Barry S. Brunswick's Blog: Barry S. Brunswick's Blog

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What is Flesh and Blood about?

Vampires like blood. Zombies Like flesh, and humans have both. In this post-apocalyptic adventure who will reign supreme in a world where only the fittest survive.

Wacky, scary and a little silly. Familiar monsters with an original twist. Barry S. Brunswick takes the horrible out of horror with this amusing and fascinating tale.

Happy Reading!
B.B

Barry Brunswick’s Tall Tales: 3 Short Stories

Allow me to tell you three tales about three tales. My latest creation, Barry S. Brunswick’s Tall Tales, is a collection of very different short stories and colourful illustrations brought together for one book. This is the story of how they happened.

Imagine, there I was, sitting, doing nothing in particular and listening to Talksport Radio, a United Kingdom radio station that I listen to all the time. It always reminds me of home. That was a sad day. An English football legend, Ray Wilkins had died. He worked on the station and was an all-round great guy, so the listeners and presenters were eulogising about him. It was heart-warming that he had affected so many lives in such a positive way.
Suddenly on the Jim White radio show, someone called in wanting to remain anonymous. It turned out the mystery man was an ex-soldier who was homeless. One day he met Ray Wilkins and Ray bought him a sandwich and sat with him a while, even telling someone on the phone he’d call them later because he was busy (see, told you he was a great guy). Anyway, he ended up giving the man twenty pounds, so he could spend the night in a refuge. While he was there he happened to meet some charity workers and was taken off the street and given a chance to start a new life. A chance he grabbed with both hands. In tears, he said how he had a home and a beautiful girlfriend now. I was moved.

Inspired by how Ray had affected this man’s life, just by showing a little kindness, I wrote a story based on what I’d heard that day. ‘Home’ is a gritty tale with a beautiful message that comes from a real-life situation.
Barry Brunswick’s Home is an inspirational story, that is heart-warming and packed full of emotion. It shows how you can help people just by giving them the time of day and being kind. That is a message that cannot be ignored.

Then a couple of weeks later I was thinking (Oh no, here I go letting you know how crazy I am!) about zombie books and movies, as you do. Why are they still such a success when the story has remained unchanged for years and years? I asked myself.
Firstly, I wondered why people identify with zombies. My answer was: They are a mirror of the bad side of humanity. All-consuming, destructive, violent, relentless and unforgiving. Maybe that’s why we fear them, because they are our dark side.

Why do people identify with zombies? Find our more in Barry Brunswick’s Flesh and Blood.
Then I thought, wouldn’t it be weird if zombies and vampires lived in the same world? Wouldn’t the zombies be a threat to the vampire’s very existence by eating all their food? So, there you have the all-consuming zombies, the people, and the endangered vampire, the animals. Sounds familiar right?
And then I really went off on a tangent, what would happen if a vampire bit a zombie or the other way around? Surely the vampire would be infected by the zombie and the zombie be infected by the vampire (see, told you I was crazy!), that would surly equal a ZOMPIRE!
So, with that the idea for Flesh and Blood was born, bringing children’s horror stories, and comedy gore to this post-apocalyptic world. It is a kid’s story with an original twist told from three points of view. We are introduced to the hilarious and gruesome Bleegly family, the zombie parents and their ravenous zombie children. The family Jones, three vampires who struggle to survive and Major Hollows the great warrior that protects the boundaries of Check Point Beta, the only safe place for humans.
Explosions and battles come thick and fast in this action-packed tale of survival. Gruesomely silly and scarily funny. And Just like all my great stories, there are positive messages a plenty between the pages.

And finally, I have been living where I do for six years and being a keen watcher of wildlife, I have watched the birds that come and go on my street. Now my favourites are the Aussie magpies. They are so social and smart, I have even built a relationship with the local tribe by offering them the occasional cashew nut. I recognise each one individually and they are even happy to sit on my lap. I’ve watched them so closely, I have concluded they even have a complex language they use to communicate.
And it’s not just the magpies that come and go each day, there’s cockatoos, kookaburras, lorikeets, miner birds, galahs, kurrajongs and crows. Each with their own unique characters.
I wondered what the world would be like from their point of view. I spent time imagining it. What is important to them? What their emotions or thought process could be and this led to me writing a Jungle Book style story about the birds that live and die on a small suburban street near Sydney, ‘The Savage Wild’.
It’s a fictional account but I tried to capture that character of each of my feathered friends and the daily battle they face to survive. It holds no punches and at times can be brutal but as we know, nature is as deadly as it is beautiful and that was the message I wanted to convey.
Nature is as deadly, as it is beautiful. Find out more in Barry Brunswick’s The Savage Wild.
I’m very proud of my collection of short stories for kids and I hope you enjoy the emotional rollercoaster that is Barry S. Brunswick’s Tall Tales and the valuable lessons that it will teach your children.

Zombie Books for Kids

Where Can I find a Suitable Children’s Zombie Book?

The first place to look for a fun and exciting kids horror book is Barry S. Brunswick’s Flesh and Blood.

Hi it’s Barry here.
For quite some time I wanted to write a scary children’s book and wondered what the best way is to present a child friendly horror story. I had an idea for a good children’s story based around a post-apocalyptic world full of zombies. I hadn’t read stories about zombies and vampires together (although they probably do exist) and the thought about the relationship that the two undead creatures would have.

I knew it would have to be a gory yet funny story, to make sure it was a tale not too scary for children. After all, we want horror stories that won’t give kids nightmares, don’t we?
Barry S. Brunswick’s Flesh and Blood is a gripping tale of survival where the zombies and vampires battle for life on an ever-depleting human population. Watch the zombies, the gruesome Bleegly family as they start to run out of flesh to munch, and the Joneses, an endangered family of vampires with nothing but vermin to suckle and the humans, stuck behind the barricades of Check Point Beta where they are protected by their mighty leader, Major Hollows.

As it’s a Barry Brunswick book, of course, it’s a tale for younger readers with an original twist. In a fit of rage Mr Jones, bites Mr Bleegly and Mr Bleegly bites Mr Jones and thus are infected with both zombie and vampire therefore they become zompires! A new, even more terrifying enemy than zombies or vampires could ever be.

It’s a colourfully illustrated, fast paced, action packed adventure, full of thrills and spills and is available from Amazon as an ebook or in paperback as part of Barry S. Brunswick’s Tall Tales which is an imaginative collection of short stories for kids.

Is it an age appropriate Horror story?

I like to recommend it for children over eight as it has plenty of comedy gore that could scare the very young ones.

Where can I get original and intelligent children’s books at sensible prices?
All my books are available now from Amazon and they’re books that won’t break your budget. Whether your looking for family friendly stories for bedtime, imaginative gifts for kids or just something different to read yourself.

Check out the shop page to find out more and even catch a sneaky look inside.

What Really Helps Your Kids To be Successful In Life?

School children get judged on intelligence, attention span and academic excellence and their ability to pass exams. That is all well and good, but what really helps your kids to be successful in life?

Creativity, the making of success
We are taught to think a certain way and to work things out in the same way. But as people, we think differently. We see the world through our own eyes based on our own experiences, so attempting to get everyone thinking the same way is futile. Our individual creativity separates us from the crowd and is the key to success.
You don’t have to spend your evenings knitting and painting masterpieces to be considered a creative person. Creative solutions can be seen across all industries. An article by Queensland University makes an interesting comment about the future of creativity in the workplace, ‘’Creative workers play an important role in driving economic, social and cultural development’’.

Creativity and Innovation
Take myself as an example, I was always in trouble at school and the teachers had no time for me. I got told I should be more like my sister and that I would never amount to anything. Okay, I was disruptive and messed about, but those teachers could and never did know, how intelligent and creative I was.

During my school years, the academic subjects never interested me, so I was judged to be a bad student. I wasn’t encouraged to be creative or to engage in the things I enjoyed and so no one discovered what I was good at. How could I go through all those years of school without anyone noticing the talents I had in writing and storytelling, that I was a good artist, musician and song writer? I educated myself without the help of teachers. Zooming ahead to present day, I now love learning about science and enjoy reading the classic novels.

Creativity and Self-discovery
If school isn’t fulfilling their creative role, what should we do?
Take the school out of the equation (excuse the pun!) Build a creative environment for your kids to grow up within. Encourage them to sing and dance, to make up plays and songs, to write stories, without worrying about the grammar and spelling and just let the thoughts flow. Spelling and grammar is important, but it will become natural with the more writing they do.
Have art and craft materials in the house, so when it’s a rainy weekend or the kids just need some quiet time, it becomes a habit to reach for the craft box. Teach them to be curious about the world, about nature and about the human condition. In doing these things they will learn about the most important person on Earth, themselves.
With one brilliant song, one amazing story or an artistic masterpiece, your child can etch their name forever in human history. School and academia are important but the most of your life is lived long after the school bell has rung. It’s their creativity that will complete them for the rest of life’s journey.

Barry S. Brunswick is a Wizard of Words, also known as a children’s author. You can buy his children’s books on Amazon, The War of The Turnips, The Secret Tale of the Cupboard Gnome, Sally the Astronaut, and the new short story collection Barry S. Brunswick’s Tall Tales. Follow Barry on Facebook and Pinterest.

What is a Dream Snatcher?

Dream Snatchers are the people that we all bump into throughout our lives who try to hold you back. They are the people that when you tell them an idea, the first thing they do, is tell you why you can’t achieve that dream, or you shouldn’t try. In most cases, when they tell you that you can’t do something, it’s simply because they couldn’t imagine doing it themselves. I’m sure, it’s as familiar story to you, as it is to me.

How can you spot a Dream Snatcher?
They say things like:
• You can’t afford to do that.
• Only special people can do things like that.
• That’s a crazy idea.
• Grow up and get a real job.
• Don’t be a dreamer.
• You can’t take chances like that.

They want to keep you in the box in which they think you belong, when the truth is, that’s their box, not yours.

The worst thing of all is, the dream snatchers are often the people who you are closest to and the people you turn to first. Your parents, your teachers and your friends. They point out the risks rather than the benefits of taking that leap to follow your dreams. They tell you they don’t want you to get hurt or to fail or make the same mistakes that they did. But the truth is, it’s better to fail doing something than it is to do nothing at all. That, in itself is failure.

Ask a young child what they want to be when they grow up, and they have big dreams such as:
• A rock star
• An astronaut
• A secret agent
• An actor
• A sports star
Ask again when they are fourteen and they want to be a builder or a sales person or a hairdresser, that first youthfully inspired dream has well and truly been snatched from them. And there is nothing wrong with choosing these professions – but they should be your dream, not what you are resigned to doing after being crushed.

Are you a Dream Snatcher?

How can you avoid being a Dream Snatcher?

When someone tells you an idea, take that first thought that enters your head which is usually a negative one and hold onto it. Then think of something positive to say about their idea. Encourage them to dream, encourage them to create and then help to guide them into putting the plan into action.

Can you imagine what we can achieve if we all did that? So, don’t be a Dream Snatcher be a Dream Giver.

Why is Kids Imagination Important?
Imagination Definition: the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.
Kids imagination is the most powerful tool that we, the human family, have ever had. Without imagination, could Galileo have looked through a telescope at the stars for the first time? Could Einstein have dreamed up his special theory of relativity? In fact, if you really think about it, nothing would happen without imagination. Humankind wouldn’t have gone to the moon, the stories of old wouldn’t have been told and the music that brings us all joy would stay silent.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution’’ - Albert Einstein
Imagine if you dare, a world without imagination. It is the key to a dream, the key to a plan and the key to making anything happen at all.
Do you know who has the best imagination?
That’s right, children. If you can spark your child’s imagination at a young age you can ignite a fire inside them, the fire of creation. Just as flames in a fire grow by the more fuel that feeds them, your kids imagination is growing with all the experiences, stories and games that your children play. You have the power to shape the future of our world through your child's development.
‘She's a dreamer’ or 'He's a dreamer.' You hear people say this frequently, as if it’s a bad thing. It isn’t.
Encourage dreaming, encourage imagination and encourage interaction. We need the world to change, we need life to be better for our children, the children of our human family. And the only thing that will make that happen is to nurture our kids imagination.
We are all different people, but our imagination makes us special.
Barry S. Brunswick is a Wizard of Words, also known as a children's author. You can buy his children’s books on Amazon, The War of The Turnips, The Secret Tale of the Cupboard Gnome and Sally the Astronaut. Follow Barry on Facebook and Pinterest.

Why is Kids Imagination Important?
Imagination Definition: the ability of the mind to be creative or resourceful.
Kids imagination is the most powerful tool that we, the human family, have ever had. Without imagination, could Galileo have looked through a telescope at the stars for the first time? Could Einstein have dreamed up his special theory of relativity? In fact, if you really think about it, nothing would happen without imagination. Humankind wouldn’t have gone to the moon, the stories of old wouldn’t have been told and the music that brings us all joy would stay silent.
"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution’’ - Albert Einstein
Imagine if you dare, a world without imagination. It is the key to a dream, the key to a plan and the key to making anything happen at all.
Do you know who has the best imagination?
That’s right, children. If you can spark your child’s imagination at a young age you can ignite a fire inside them, the fire of creation. Just as flames in a fire grow by the more fuel that feeds them, your kids imagination is growing with all the experiences, stories and games that your children play. You have the power to shape the future of our world through your child's development.
‘She's a dreamer’ or 'He's a dreamer.' You hear people say this frequently, as if it’s a bad thing. It isn’t.
Encourage dreaming, encourage imagination and encourage interaction. We need the world to change, we need life to be better for our children, the children of our human family. And the only thing that will make that happen is to nurture our kids imagination.
We are all different people, but our imagination makes us special.
Barry S. Brunswick is a Wizard of Words, also known as a children's author. You can buy his children’s books on Amazon, The War of The Turnips, The Secret Tale of the Cupboard Gnome and Sally the Astronaut. Follow Barry on Facebook and Pinterest.

8 simple steps to make the world a better place

Making the world a better place sounds like an impossible task. How can one little person make the world a better place? It’s not as hard as you think it is, you know.
All it takes is one person to make another person’s life better. If everyone makes someone’s life better, don’t you agree in turn, the world has to become a better place?
How do you make another person’s life better, I hear you cry? The strange thing is, that’s not as hard as it might sound either. You just need to learn to appreciate the little things in life.
Try these simple things:
1. Be nice:
Be cheery, say good morning, start a conversation with a stranger. That will make them happy and in turn, the people around you will be cheery and say good morning back.
2. Listen to people:
Give them the time of day, we all want to be listened to, don’t we?
3. Remove negative influences from your life:
Does someone make you feel bad every time you see them? Well, it’s probably best not to see them anymore. Try and hang out with people who are nice to you and encourage you. Even if it means you can count your friends on one hand.
4. Be a good friend:
Even when you haven’t seen someone for ages don’t worry about why you haven’t, just be glad you’re with them now. Be there for people that deserve your friendship and be loyal and true to them.
5. Be mindful:
When there’s lots to do, concentrate on the task at hand. Don’t worry about the future or what it might bring, or dwell on the past and all of a sudden, a snowball of work will seem more manageable.
6. Make time for joy:
Do you ever laugh, scream or cry with joy? If not, why not? What makes you feel joy? How are you going to make it happen? Your joy will energise you and in turn the others around you.
7. Take time for beauty:
Have you ever noticed when you go somewhere beautiful everybody is happy? Well that’s because beauty makes people happy. Look at the stars and wonder, what might be out there, go to places that make you feel good, listen to the wind and the birds and the ocean. There’s beauty all around you, you only have to see it.
8. Make time for you:
Often people spend all their time doing things for other people but every now and again, you need to make time for you to be you. You’re not a mother or father, a husband or wife, you’re just you. Do something you enjoy simply because you enjoy it. These are the times we have our best ideas and the times we get to know ourselves.
So, by looking after our own wellbeing it will help us to become better people and in turn, help others around us become better people too. So go on, give it a go.
When we leave this planet the question isn’t, what have I done? It’s what have I done for others?

With the excitement of Christmas and the New Years fireworks over, you might be needing some new ideas to keep the kids entertained during these school holidays. These ideas will spark the imagination and get the creative juices flowing, all without using devices!

1. Storytelling with Words:

Everyone sits in a circle or a square or a triangle - whichever shape takes your fancy. Choose one person to start, they dream up a good first line of a story and then each person says one sentence (or two, or even three) to follow on from the previous one. Continue this until you have an incredible story.
Top Tip: Write down each sentence as you go. Then you can create your very own storybook (and then get the book printed for their birthday present!)

2. Storytelling with Images:

Everyone takes a few moments to draw a picture totally from imagination. No discussion is allowed yet and no peeking at your neighbours drawing! Get creative with different subjects and colours. Drawings can be anything, landscapes or objects, people, animals or even aliens or monsters (my personal favourites).
Once everyone has completed their pictures, pass your drawing to the person on your left.
Choose one person to start the storytelling. They look at the picture and make up a sentence (or two or even three again) using inspiration from the image and then each person says one sentence to follow on from the previous one. Continue this until you have an awesome story.

3. Get up Early and Watch the Sunrise

I know you are on holidays and the thought of getting up early is already making you sleepy but think of this, if you get up early for boring old work or school, why not get up early for fun?
Pack a breakfast picnic and something to draw with, of course not forgetting paper and walk to a nice spot where you can see the sun rising over the horizon. Once you have enjoyed this natural spectacular event have some brekkie and then, get everyone creating by drawing their own interpretation of what they've experienced.
Top Tip:  Repeat this for Sunset with a dinner picnic.

4. Put on a play

Dig out the dressing up box or if you don’t have one, see what you can borrow from everyone’s wardrobes and design your own character. Try adding some accessories to give your character some extra personality and depth. Once in the costume, act out your favourite scenes from a movie or even better make up your own play.

5. Make each other laugh

My siblings and I loved this game. Sit or stand opposite each other and make each other laugh. It’s that easy! Try using only facial expressions and then mix it up by introducing words, jokes or sounds. Or play the extreme no holds barred version, where the only rules is, there are no rules.

6. Build your own Music Band with Household Drums and Maracas

Loads of household items can be turned into musical instruments. For Maracas you can use drink bottles filled with sand, rice or coins. For Drums you can use pans (check with the chef for permission first!), chopsticks on tabletop and bucket with wooden spoons. If the chef's too grumpy to let you bang the pots, you can just sing! It's easy, kind of like, Sunday morning. Experiment with all of them for different sounds to become and the next big band.
Top Tip: Learn how to play the lost art of The Spoons to expand the instruments in your band.

Barry S. Brunswick is a Wizard of Words. You can buy his children's books on Amazon:The War of The Turnips and The Secret Tale of the Cupboard Gnome. Follow Barry on Facebook.

Cooking with Kids
What indoor activities shall I do with the kids on a budget?
One of the best things you can do with your children without spending a fortune is simple: The ancient and noble art of cooking. The human race wouldn’t have lasted very long without this art and yes, that’s what it is, an art.
Whether you’re a kitchen novice or a master chef, there are plenty of ways to express yourself in the kitchen.
Why should I cook?
Cooking from scratch is by far the best way to make sure your kids are getting healthy food, packed full of nutritious goodness. After all, if you put all the ingredients together yourself, you avoid those nasty little surprises that pre-packaged foods contain. Like the dreaded preservatives, hidden salts and sugars, even weird things that are numbers or abbreviations not names. Most people don’t even have a clue what they are.
Anyway, forget all the serious stuff, what’s far more important is that it’s fun and a wonderful bonding session. Whether you have one child or a whole tribe, you and your children work together to create a taste sensation. What a sense of achievement too. I mean, to take some basic ingredients and watch them transform, almost like magic into something you can touch, see, smell and taste, wow! It truly is an activity for all the senses.
I’m on a budget and I need some fun time with my kids, what shall I do?
Food is cheap fun. Yes, okay so food can cost as much or as little as you want it too. If you buy some flour and some yeast you can make some wonderful homemade bread for mere pennies. Then if you chuck in another few dollars, you can take some tomatoes, throw on some onions and mushrooms and cheese. Then you can even add some meat too if you can afford it, or veggies if you’re not the carnivorous type and there you have a home-made pizza just the way you want it.
Novice Cooking Tips:
Start with something simple. The last thing you want, is for it all to wrong and be ruined. That doesn’t help your confidence, or your child’s. If you’re not an expert, that’s when your cunning comes into play. Just sneakily practice it a couple of times while they’re in bed or at school, so you’ve got it cracked already. That way you’ll have the confidence to guide them and be sure they’ll get an encouraging result.
Always remember that cooking is an art and just like any other art, it takes practice. You will very rarely cook something perfectly the first time, so, practice makes perfect, as they say. I also find that recipes are just a guide. Everybody’s taste is different and your oven definitely isn’t the same as the chef who wrote the recipe, so you don’t have to follow it exactly. For example, when I started to make my own bread from scratch, it was okay to start with but it was a little heavy. So, over a few tries, I adjusted the amount of water and yeast I used and cooked it at a slightly lower temperature. Then after maybe six or seven tries, I was prepared to take the Pepsi challenge with any bakery. The point is, please don’t give up or lose heart if you make mistakes. Just enjoy the beautiful and exciting experience of, cooking with your kids.
Like my Facebook page, for kids cooking projects, arts and crafts, fun facts, jokes, limericks and much, much more.
See you soon friends,
BB