Thursday, July 26, 2018

FOODFIC: Please Welcome Mary Elizabeth Summer, Author of Trust Me, I'm Lying



Being a con artist, and on pretty much everyone’s most-wanted list, Julep Dupree doesn’t think about food very often. But there is a certain beverage that she cannot live without…



“I like my froofy drinks froofy and my blue-collar brew as bitter as burned oven scrapings.” ~Julep Dupree

Her favorite haunt is CafĂ© Ballou, a coffee shop within walking distance of St. Agatha’s, the fancy Catholic private school she attends. She’s at the Ballou more often than not, especially once her father goes missing and her apartment turns not as safe as it used to be.

As a con artist, though, it would be against her moral code to pay for coffee. So, in the interest of seeing a master at work, let’s watch her con her way into a cup of her favorite fuel.

     It takes me longer than most people to order coffee, because I’m chatting up the cashier to finagle a free drink. It’s not hard. Especially at a chain, which is more likely selling the coffee-shop experience than the coffee. But even indie-shop baristas are given a lot of leeway. All I have to do is determine what pushes the buttons of the person who pushes the buttons, and bingo—all the macchiatos I can drink. But it does take a little more time than fishing for cash. 
     “You new?” I ask as I step up to the counter. 
     I’m a regular at the Ballou, so I know all the baristas. I’ve never seen this guy before, so I already know he’s new. It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a regular or not, though—just have a spiel handy for either possibility. 
     “First day,” he says. 
     Stocky and bald and built like a linebacker, the forty-something man looks more like he should be on the set of an action flick than wearing a barista apron. 
     “Like it so far?”
     “Manager’s nice enough.”
     “I’ll have a triple soy caramel macchiato, please.” The please is essential when angling for a free drink. “My name is Julep,” I continue, offering a hand while flashing him a dimpled smile. 
     “Mike,” he says as he shakes my hand. 
     “I know all the baristas’ names,” I tell him. “Have to put something next to their numbers on my speed dial. You never know when you’re going to have a caffeine emergency.”
     He laughs and starts making my drink without charging me first, as he can see that I’m winding up for a full-on conversation. 
     “Have you been in the barista game long?”
     “My first time, actually,” he admits with a smile. On him, it looks like a piece of granite cracking in the middle. “Tell me if I mess it up and I’ll try again.”
     “Oh, I’m easy,” I say. “As long as it’s got loads of caramel, I’m a happy camper. Besides, you look pretty confident back there. I’m sure you’ve got it down.”
     Compliment, compliment, compliment. But keep it focused on the job at hand. Telling him he looks great in that shirt sounds like you’re flirting rather than impressed with his handiwork. Flirting has its place, for sure, but not in this situation. You need generosity, not a date. 
     “That’ll be four-fifty,” he says, putting the cup of caffeinated sugar rush on the counter in front of me. 
     I rummage around in my bag. “Oh, jeez. Looks like I forgot my wallet. I guess I should cancel the drink order.”
     “Might as well take it since I already made it,” Mike says, pushing the drink toward me. “Call it practice.”
     “You’re a gem, Mike. You have no idea how much I need this coffee.”
     “I’ve been there,” he says, smiling and wiping his hands on a caramel-smudged cloth.


So, there you have it, folks! Julep Dupree’s foolproof method for conning yourself into free coffee. (Don’t tell anyone, but I tried it myself and it actually worked. O.o)


For more nefarious tips and tricks, check out Trust Me, I’m Lying and the sequel Trust Me, I’m Trouble.


Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Mary Elizabeth!


Mary Elizabeth Summer contributes to the delinquency of minors by writing books about unruly teenagers with criminal leanings. She has a BA in creative writing from Wells College, and her philosophy on life is "you can never go wrong with sriracha sauce." She lives in Portland Oregon with her partner, their daughter, their two dogs and two cats. Check out the inner workings of her devious mind at www.mesummer.com


You can also find Mary Elizabeth here:



Thursday, July 19, 2018

FOODFIC: Please Welcome Lori Ann Stephens, Author of Some Act of Vision




I’ve never thought about the food in Some Act of Vision, but what a great question to ask about characters: But what are they eating? I suppose the title of Chapter Two is most appropriate for today’s guest post: “Eat Something.” Jordan Walker is a ballet dancer, and as a former dancer, I can attest to the strange relationship that dancers have had (historically) with food. I think it’s getting better now, but when I was a teenager, food was a topic fraught with anxiety and wish-fulfillment. I was always hungry—I loved food, and especially sweets—but my anxiety about the way my body was supposed to look according to magazines and other dancers made me love-hate food. I’d love whatever it was I was eating, but later “hate” that same food when around my friends. Thankfully, things have changed since the 80s, and we’re raising girls and boys with smarter approaches to body image.

Jordan Walker’s father reminds her to eat something—anything—as he stands at the counter and wolfs down his morning oatmeal and coffee. Jordan doesn’t struggle as mightily as her fellow dancers do; except for one friend who dared to eat half a muffin, Jordan’s friends don’t eat on recital days even though their dance teacher reminds them to eat well.

But food isn’t the enemy in Some Act. In fact, one of Jordan’s favorite smells is watermelon Jolly Ranchers, which is her little brother Ethan’s favorite candy. When he blows on her wet mascara as her tiny make-up assistant, his breath smells like watermelon Jolly Ranchers. There’s something magical and powerful about the way food—and the aroma of food in particular—can attach itself to a person, becoming a characteristic as important as his nose or her laugh.

Once the fracking disaster occurs and fundamentally changes Jordan’s body, food is the one thing she no longer needs. What are we without our bodies? What if we can no longer dance or eat our comfort foods or physically do all the things that have shaped our identity? This is the question Jordan must figure out. I faced this question when my feet were too damaged to dance. We face it when our favorite foods are banned from us. (Am I still the chocoholic of the family if I can no longer eat chocolate?) Do you identify with a particular food or drink, even if it’s something you can no longer have?



Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Lori!



You can find Lori here:




Thursday, July 12, 2018

FOODFIC: Please Welcome Christopher Minori, Author of Little Idiots



Samm is like every other detective tracking their target. That is, if every other detective is a demon banished from Hell and their target is an escaped rabid soul! At its heart, the comedy-fantasy world of Little Idiots is a detective novel where demons are the good guys, humans are ridiculous and angels have bad attitudes. Samm is nothing more than a horned Sam Spade, and like any hard-boiled detective, food never touches his lips; he subsides on cigarettes and booze.

And man, does the booze ever flow. Alcohol is Samm's solution to all problems - get beat up by demon mafiosos? Have a drink. Angel trying to assassinate you? Have a drink. Your apprentice bringing home Cerberus' stray puppies? Have a drink. And put newspapers down on the floor. Lots of newspapers. The main location in the novel is set in the bar of the recently deceased Evil Moe, which supplies not only Samm with ample drink, but also the characters around him, from human detective Barney Little (Scotch on the rocks), witch-in-training Adesina (vodka cranberry), to Jude (grain alcohol and gasoline).

Much to Samm's chagrin, everyone's drinking, but nobody's paying. To Samm, "free" is the ultimate dirty word, right next to "bath". Villians pause their beatings to grab a free beer or two, cultists are swiping Southern Comfort by the gallon. Even Samm's best mate and fellow demon is walking away with the stuff:


Jude grabbed two more bottles of grain alcohol. Samm raised an eyebrow.

“Consider it an advanced payment for this job.”

“I wasn’t planning on paying you,” Samm declared.

“Then it’s a good thing I’m here to correct your mistakes.”


Where does this obsession with drinking come from? Granted, a detective story without cigarettes, booze, and dames is like... well, like a detective story without cigarettes, booze, and dames; but there's a personal reason as well. Twenty years ago, I realized I was in a battle with alcohol and I was losing. I worked through my personal demons and stopped consciously drinking. Five years later, I stopped unconsciously drinking. Samm's alcoholism reflects my own. He gets to indulge in the thing that I crave, but cannot have. Mo matter how fantastical their characters, writers sprinkle bits of themselves in them. And Samm is all me. Or I'm all Samm; I forget which. Being able to view alcohol through the eyes of my wise-cracking demon helps me to put the kibosh on my own secret desires.

Four decades ago, a demon came into my life and wound up being the best sponsor I've ever had. I admire his tenacity. I respect the humanity that slips through his demon facade. Most of all, I like him. I think you will too. Pick up a copy of Little Idiots on Amazon. And when you're done laughing at Samm and the gang's adventures, take in an AA meeting. You'll need it.


Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Christopher!



You can find Christopher here:




Thursday, July 5, 2018

FOODFIC: Please Welcome Karen Rose Smith, Author of Murder with Cinnamon Scones



What are my characters eating in Willow Creek, Pennsylvania, deep in the heart of Amish country? Anything sweet or hearty that will accompany tea.

Daisy Swanson and her Aunt Iris co-own Daisy’s Tea Garden in Willow Creek. Many of the foods my characters enjoy are based on Pennsylvania Dutch cooking.  Daisy at the tea garden tries to give them a twist, as does her kitchen manager, her best friend from high school, Tessa Miller.  Daisy’s Tea Garden offers sweet and savory items from potato and leek soup, carrot-grape-pecan salad to lemon tea cakes and cinnamon scones that are involved in solving the murders in this small community.  In each novel I include at least three recipes that have appeared in the mystery.

Daisy’s teenage daughters Jazzi (Jasmine) and Vi (Violet), have their own favorites.  Both girls enjoy whoopie pies—soft chocolate cookies with peanut butter cream or vanilla cream centers as well as their mom’s lemon pepper tomato mozzarella salad.

Frequent visitors to the tea garden have their own favorites. Jonas Groft, a former Philadelphia detective, owns a woodworking shop WOODS down the street from Daisy’s. Although, after her husband died, she decided never to need a man again, she feels something electric whenever Jonas is in the same room. He has a protective attitude that sometimes rankles, but with his help, she finds herself solving murders! His favorite soup is beef barley.

A friend from high school, Cade Bankert, is another frequent visitor to the tea garden. Cade had escorted Daisy to her high school prom.  He is a real estate agent who found Daisy and Aunt Iris the tea garden property as well as the old barn Daisy had renovated into a home for her and her daughters.  His favorite tea is orange pekoe and he’s fond of Daisy’s cookies.

When Daisy visits her Amish friend Rachel Fisher, she is invited to share a slice of shoo-fly pie with Rachel and her family.  Rachel and her husband Levi own and run the shop, Quilts and Notions, across the street from Daisy’s Tea Garden.

If you enjoy tea, desserts, salads, and soups, as well as murder-mystery with a touch of romance, stop in to Daisy’s Tea Garden for a visit.


Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Karen!



You can find Karen here: