Unashamed: Robertson Screwdrivers–they’re a tool, not a drink

Considering so many of my books are set in a country I don’t live in, I loved being able to write one set right close to home. One I didn’t have to worry about whether the character says a phrase a certain way or not. But I also know Canadianisms can throw off some readers (I had a reviewer once refer to my “funky Canadian language” in a previous Canadian-set book). But to be true to the characters, I don’t feel right changing things up. I have tried to explain terms so readers can understand them.

So I figured I’d do a small series of posts about the various terms or places I mentioned in Unashamed.

On the very first page, Noah and Max are working on a kitchen in Hayley’s project house:

“Stop mackin’ on my woman and hand me the damned number two Robertson, will ya?”

“Hey, I saw her first.” Max handed Noah the green-handled screwdriver but found himself drawn back to watching the woman of both their dreams.

So Noah is asking Max for a square headed screwdriver. Robertsons are color-coded by size, and trades people refer to them by number. Orange (#00) is the smallest, then there’s yellow (#0), green (#1), red (#2) and black (#3) which is the biggest size. My hubby, who is not particularly handy, asks for the green one, where my son who is in the trades would ask for a #1 (which totally confuses poor hubby.)

Robertson Screwdriver https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._L._Robertson  also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_screw_drives#Robertson http://www.robertsonscrew.com/index.html   According to this article in the Globe and Mail, Robertsons account for less than 5% of screwdriver sales in the States, yet over 55% of screwdriver sales in Canada. According to people who use them, they’re better than Phillips. (I’ll leave that to my hubby and son to discuss. 😉 )

Then there’s a party that I had no idea was a very regional term until my beta readers clued me in.

Max folded his arms and parked one hip against the counter he’d just installed. “You’re frowning. You don’t like it?”

“No, it’s perfect. It’s just how I envisioned it. This place is going to end up with a bidding war.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

How did she word this so it wasn’t an obvious “I want to jump your bones” plea. Not that any guy she knew would object to that invitation, but this was Max and Noah. She wanted whatever could happen between either one of them to be more than a one and done. “I know it’s short notice but are either of you free tomorrow night?”

“Why? What’s doin’?” Noah mirrored Max’s pose.

“I have to go to a friend’s Jack and Jill party and I hate the thought of showing up alone. So I was wondering if either of you’d like to come with me. Be my date.”

A Jack and Jill party is a shower for both the bride and the groom to help raise funds to pay for their wedding or honeymoon.  Sometimes they’re called stag and doe parties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stag_and_doe Wiki says:

“In Canada, an event popular only in Manitoba or Ontario under various names to raise money for a couple who have not previously saved money for their future wedding plans or honeymoon. In Southern Ontario it may be called a stag and doe, or buck and doe, and in Northwestern Ontario it is called a shag. In Manitoba, this is often called a social or wedding social with less fundraising pressure than seen in Ontario”

There are even articles on the dos and don’ts for them. I may have let Max channel me a bit when I was writing what he thought of them.

For their first date, Hayley and Max attend the Jack and Jill party which is being held in the Distillery District. It’s a beautiful area that used to be a whisky distillery, hence the name. You can read more about it here on Wikipedia too.  And you’ve probably seen it in a ton of movies and television shows too. Murdoch Mysteries,  Road to Avonlea, Cinderella Man, The Recruit, and on and on, because it’s kept that Victorian era feel to it.

Don’t forget you can get your copy of Unashamed in ebook or paperback! Just click on the graphic below