Three Perks of Working for a Food Truck (and an e-book up for grabs!)

I’m delighted to welcome author Emily Conrad to the blog today! She’s been a supportive and encouraging presence in Christian reading/writing circles for years and her second novel has just released. She’s kindly offering a giveaway copy to one of you, so be sure to scroll down for details on how to enter. Congrats, Emily! – Becky

Emily

A man with a walkie talkie and a staff T-shirt approached to intercept me.

The contraband I carried into the pumpkin patch that crisp, fall day?

A slow cooker and a few grocery bags stuffed to capacity.

But I also knew the magic words to be granted access, carry-in food and all.

“I’m with Alpha Dogs.”

The man’s face transformed into a welcoming smile, and instead of sending me back to my car, he gave me directions through the barn and to the central area where Alpha Dogs and a couple of other food trucks were serving lines of hungry families.

That’s the first perk of working for a food truck — a free pass through event security.

I’ve helped just a handful of times in my brother’s food truck, and that day at the pumpkin patch was the busiest of them all.

Not very experienced in food service, I confess I struggled to keep up with taking orders, making change, and delivering the food my brother and his business partner had prepped. I finished my shift with new appreciation for the coordination and skill set required to run even what appears to be a simple food truck operation.

I do much better on the customer side of the window!

However, the second perk of working for a food truck is the free meal.

Two Alpha Dogs

Whether I’m serving or visiting as a customer, I make sure to get an Alpha Bowl – a hotdog topped with barbeque pork, chili, and cheese sauce (gluten issues, so no bun or mac and cheese for me, though the standard Alpha Dog comes with both).

There’s something fun about food trucks, isn’t there?

Grateful I survived the pumpkin patch shift

And that brings me to the third perk of working in a food truck: being able to use my experience to create one of my own to feature in my Rhythms of Redemption Romances.

The first scene of the first book, To Bring You Back, opens with the heroine, Adeline, working a shift at Superior Dogs.

You’ve probably guessed the name (and much about the food truck and its menu) is heavily inspired by the real-life Alpha Dogs, but “Superior” also gives a nod to the book’s setting on the shores of Lake Superior in northern Wisconsin.

Me and my brother

As eventful as my day at the pumpkin patch was, Adeline’s afternoon is far more interesting when her next customer turns out to be a celebrity.

A celebrity she knew well back before he and his rock band made it big, before tragedy took their lives very different directions.

Now, he’s back to confront a past she’s desperate to forget, and a food truck? Well, being associated with one might have some perks, but when you’re serving customers, hiding places to avoid difficult conversations is not one of them.

Poor Adeline, but lucky us!

Read that first exchange—and everything that follows—in To Bring You Back!

Giveaway!

Comment on this post by 9/3/21 to be entered to win an ecopy of To Bring You Back. You must be 18 or older and have a valid email address for the redemption code to be sent to. Winner will be announced here on the blog on 9/3/21 and notified by email. Winner must reply to email by 9/6/21. Void where prohibited. Best of luck!

Have you ever worked in food service? What’s your favorite food truck or carnival food?

Emily Conrad writes contemporary Christian romance that explores life’s relevant questions. Though she likes to think some of her characters are pretty great, the ultimate hero of her stories (including the one she’s living) is Jesus. She lives in Wisconsin with her husband and their energetic coonhound rescue. She is the author of the stand-alone novel Justice and the Rhythms of Redemption Romance series, as well as a series of short stories, which she emails in installments to subscribers. Learn more about her and her books at emilyconradauthor.com

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