The Banana Disease

I love baking (and eating) banana bread. So does my husband, and even my two dogs. The recipe I rely on is the same one my mother used, passed down from her mother. It might go further back, but it's too late to ask. I've shared the recipe at the bottom of this post if you're interested. The secret is to use bananas that have previously been frozen so they turn really brown, and to let the batter sit in the pans for 20 minutes before baking. But that's not really what this blog post is about.

In my book, Guardians of Grace, banana bread becomes a bit of a trading commodity in the small off-grid community where the family finds refuge. It's not just that the bread tastes so good, it's because bananas are hard to come by. Unfortunately, the potential for this to happen isn't fiction. Bananas are at risk.

I've seen several names for the disease attacking banana plants: fusarium wilt, Panama disease, TR4. The cause is a fungus that isn't new, but is spreading rapidly around the globe. According to one article I read, the banana disease was first identified in Taiwan some two decades ago, then spread throughout Asia to the Middle East and Africa before its arrival in Colombia late last year. Colombia is trying to slow the outbreak before it spreads to the rest of Latin America and the Caribbean. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations considers TR4 to be among the most destructive of all plant diseases. 

It spreads stealthily via spores in the soil on boots, plants, machines, or animals. A diseased plant might look healthy for a year while its vascular system is being ravaged. By the time the yellow, wilting leaves appear, it's too late. The soil is contaminated. Since there is no treatment, the only recourse is to abandon the land and move elsewhere. Infected farms are quarantined, and biosecurity measures are put into place to prevent spread. 

For my book, I use Panama disease as yet another subtle warning of climate change, although my research tells me the root cause is greed. As the burgeoning banana industry developed decades ago, a single cultivar was chosen for its consistency in size and taste, and the ease of mass production. The potential to make money superseded any concern that limited genetic diversity could lead to disease susceptibility. 

Of course, scientists and researchers are working hard at developing new varieties of disease-resistant bananas as well as changes to farming methods to address soil health. And so I expect to be baking banana bread for a long time to come.  

Grandma's Banana Bread

I double the recipe for two large loaves:
One to eat and One to freeze

1c Sugar

1/2 c Butter, softened

2 eggs

2 c. flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 mashed ripe bananas

2 T sour milk (either buttermilk, or add a little lemon juice to milk)

Cream the butter and sugar together. Add eggs and blend. Stir in bananas and milk alternately with dry ingredients sifted together. Batter will be very stiff. Pour into greased bread pan. Let stand 20 minutes. Bake 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

For additional reading:
https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follow-the-food/the-pandemic-threatening-bananas.html
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-05-22/the-25-billion-banana-industry-is-being-ravaged-by-disease.html

When Characters Rebel

Recently, I was looking over my original, haphazardly scribbled notes for Guardians of Grace as I began plotting out the sequel. I was a bit surprised to see how much I veered from the original plan. Mostly this happened because a character refused to follow the outline. These are the characters who were very demanding and made me rewrite entire scenes until satisfied. Some scenes just wouldn’t be wrestled into submission until I gave up control to the character with the main Point of View for that scene.

Usually, the first rebellion comes if my characters don’t like their name. I may have carefully selected a name, building in lots of symbolism and meaning, and then the character makes me change it. My main character takes on a new identity as Faith Sparrow. I totally forgot that my original intention was to name her Faith Nightingale until I looked back at my notes. Nightingales are a symbol of love and longing, after all. But no. I found myself typing Sparrow. Sparrows, you see, are a symbol of hope, fertility and resurrection. Faith was right, of course. 

Or a character refuses the nickname I give them. Obsidian is the dragon demon in the story. I named her after Obyzouth, a fallen angel who kills newborns and causes stillbirths. Really. There are entire websites devoted to the origins of angels and demons and gods from many cultures and religions. I found Obyzouth in one of these. Of course, I planned on shortening her name to Dian. I couldn’t imagine typing out that long name all the way through the book. But she had other ideas. You see, Obsidian turned out to be a rather formidable character. She let me know pretty early on that a nickname just wasn’t appropriate for a demon of her standing. And then she insisted on upstaging the main demon/antagonist in the book (her lover) every chance she got. 

 And don’t get me started on the minor characters that refuse to sit on the sidelines after their big moment (I’m looking at you Ms. Black. You made me give you a first name, Helen, and then you kept showing up in my scenes).

Sometimes I get it right, and the characters embrace their names. Layla and Aaron Daniels, for example, are the biological parents of Grace. Layla’s name is a derivation of Laylah, an angel who oversees and protects childbirth. Aaron’s name is based on Ariel, an angel of protection. Even the last name, Daniels, is based on Diniel, an angel who protects infants. They settled into their roles without any complaint whatsoever. 

One last character who rebelled is Ethan, the reincarnation of-- well, you’ll need to read the book. My notes have Ethan as a falcon, watching over Faith and Grace. Falcons, after all, are symbols of protection-- probably because they never close their eyes, even in sleep. But no. Ethan wanted to be a hawk. I had to do extra research to figure out why he was so insistent. I discovered that in Native American culture, hawks are a symbol of power, known for their strength, courage, intelligence, and intuition. A perfectly appropriate change. But I suspect that Ethan simply wanted to be called Ethan Hawk. He does have a rather dry sense of humor, after all.

I can’t wait for you to be able to read the book. I’m working hard to find an agent and get it published, but it’s pretty competitive out there. So send me positive vibes as I keep ‘querying’!