English is English, Right?

Hi, my name is Brenda St John Brown and I'm thrilled to be part of Across the Board. Since this is my intro post, I'm going to babble a bit by way of introduction because normally I'd ask you about your earrings or something so I don't have to talk about myself, but I'm not even sure you're wearing earrings, so I can't really ask you where you got them. (Are you? Wearing earrings? Because if you are, I bet they look fabulous.)

I'm the resident romance writer here, writing kissing scenes across the board from YA to adult fiction. My New Adult contemporary romance, SWIMMING TO TOKYO, published with Spencer Hill Contemporary last July and my self-published adult romantic suspense, LIES WE LIVE, comes out June 22. (More in a future post about this self-publishing journey. It's a ride and a half, no?) 

Other things to know about me:

• I have a life-long love affair with Doritos.
• Climate change alarms me and I've been known to stay up at night obsessing over water supply.
• I have a boy who just turned 10. He's super English, although he still calls me "mom", which makes me happy.
• And, right...I'm a native New Yorker, living in a tiny village in Northwest England.

About that - my husband I moved to London nearly 8 years ago for what was supposed to be an 18-month move and here we are. When we were offered the chance to move back to New York or to The North (as it's referred to on the road signs), we chose The North.

Living in the UK has been amazing, although the weather is crap. Summer here is about 72 degrees tops and I've never been swimming outside in this country. However, the thing that's surprised me the most is how British English has crept into my English. As Brianna Lebrecht, who copyedited LIES WE LIVE, can testify -- it's more often than I think!

So, here's a little quiz for you. Below is the British English word...can you name the American equivalent?

Coriander

Aubergine

Courgette

Biscuit

Bap

Trainer

Pants

Trolley

Crisps

Dummy

Flannel

Flyover

The Plough

I'll pop the answers into the comments, but talk about two countries divided by a common language. And then there's the slang! I still don't have the hang of the slang in The North. Tea = your evening meal. Dinner = lunch? What?? I thought tea was a drink (milk and one sugar, please) and dinner was, well, dinner. I pledge allegiance...Long live the Queen.

The Boy is learning British spelling and I'm not, but I've assimilated and this is your warning that the occasional phrase might slip past my internal editor. Feel free to call me on it -- or anything else. (I mean, don't actually call me. Like most writers, I hate talking on the phone and texting is a glorious thing.) Phone phobias aside, though, I'm super excited to be here and talk writing, romance and other random things. If there's anything YOU want to know, let me know, too!