be able to detect the aroma of fruits, spices and other ingredients. Note the intensity while gently inhaling through the nose. Next you will need to shake the glass gently in order to agitate the wine. Agitation oxygenates it thereby intensifying the aromas and refines your analysis. After stirring, the wine will present a complexity of the aromas already detected.

Taste

Tasting is the final step and the most favoured. Tasting makes it possible to assess the indices already obtained from the first two steps and brings new elements in terms of texture and taste.

Specialists divide the tasting examination into three:

  • The first sensation or attack
  • followed by the mid-palate
  • and the finale.

Taste analysis:

There are four elementary tastes: sweet, salty, bitter and acid.

5 tips for getting the best out of a wine tasting experience

  1. Take your time. Great wines get better and better with age. A longer barrel maturity is therefore a special proof of their high quality in red wines. When it comes to wine tasting with a winemaker, an afternoon walk through the vineyards is a nice way to tune in to a wine tasting session in the early evening in peace.
  2. During wine tasting sessions several wines are tasted one after the other. Even if you do not drink from every tasting glass on offer, alcohol is accumulated during the course of such a test. This has an influence on the sensitivity of the sense of taste. After a certain number of wines, the tongue detects fewer differences. In this respect, it makes sense to make an appropriate pre-selection of the bottles to be tasted in advance with the winemaker. A professional wine taster will spit out the wine after tasting.
  3. Enjoy wine in community. Even if the wine tasting is primarily about increasing stocks in your own cellar, such a sample is always an experience in itself. This can also be shared and wine tasting together with good friends can increase your enjoyment of the experience.
  4. If visiting a vineyard as part of a cruise ship tour it is not always possible but where possible eat on site and stay overnight if you are not on a tour where a vehicle is provided.  Never drive after a wine tasting session. Staying overnight provides the advantage of eating in the same place during the evening. Of course it is advisable to visit a restaurant that also offers the previously tasted wines. In this way, their suitability as a companion to a good meal can be checked immediately putting your learning into practice.
  5. Many wine lovers find their favourite wine grower. They often order the same wine over the years. Such loyalty is of course honourable, however, it can shut out the experience to be gained from many other fascinating facets of the world of big and small wines.

Therefore, one should always maintain a certain enthusiasm and plunge again and again in to the varied tasting adventures provided by wine tasting with a new winemaker.

Rachel enjoyed her brief wine tasting lesson on board the fictional Coral Queen, and I hope you enjoyed taking this ‘behind the scenes’ look into what that might have involved. If you haven’t yet read ‘Deadly Cruise‘, you can purchase it by clicking on the links below:

Buy Now UK

Buy Now USA

Images except for the book cover courtesy of CCL from Pixabay with thanks.

Tears of Fire Book Review

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Tears of Fire by Gordon Bickerstaff

This is another gritty and gripping political thriller from Gordon Bickerstaff.

This is the second book I have read in the series but works as a standalone if you haven’t read any of the others. Zoe is a ex SAS soldier and ferocious opponent with a softer side and her character makes the book compelling. In this book Zoe is being hunted by the very people she has saved from terror and they will do anything to capture and kill her.

The story features evil twin sisters who have a love for torture and will mete out suffering in any way they can. It is a well-woven plot that starts with a bang and then continues full throttle right through to the end. If you are a fan of thrillers and don’t mind some graphic violence then this book is a great read. Another page turner by a talented author.

The Mitford Murders Review

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The Mitford Murders

by Jessica FellowesCozy blog by Dawn Brookes

Having picked this one up at the Derby Book Festival where the author was speaking, I have to say that I loved it, particularly as I like historical fiction and a good cosy murder mystery. There is plenty of content to keep you interested as the story progresses introducing different characters along the way.

The setting in the early 1920s, I felt was well researched and the effects that the Great war had on ex soldiers and nurses who were subjected to at that time was true to life. I liked the mix of fact and fiction and how the author brought in the true horrific murder of a war nurse, Florence Nightingale Shore, a murder that took place on a train and one that was never solved.

I confess, I knew nothing about the Mitford family, except the link to Chatsworth House of one of them, but am intrigued now to know more about them and the controversy surrounding the family. The story of this book centres mainly around the oldest Mitford sister, Nancy. I also enjoyed the insight into the upstairs, downstairs life of the family which is interesting and continues in the vein of Downton Abbey from that perspective.

The main protagonist, Louisa was plausible and her background believable as that of a young woman brought up in poverty during the era. Her love interest, Guy is also a likeable character whose tenacity to solve the murder of the nurse is admirable. I liked the plot and the introduction of red herrings at various points throughout the book that kept one guessing. It wasn’t until nearer the end that I guessed whodunnit! I liked the writing style and the humour that was interspersed at various intervals.

I would highly recommend it if you like a good, clean murder and if you are a fan of historical fiction. I look forward to reading the next book. I actually bought my copy at the Derby Book Festival where the author was speaking and I recommend the print copy as the gold embossing makes it a real treat of a hard copy. I will also be buying the book about Florence Nightingale Shore, the murder subject of this book written by Rosemary Cook to discover more about this nurse and her tragic end.

Portrait of Stella Book Review

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Portrait of Stella, Susan Wuthrich

Dawn Brookes Author

Book Review 17th June 2018, Dawn Brookes

A Great Start

I loved this story from the beginning when Gemima finds out that her birth certificate is a forgery. The story spans two different times which took a bit of getting used to for me. The first timeline is that of Gemima searching for the truth of her birth and the second one goes back in time and follows the events of her mother, Stella.

Apartheid History

At times the story is sad and tragic and the history of apartheid is covered well and I learned a lot more about the era. I followed the protests about Nelson Mendela’s imprisonment over many years but the experiences that people like Stella and even Gemima had were insufferable.

Could have been a saga trilogy

Initially I found the moving from one time to another tricky but I think the author introduced it in a creative way and made it a good read. I think the book could have been told in two or three parts as a family saga but it was an intriguing and enjoyable read.

It could have done with a further proofread as there are a number of typos which, although they don’t take away from the story, they can be irritating from a reader’s perspective.

I still think this is a great story though and loved it. It has a bit of everything included from World War II to the year 2000 and spans three generations and three continents which is why I think it could have been three books.