Shelley Workinger's Blog, page 10

Please Welcome Marianne de Pierres, Author of Burn Bright

The best thing about writing SFF is the fact that you get to make stuff up. I mean, whatever you want, really, as long as it fits the mood, tone and logic. It’s one of things I love most about writing genre. Your imagination is your only limit.

When I was writing Burn Bright [aka The Night Creatures trilogy]and the sequels, I wanted to create a sense that food was really a heightened sensation like everything else on Ixion, and I mixed up inventing foods with the very familiar: like goo-berry pie, black linguine and pink sauce, streaky bacon and red chilli beans, sweet oatmeal and wisp bread, rolled meats and honey-drenched pastries.

‘The [wisp] bread melted on her tongue like buttery air.’

I have no idea what wisp bread or goo-berry pie are, but I’d love to taste them!

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/09...

Please Welcome Doug J. Cooper, Author of BUMP TIME

When Shelley asked me if I thought my new scifi time-travel series, Bump Time, would be a good fit in her creative blog, But What Are They Eating?, I laughed. Not because I thought the idea outlandish, but because one of my beta readers teases me about the role food plays in so many scenes in the series. Before I illustrate, here’s the blurb for Bump Time Origin, which explains the premise of the first book:

On his twenty-fifth birthday, Diesel Lagerford is visited by a twenty-six-year-old version of himself. His look-alike spins impossible tales of their shared future, claiming they have dozens of “brothers” from parallel timelines who can visit each other using a T-box, a machine they bankroll with lottery winnings. He introduces Diesel to the incredible Lilah Spencer, the T-box operator, and Diesel falls head-over-heels in love. But during his travels across timelines, Diesel learns that Lilah will soon die under suspicious circumstances. Devastated, he joins his brothers in a race to save her.


More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/08...

Please Welcome Back Carole Bumpus, Author of Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table

Timing is everything. And, in my case, timing became a blessing! As I was preparing to test the traditional French recipes for my upcoming culinary travel memoir, Book Two of Searching for Family and Traditions at the French Table, a literal “shut-down,” due to the pandemic, arrived on my doorstep. The ability to go freely about shopping for ingredients at my favorite markets came to a halt, and I was faced with the prospect of an unmet deadline with my publisher. How was I going to get these nineteen recipes tested? No, my book is a memoir and not a cookbook, but I certainly wanted to provide accurate culinary directions to the recipes I provided.

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/08...

Please Welcome Back Luke Murphy, Author of Red Zone

Sandwich Guy

Although I have never been to California, my constant research for my novels based in Los Angeles has uncovered one very important aspect for my characters nutrition: LA’s deli scene is second to none in the US.

Call me old-fashioned, but I have always been a sandwich guy, a sandwich lover.

It started in elementary school, when my mother would put a sandwich every day on my paper bagged lunch—ham, bologna, tuna, PB & J, it didn’t matter. Maybe it’s a bread thing LOL. But my love for sandwiches has even continued into adulthood.

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/07...

Please Welcome Lucy Burdette, Author of The Key Lime Crime

Long before I imagined I’d write a foodie mystery, I fell in love with Diane Mott Davidson’s series featuring caterer Goldie Schultz. Davidson didn't just dump descriptions onto her pages, food was part of her story. And I always finished a book wishing I could have been friends with caterer Goldy, sitting in her kitchen, tasting her food. Ten years ago I was delighted to follow in Davidson’s footsteps, signing a contract for a series of mysteries set in Key West featuring novice food critic Hayley Snow. It’s hard to believe the 11th book, The Key Lime Crime, will be published in August by Crooked Lane Books!

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/07...

Please Welcome Angela Britnell, Author of the Wedding Reject Table

When I was asked to contribute to this fun blog it certainly got me thinking about how often food features in my writing! Most of my stories are trans-Atlantic romances, including The Wedding Reject Table, and food is one of the themes I often use as either a meeting ground or a clash between my characters. Until you’ve had a conversation at cross purposes about whether squash should be drunk or eaten you haven’t lived! That particular idiosyncrasy came up on one of my first dates with my new American boyfriend many years ago but you’ll be pleased to hear we overcame that and many other food mysteries and have just celebrated thirty seven years of marriage. He now loves Cornish pasties and cottage pie but still won’t touch cold quiche and although I love Southern biscuits and pecan pie please keep me away from slimy okra in any fashion.

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/07...

Please Welcome Sue Coletta, Author of MARRED

In MARRED, Grafton County Series, I included a morning scene to show how a simple breakfast can bring a family together:

In the kitchen, I got the coffee made, scrambled eggs, and was frying bacon when Niko traipsed downstairs. “Good morning, my love.” Without warning, he dipped me and planted a big, wet kiss on my lips. Before I got my bearings back, he said, “Something smells good” and lifted the edge of stacked paper towels laid over a paper plate, stealing a piece of bacon.

I tapped his hand. “Good things come to those who wait.”

He crunched the bacon between his teeth, smiling like a young boy who’d gotten away with stealing an Oreo from the cookie jar. I’d missed him. Missed us.

Haven’t we all experienced this at one time or another?

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/06...

Please Welcome Julian Coleman, Author of CESAR

Is Cesar demon or vampire? True evil can be beautiful and beguiling, and he is truly diabolical. His raw masculinity is his lure, and he uses his charm to trap and prey on the innocent.

There was no love in that face, or lust, only naked hunger.

He is conjured up from Hell to deliver revenge onto Rachel, a powerful priestess. However, he falls in love with her tomboyish sister, Angelina. Rachel uses her powers to save her sister’s, life, but instead of returning her humanity, Angelina becomes something else, a vampire, priestess and zombie tribrid.

Cesar is undaunted in his pursuit.

His food of choice?

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/05...

Please Welcome Cheryl Colwell, Author of The Proof

While touring Tuscany, I was excited to come across the original “sword in the stone” located in Montesiepi. In 1185, the Pope ordered a chapel built around the miracle. The story, as well as the amazing food and wine I tasted on my trip (most of which hasn’t changed in centuries), were inspiring. The result was The Proof, a time-split novel set between the twelfth century and today.

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/05...

Please Welcome Brian Converse, Author of Stone Soldiers

Food is an important part of the life of most people, besides providing basic sustenance, food plays an important role in social gatherings, religious ceremonies, and cultural identity. It can be even more important when you are part of a group abducted by aliens, which is what happens to a group of five humans from Detroit in Rajani Chronicles I: Stone Soldiers.

More:
https://bookfare.blogspot.com/2020/05...