Food was never the first item on the menu when I sat down
to write a novel. Action, yes, intrigue,
definitely, but characters taking time out to enjoy a steak at a posh
restaurant never really crossed my mind.
The people I wrote about were more comfortable facing enemy fire than
perusing the menu of an Italian eatery.
In my first novel, Gray Justice, the closest anyone got to a decent meal
was when six members of the SAS got together on a canal barge and sheared
sausages, bacon and eggs! Oh, and there
were the endless tins of Spam. Never
forget the Spam!
That changed in my seventh title, Trojan. It’s a spin-off from my Tom Gray series and
features MI5 operatives Andrew Harvey and his girlfriend Sarah Thompson. When
not saving the country from terrorists, they like to out-do each other in the
kitchen. Harvey kicks things off with a delicious seafood dish, and Sarah responds with lamb three ways. I didn’t go into much detail on the
preparation (though I do believe one of the ways was a lamb ballotine) because
I try not to bog down my work when there’s action and adventure to be had!
My most recent works introduce a new character Eva
Driscoll. She’s a CIA assassin forced
rogue to investigate her brother’s murder, and as in the Gray series, she
hasn’t got much time for eating. She
does manage to throw a burger and plate of fries down her neck at one point in
Run and Hide, but the rest is sandwiches whenever the bullets aren’t flying. In the sequel, Seek and Destroy, she does get
one last hot meal before the big finale, but thankfully she makes up for it in
the third book (tentatively titled Crash and Burn). Steak dinners, lobster, Chinese noodles all
come into play as she takes on her nemesis at the ESO and tries to shut down
another deadly organisation.
In short, if you want action-packed, fast-paced
thrillers, pick up one of my books. Just
be aware that you’ll have to bring your own sandwiches!
Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, Alan!
You can find Alan here:
But do your characters ever grab a protein bar or some berries in the woods or anything?
ReplyDeleteIf they are ever going to spend time in the woods, they certainly go prepared :-)
ReplyDelete