Sally Cronin, Eating, Writing

How wonderful to be here in your part of the world Ailsa.. We traveled through France a lot when we lived in Belgium and then moved to Spain and we have very happy memories of staying in some lovely villages and also really old inns on our travels.

Before we get started do you mind if I have a cuddle with this gorgeous pooch as I am feeling broody. We won’t be getting our new adoptee (of undetermined heritage) until the spring when I have finished some traveling.

Please do – Lily is a cuddle-tart, she will get on any knee and roll over for tummy tickles at the drop of a hat.

A coffee would be great and actually, would love one of those almond croissants. They are calorie negative because they go down so fast! I hope you will have one too and I don’t like to eat alone.

Fresh coffee on the stove and the pastries are from our local mad baker, Pierre, who acts out Shakespeare with me when I shop! So, of course, I’ll dig in, would be rude not to! 

How did you become such a guru in terms of diet and exercise? I know your advice and your book worked for me.

I think I am more a survivor of every crackpot, scientifically proven and celebrity diet out there. I must have tried them all including the one which gave itself the name of one of our top universities. I lost 40lbs in three months and put them back again with another 20lbs in the following three months. You cannot starve the body it will just bounce back and add a few pounds in case there is another famine down the road.

After 30 years of yo-yo dieting which had turned into a food addiction – any food, anytime – I realised twenty years ago that I am the mistress of my own body and the food that I take in. I chose the ‘cook from scratch’ approach and now eat across all food groups with minimum industrial intervention and in moderation. I reinforced this by doing a diploma in nutritional therapy which led to me working with others who were in the same situation over the last 18 years. I find the body and its complex operating systems fascinating. And I am still learning.

I am glad you found my book useful. What have you taken from it that has made a difference?

I’ve realised that by skipping meals (a hangover from anorexia in childhood) was making my body fear starvation and hang onto all the calories it can. I also took on board the fact that butter is good which is grand because I hate the use of palm oil in marge. My last blood test was fabulous. I’ve altered my eating habits permanently – little and often with a lot of variety works best for me. Yes, my body, my food, my decision. That is what most people don’t understand about healing – your body is your best friend to whom you don’t listen nearly enough! 

You are here today to talk about your new book which came out in early February. Would you like to let us have a bit of a peek at it?

I am pleased to see What’s in a Name out in the world as I put any publishing on hold last year as we moved from Spain back to Ireland and took on the renovation of our new home. I wrote a number of stories on my blog under the same title. Using the letters of the alphabet I wrote a female and male story about life, love, revenge, ghosts and retribution… You know family drama!

For example, Anne adapts her name because she associates it with pain, Bryan who comes from a long line of circus performers whose roots lie in the caves of ancient man. Celia who leaves the convent and religious life after many years and Ifan who learns about life and death.

The first volume has twenty stories from A – J.. With a second volume planned for later in the year.

Is there a story behind your name Ailsa?

Yes. My mother wanted to call me Helen but her sister of the same name vetoed it. Ailsa is Scottish and most English people can’t pronounce it properly. It was my father who came up with it. I loathe it because it was my “naughty” name, only used when I was bad. I prefer Otter or Ottie although I answer to Cam, short for Cameron, my middle name. In France, I have been Elise for twenty-five years,  which I adore!

Coming up this year?

I am going to focus on author and blog promotions on the blog in the coming twelve months and I hope to see you in the Cafe and Bookstore Ailsa for an Author Book Reading.

Oh that will be super! 

If I did have an actual cafe and bookstore I would definitely hold book signings and author readings and I decided that there was no reason not to do them in the virtual world.

The interviews will be interactive in as much as the readers get to add questions for the author in the comments section. I am doing a similar format for bloggers and other creative people such as singers and photographers… I wanted to get everyone involved.

I believe as an author that it is so important to be part of a supportive community. When I began blogging in late 2013 it was very much a shot in the dark and I had no idea the incredible people that I would meet along the way… I think you were one of the first to adopt me Ailsa and I am very grateful. And that it has migrated to the other social media sites where we can keep up with each other.

I have a few more books on the way. Both non-fiction and fiction and I also intend to do a great deal more reading this year too. I have a TBR that is groaning with books that I buy and then squirrel away for the dormant months of winter. Trouble is they never seem to arrive. But this year I will be doing less hoarding and more consuming.

Another benefit of blogging and meeting so many authors in our online world is the access to all the different genres that perhaps we have not tried before. I find it very exciting and look forward to where technology takes us next.

I think that I have probably talked enough about myself for the time being.. I cannot thank you enough for asking me to drop in for morning coffee.

I think that this pooch needs a walk now… And having managed to snag two of those almond croissants I probably need one too… Perhaps we could take a stroll down by the river and enjoy your wonderful French spring.

I’m getting my coat and I’ll show you my best tree friend, Uncle Walnut. 

Bio.

My name is Sally Georgina Cronin but you will find that I have had a number of variations online and for my books including Georgina Cronin and Sally Cronin.

After working in a number of industries for over 25 years, I decided that I wanted to pursue a completely different career, one that I had always been fascinated with. I began studying Nutrition and the human body twenty years ago and I opened my first diet advisory center in Ireland in 1998. Over the last 18 years, I have practiced in Ireland and the UK as well as written columns, articles and radio programmes on health and nutrition. I published my first book with a Canadian self-publisher in the late 90s and since then have republished that book and released eight others as part of our own self-publishing company. Apart from health I also enjoy writing fiction in the form of novels and short stories.

Main links

Amazon author page for books: https://www.amazon.com/author/sallycroninbooks

Blog: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sally.cronin

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sgc58