Moments in a day

Writer's Quote Files

2011-03-08T22:29:00.000-08:00

There must be something sadistic about writers to be able to live constantly on a line that borders madness and ultimate joy.

I discovered today that some writers keep quotes other writers have written about writing, because they wanted to add the comment I said above to their quote files.

Hence, I will now start off my own quote file with my own quote because I don’t have any others, and I feel left out I don't already have a quote file LOL

A Woman Transported - Completed WOOT!

2010-10-09T00:14:00.000-07:00

A Woman Transported – Short synopsis

Set in Australia and England in the early 1800s, A Woman Transported is a tale of pain, struggle, deceit, and ultimately love — and one woman’s fight to find her mother transported across the oceans to Botany Bay — a hell on earth where even the kookaburras mock the convicts with laughter.

London, 1814 – Isabel imagines the land the floating convict prison hulks are destined for, the prison on the other side of the world, but all she can vision is a grey, damp, wet, overcrowded land full of decrepit buildings — a land of evil, depraved people, and the horror her convict mother must be living in Australia.

Isabel, the daughter of a candle and soap maker, dreams of seeing her mother again and escaping the rabbit warrens where even the light seems oppressive. Using a determination known by those who have suffered deeply she overcomes poverty, evades brutal men and fights against an unjust system of justice. She makes her way to Australia, finds her mother near death in the sunburnt land and much more than she expects or is prepared for.

Now I just need an agent!

What's a girl to do?

2010-10-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

I just realised I haven’t written a post for over a year. Not that anyone has probably noticed, but feeling a bit bored after spending two years writing, A Woman Transported, and now not knowing what to write next I thought I might as well play out in the world. I’ve been seeking an agent, slowly and very cautiously, and the other day I received a request for a partial after sending an email query. Woot! But at the same time it made me realise there are so few literary agents in Australia, and probably fewer game enough to take on a historical, and on top of that a request from an agent for a partial is a long way from any offer of publication.

So what does a writer do? Doodle on their blog while talking to themselves, it seems.

I thought I might share a couple of links I’ve come across.

Agent Sydney’s - Call My Agent

For any Australian writer, or for that matter any writer, who wants an inside look at the Australian publishing industry from an agent’s perspective you can’t beat Agent Sydney’s, blog Call My Agent. I’ve been following the blog for months and for anyone who has followed Miss Snark. Agent Sydney is just as refreshing. BTW, if you’re a writer and you’ve never read Miss Snark, now is the time to do so.

Australian agents

Australian Literary Agents’ Association (ALAA)

Submitting queries overseas? Query Tracker…free for basic services – search for agents, see top selling agents, and much more

A Missing Person

2009-08-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

I have a sister who went missing between December 1992 and January 1993. Last January I started up a site called A Missing Person com dedicated to her for the purpose of allowing other people to list people they are looking for.

Yesterday I got an email from a mother who had listed her daughter missing on the site a few months back which made me smile.

I wanted to inform you that my daughter Marissa Raney has been safely recovered. She is now home with our family! I want to THANK YOU in your efforts into helping us recover her! Our family appreciates you!

I thought it was wonderful that something good has come out of such a horrible thing.

Review in the Department of Education Scan Magazine

2009-06-24T17:36:00.000-07:00

Last September my book was reviewed by a school librarian for the NSW Education Department quarterly Scan Magazine, which is distributed to all school libraries in NSW. I had thought that they had decided not to include the review, but yesterday I received a copy of the May Edition for 2009.

I am not allowed to reprint it, but the book has been noted for introductory support for the Stage 3 COGs Unit - Traditions and heritage and suggested that it could be useful background for Food Technology students.

The link below takes you to a search box, and if you type Australian Flavour - the review shows up second from the top.

http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/resourcereviews/

Are Recipes covered by copyright?

2009-02-17T18:07:00.001-08:00

Being a member of an online writing community I came across a post the other day where the poster wanted to know how to claim copyright for recipes. The simple response could be, write your own. But recipes in their total form are not copyrightable, only the method or instruction provided is. Then there is also the issue of recipes out of copyright, where their methods are free to reproduce as you please.

Firstly, derivative works are anything that you adapt. If you adapt a recipe it is a derivative work and deserves the same recognition as any other type of writing. If there is enough of the original there, making it obvious of where the work came from, it has not departed the original enough and therefore it is not protected by copyright.

The only type of derivative work that can be claimed under a new copyright is one that is quite clearly an original creation that does not resemble the original work in method or execution of the subject.

You can not simply adapt a work and claim it as yours. Nor can you simply use copyrighted work, quote the source, and be free of violating copyright law.

Secondly, don't try to reinvent the wheel...if you want to use material no longer under copyright simply quote your source, and don't try to claim it as your own. It is morally wrong, and someone is sure to notice that the work originally came from another source.

Thirdly, if you are wanting to compile a group of recipes for resale, regardless of if they are in copyright, if you are not a chief who can apply writing and culinary skills to methods think twice, unless you are doing so for review, education purposes, or debate. If you want to use recipes by a well known chef, ask permission.

1. A list of ingredients is not copyrighted.

2. The method or instruction for preparation is copyrighted.

3. NOW A tricky twist on the rules.

Recipes that are traditional and known by many from a location - for example - in Australia it would be impossible to copyright the recipe for Damper, especially the basic one using only flour, salt, and water, or for that matter chocolate crackles (Which by the way Kellogs™ did try to do once, unsuccessfully.)

It is impossible to copyright them because millions of Australians have been passed on the recipes for generations and know the recipes from memory and will write them almost word for word ...but if you have used a previous recipe from someone else and not written the method or instruction from your memory you should attribute the original source, and at the very least note that it is a Traditional Recipe from (and the region or country)

4. Any recipe that you have adapted, regardless of how much you think you have added to the recipe, the original recipe writer that you have adapted the recipe from should be attributed to being the original source.

eg.

Damper 1

Ingredients

4 cups of flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
30g butter
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water

Method or Instructions

Sift flour, baking power, and salt and mix in butter.
Mix a well in the centre of the dry ingredients. Mix in milk and water and knead until firm. Shape into a flattened ball.

Place on a large greased and flour tray and bake for approximately 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 180c and bake for another 15 -20 minutes or until a tap on the crust causes a hollow sound, then turn onto wire cooling tray.

Serve cut or broken into thick chunks and serve with golden syrup, lashings of butter, or both.

*****

In the above recipe the ingredients are not copyrighted but the method of how I just wrote it is despite it being a traditional recipe from Australia but only to a degree.

The reason for this is, I have ingredients listed in portions others may not, and in turn my method has been adapted to suit the quantity and the heat and cooking method that I have used to make the damper. Having said that, many other Australians will write that recipe in a very similar fashion if they are making that quantity. Overall, even though my method is copyrighted, there is a great chance many other Australians have an almost identical formula in the method for making that quantity of bread.

No one would dare claim the Damper recipe as their own, AND anyone not familiar with it, should not claim they made the recipe alone. Anyone writing a traditional or slightly adapted recipe, should note the original source if they themselves did not traditionally grow up and know that recipe by heritage. Being a traditional, well slightly adapted traditional Australian recipe, depending on who is writing it, should note it in one of a few ways.

An Australian who knows the recipe by heart and needs no reference to any document or source to make the damper. - Traditional Australian Damper

An Australian or anyone else who does not know the recipe -

Traditional Australian Recipe - adapted from/ or original source Sharon Robards

Damper 2

1 cup of flour
a pinch of salt
1/4 cup water

Method or Instruction

Mix all into a firm ball, flatten and place under the ashes of the fire.

****

The above recipe can not be copyrighted...that is how hundreds of people would know and write how to make it. Having said that, if you come across a recipe like that and you never new that, it is not your recipe to use freely without attribution...that is common sense.

Points to take note of.

1. The list of ingredients you are free to reprint and use as you wish.

2. The method or instruction must be written completely from your memory because of knowledge of how to make the recipe due to it being your recipe, or passed on from generation - not because you looked at the recipe then closed the book and wrote from memory. Apart from the fact the recipe would probably not work, you know it is not yours.

3. Even if you are convinced you made enough of an adaption to a recipe to call it your own, don't be afraid to pass on the original source of the recipe.

4. Even if you are using recipes that are out of copyright - it is a curtsey to credit the original author of that recipe. Someone with the knowledge, will only point it out to you.

6. Attempting to rephrase words is still, and will be picked up, as a copyright breach if it remains in copyright, and just a lie, if it is out of copyright.

The main point to remember is that every writer, regardless of wether their works are copyrighted deserve to be attributed their own writing, regardless of the year it was written. If you are using recipes out of copyright you should quote the source even if there is no legal obligation to do so.

If you are still uncertain check with your countries Copyright laws.

The Essence of Love

2009-02-01T17:22:00.000-08:00

The Essence of Love

When I read Many Facets of Love by a woman called Suzan L. Wiener
it made me think of the lovely words that love can inspire and Valentine’s Day.

"Magical Nights" from Many Facets of Love

Please love me forever
the way I want you.
You are my heart,
the way you hold me. It makes me
feel
wonderful;
blissful and
loved.
You're the world to me
because of all the kind things you do.
You are my magical nights, and together
we make special memories.
Thank you so much for your
loving heart and for all the blessing
I've received since I met you.
You are my darling, and know
how much you mean to me.

"You're The Only One" Many Facets of Love

You're the only one I need
because you are so special and kind.
I found true happiness when I'm in your
arms. My life was really sad before, but now it is
wonderful;
grand;
magical and
joyous
filled with a peace and contentment I never knew
before. It's filled with so much happiness all because
of you. Many thanks for your wondrous heart that gives
so freely.
You are my world, and I'm really glad you are part of it.
We found each other just in time and now I am serene.

With Valentine’s Day approaching it dawned on me that my husband and I haven’t exchanged cards or gifts since our first few years together. It has nothing to do with not loving him. I love him more each day but feel no need to single out a particular day to tell him I love him. We tell each other most days either in words or by actions. After reading Many Facets of Love it reminded me that we all need inspiring from time to time, and sometimes it helps to remember that love can be fragile, gone in a moment, and that it should always be cherished.

Valentine’s Day by definition is a day that lovers express their love to each other. The first flush of love makes you light headed, your heart ache, and the longing inside almost unbearable. Those first feelings of love either dissolve, sometimes turning bitter or heartbreaking, or they deepened and turn into a feeling of contentment.

The first flush of love makes you want to shout out to the world that you have found that someone special, someone who knows you like no other, someone to share your dreams, aspirations, and failings. The first days of being in love make you think that there can’t be another couple who feel the way you do. Everything is perfect, serene, and you suddenly see the world and life as a different place, no longer a place you travel alone through. The person you love is wonderful, has no faults, makes you laugh but true love will also make you cry.

With love comes pain at some time. Only true love can be tested by life’s ups and downs and survive. It is only when you know your own faults, see and accept your lover as human with all their failings, can the first flush of love develop into something that becomes truly meaningful and lasting. Only when you accept each other for who you are, love deepens and grows.

Susie has been married for more than thirty years and the love she shares with her husband has inspired her beautiful poetry that conveys much of what I have just said in a manner that will make you smile. On Valentine’s Day millions of dollars are spent by lovers trying to find the perfect words in greeting cards, flowers, chocolate and romantic dinners. Susie’s poetry will cost you less than some greeting cards and is the perfect gift for someone you love, including yourself.

"The Essence of Love" from The Essence of Love

You are the essence of love. You are my very heart,
soul and desire. You are my life and my days and nights
are filled with thoughts of you. Heaven is you all rolled
into one. I am so grateful to have found you because you bring me such true
happiness and joy. Thank you darling for bringing me the essence of love that you have
created. It is a special world that very few will find.
You have brought it to me in so many ways and you are
the most precious love of my heart. You alone are the one to thrill me and you alone
are the one I crave. It's wonderfulthat you feel the same
way.

“The Light” from The Essence of Love

You are the light that brightens my way.
You give me hope and you always know how to make me
smile. The stars twinkle more
when you are with me. The birds sing
sweeter, and no one sighs. You are my joy;
my bliss;
my heaven..
Whenever we kiss I am in total
ecstasy. I know you will never go
away. And I am sure you will never
leave my
heart.

If you are looking for words of inspiration on Valentine’s Day or a special gift for the one you love it can be brought in e-book form and downloaded from the following link.

The Essence of Love by Suzan L. Wiener at a much lower cost. Great for a Valentine's gift for that special someone.

For a history on Valentine’s Day you can read it on Wikipedia

Guess my favourite recipe and win a copy of Australian Flavour

2008-11-20T16:02:00.000-08:00

I haven’t written any posts for a while so I thought it was about time. Seeing the second print run has finally arrived, I am going to run a competition to give away two books to the first two people from Absolute Write who can guess what is my favourite recipe out of Australian Flavour. There’s over 150 recipes the majority posted here on AW. Only one recipe per person can be posted each week.

The first two people to place a comment with the name of the correct recipe wins a copy.

Open to anyone, anywhere, as long as they are a member of Absolute Write. If more than one person places a comment at the exactly the same time with the right answer they can both win. Easy!

Obviously no family members or close friends can enter. That wouldn’t be fare to the people on AW.

Winners will be announced after 830pm Estern Standard Time 12th December (so they can be delivered by Christmas) but if we don't have two winners we will continue until two winners are determined.

What’s in a name?

2008-08-20T18:00:00.000-07:00

My daughter must have been thinking about her ancestry, when she forwarded me an email the other day title “The history of the Parrish name.” Parrish is my maiden name, and although I should have been quite impressed by her writing skills I decided to google the first line.

“From very ancient history it can be ascertained that the name parisii can be found as far back as 250 b.c. they were a celtic clan that lived in paris, france.”

I quickly realised she had plagiarised the entire article from http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Creek/2696/History.html, in which case a reminder to her of copyright and plagiarism followed. The article was very interesting though, but instead of thinking of my Paryce, Parys, Paryse, Paryssh, Paris, Parish or Parrish named ancestors I thought of how now days people are called names like Apple, and although I haven’t heard of Orange, Banana, or Grapefruit yet, I wonder how far away it will be before some child is given such a name. On top of this there is a growing acceptance of women keeping their maiden names when they marry. This appears to indicate women want to remain independent in their marriages, but I really can’t understand why some women then hyphenate them. My daughter’s friend is called Indigo, after a colour, which I don’t mind, and coincidentally her surname is Parrish-Something. So from here, if Indigo marries and keeps her name and husbands name she will be Indigo Parrish-Something-HusbandsName.

Gee, if this trend was to remain we would all have names longer than the Kings and Queens of Europe and it would make is so much easier for our future generations to track back their family lines but what about the poor children having to learn their names, as well as some of the teasing some must get. I was never teased about my name as such, but I remember being called parachute. My husband’s name is John, and although his mother probably named him after one of the Johns in the Bible, he was often called ‘toilet’.

Unfortunately my mother-in-law never took into account Australian slang, where the word “John” is used to describe a toilet. I have to go now, I’m busting to get to the John.

The Book Launch

2008-08-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

The Book Launch

I have been busy since the book launch, and have been meaning to place some pics here. The day was pretty much uneventful but it did allow me to catch up with some family and friends I had not been in contact with for a while. If anyone knows Nelson Bay, a brilliant sunny day means no shoppers regardless of how much food you are giving away. Only one book was sold, but by the Friday, the day before, our first print run had been oversold. There was a heap of food left over, and it has convinced me Australians are too well fed. Below is the picture of Shannon who won the “best dressed lamington” competition.

Reader Reviews Start Comming

2008-08-01T17:56:00.000-07:00

Pre-released copies of Australian Flavour have started to be shipped, and the first feedback is coming in.

“Hi Sharon, my copy of the book arrived yesterday, WOW, Fantastic!, Thnx, it turned out great - fantastic images and great, easy to follow recipes. Thnx very much.”

Bill Donnelly – photographer, Australia (29th July 2008)

“This book provides with all the colour pictures and the detail background stories a wonderful insight to the origin of traditional Australian cuisine. Excellent research on good old traditions provides great recipes not only for Australian ‘cooks’.”

Peter Wahl from Germany (31st July 2008)

Beautifully illustrated with interesting stories throughout the book. The pictures in this cookbook are wonderful and so are the recipes. I've made several and this book is a great addition to any cookbook collection.

Barb Foley from United States (31st July 2008)

Australian Flavour Heads to Restaurant in the USA

2008-07-25T22:20:00.000-07:00

The books from our first print run arrived the other day to fulfil orders from my site Australian Flavour . Our pre-released copies sold out prior to the books arrival much to my surprise. As an added bonus, I woke up this morning to find that the owner of Spoto's The Steakjoint restaurant in Dunedin, Florida had ordered a copy.

http://www.spotossteakjoint2.com/history.html

A Memorable Moment

2008-07-21T01:02:00.000-07:00

I was asked the other day, “What was one of the most memorable things you came across in your research of Australian Flavour?” The first thing I thought of was a quote taken from an early Australian journal. After reading a few lines I almost skipped what makes the following statement memorable.

Damper

“A bushman’s recipe, which some people swear by and others swear at. Make a hole in some flour in a ration bag, pour in a quart pot of boiling water and stir it with a stick until you have a lump of dough, which you lift out from the surrounding flour, slightly flatten and bake in the ashes. A more luxurious way to mix it is to take off your leather legging and mix it on that, or a piece of bark.”

Why Publicity Is Free.

2008-07-15T22:32:00.000-07:00

I was interviewed the other day by a reporter from the Port Stephens Examiner. I was surprised at how easy the interview came about, and then racked with nerves prior to it. But I needn’t of worried, because they spelt my name wrong, never mention the book launch that is next month, or the name of the book….Gee, free publicity gone down the drain.

Port Stephens Examiner
By NIKKI TAYLOR

TRADITIONAL Australian cuisine is celebrated in a new book by Corlette resident Sharon Robarts (Robards).

A first time writer, Mrs Robarts (Robards) said the book was inspired by her grandmother and aimed to familiarise people with the many flavours of Australian cooking.

“My grandmother brought me my first typewriter when I was nine years old and I have been writing ever since,” she said.

Mrs Robarts (Robards) said it was the loss of her grandmother that first prompted her to begin writing the book.

“When she [grandmother] died I really missed her cooking and wanted to put together a group of recipes that really captured the essence of traditional Australian cooking,” she said.

The book took 18 months to write and covers all aspects of Australian cuisine including meat, light dishes, desserts and a section on native bush tucker.

“There is a special part of the book which includes recipes by Vic Cherikoff who is credited as being a pioneer of native Australian food, Mrs Robarts (Robards) said.

Also included in the book are a number of beautiful photographs that Mrs Robarts (Robards) collected from photographers around the world.

Mrs Robarts (Robards) said it had been a life-long dream to have a book published and the experience was rewarding.

“It gives a great sense of achievement and it has my grandmother’s name in it,” she said.

Camera Shy

2008-07-09T19:14:00.000-07:00

I dropped off a media kit at a local newspaper the other day and included a flyer about a book launch.

About two hours later I got a telephone call, and was told that they were going to do an interview about the book, and take photographs, the next day. Yahoo, I first thought, and than I suddenly felt a great deal of nerves. Mainly, as the small image will show on my profile, I hate having my photograph taken. That one was taken after a couple of drinks, and not juice. For the next 24 hours all I could think about was having a photograph taken.

I never thought of myself as a vain person, but I suddenly thought that perhaps I should go to the hair dresses, or perhaps I might be able to politely ask them to use an older image. I wondered if I should wear black (slimming), blue (matches my eyes), or purple and a hat and appear eccentric.

By the next morning I was convinced I had lost my mind, and I cleaned my house again and again, pulled out fifty different sets of clothes, and decided when it was too late, that perhaps I should have gone to the hairdresser. They arrived on time. There was a woman reporter and a man carrying one of the largest cameras made.

The interview itself did not go too bad, I don’t think, except I made a big blundering mistake when I was asked how they could order the book. I forgot to mention that apart from bookstores, they could order the book directly from a website I have. When asked the question, all I could think about was all the photographs that they had taken while I felt quite stupid holding up the book, and could not stop laughing at times, when I should have been feeling very proud, instead of wondering how many of the photographs, if any, they would use. Some photos were taken inside, some outside, and all of them had me holding up the book as if I was reading it, or alternatively looking at the camera. They were taken front on, side on, but more importantly only from the waist up.

When the reporters left, my 11 year old daughter told me she had been interviewed while I was having photographs take. She was asked, “What is your favourite meal from the book?” My daughter responded, “Chicken Schnitzel” which is NOT in the book.

The interview will be in The Port Stephens Examiner in Australia this week or next week. Now all I can think about is trying to collect all the papers from the lawns they will be left on, so no one buys the book thinking that there is some special chicken Schnitzel recipes.

Inspiration

2008-07-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

More than a year ago my grandmother Nellie (pictured) who had been living with my husband, daughter, and I, passed away at home. To say that I was devastated would be an understatement. At the time of my grandmother’s passing, I had almost completed a teenage fiction novel called King of Mermen. I was numb, and uninterested in writing. I found myself going over so many moments we had shared together. For a few weeks all I could think about was all the pleasures in life that she would never enjoy again.

Australian Flavour began as an exercise to capture the meals my grandmother loved. I relished her cooking, summer or winter — casseroles, soups, baked dinners, and bread and butter puddings. The meals my grandmother made at home were very much based on what was cooked at ‘Home’ — the British Isles — despite it being one hundred and eighty years for my grandmother since her forebears landed on Australian soil, and well over two hundred years for us today.

For over a year, I did nothing but think and breathe what would become Australian Flavour - Traditional Australian Cuisine. It gave me a great deal of solace to think that I could capture something that my grandmother had loved. I built a website called Australian Flavour and began collecting recipes from some of the authors who had the biggest influence on our eating habits. From Isabella Beaton to Vic Cherikoff. What I thought would be a simple exercise turned into a project to capture the essence of traditional Australian food tody.

The book is dedicated to both my grandmothers, Ruby and Nellie, and will be released on the 9th August 2008. Our website has already sold close to eighty copies, and I have a dozen orders from libraries around Australia. I now feel a great deal of satisfaction with the knowledge, at the very least, that some of the meals my grandmothers loved will live on. They are a part of traditional Australian cuisine.