FOODFIC: Please Welcome P.D. Workman, Author of Tattooed Teardrops

When Shelley invited me to guest post on her blog about Tattooed Teardrops, I told her that the book didn’t really mention much about food, and perhaps one of my other books would be a better choice. On sitting down and reviewing it, however, I identified a total of 23 scenes in which the characters were eating. No, not very many mentions of food at all…

Although some of the later scenes may be a little more unusual (such as a public fight in a mall food court, the armed robbery of a convenience store for munchies, or feeding a portion of a cranberry-orange muffin to a kidnapped dog,) I wanted to pick an early scene to introduce the book to you.

Tamara has just been released on parole after being in juvenile detention for three years. The transition is not an easy one, and she finds meals with her new foster family particularly stressful. She’s lived a very regimented life for the past three years, eating in the juvie cafeteria at strictly appointed times with rigid rules of behaviour, and family meals are a big change. In this scene, she has just been introduced to the rest of the members of her foster family, including her foster father, at her first dinner in the home. There are seven people around the table. Most of the dishes are not identified, other than a casserole, but Tamara doesn’t have much of an appetite.

Tamara nodded, looking down at her empty plate. Her stomach tightened and it was suddenly hard to breathe. The only men that she had been around for three years had been guards, doctors, and administrators. The last man she had lived with before that… her foster father, Mr. Baker… that had been a bad scene. A very bad scene. Tamara swallowed. She tried to slow her breathing, but it just made her breath louder in her own ears. She was sure everyone would be hear how loudly and quickly she was breathing.

And later in the scene:

She watched everyone else chow down, and conversations flowed back away from her again. Tamara watched for the appropriate time to leave the table. There was no end-of-dinner bell anymore. She had to relearn all the social graces. How to judge the end of a conversation. When one could politely leave the dinner table. How long she could look at someone before they decided she was being too aggressive. It was like living in a foreign country. 

There are a surprising number of food scenes to follow. Kraft Dinner and Kool-Aid at Sybil’s house. Burgers and fries at the mall. A non-alcoholic grape juice that is not what it appears to be. And of course, General Tso chicken and an orange cranberry muffin shared with the dog. Tamara’s reintegration into society doesn’t go at all the way she had expected.

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

You can find Pam here:

PDWorkman.com

Twitter @PDWorkmanAuthor

Facebook Fan Page

Books on Amazon

Winner of Top Fiction Award, In the Margins Committee, 2016

“I don’t plan on getting in any trouble.”

Tamara had thought that when she got out of juvie, things would be easier. But before long, it seems like her life is spiraling into chaos.

If she can’t prove to her probation officer that she is innocent of the allegations against her, she’s going back to prison, and Tamara just can’t let that happen.

FOODFIC: Please Welcome Vincent Zandri, Author of The Sins of the Sons

Hell Knoweth No Fury like a Hungry Gumshoe
Vincent Zandri

Jack “Keeper” Marconi, PI, is a tough man. He’s a gumshoe’s gumshoe who says what he means and means what he says, and he’s willing to back it all up with his fists if necessary. He is also a man who loves to eat and drink what he wants, when he wants. After all, his daily running/weight lifting regimen with his sidekick Blood, a 6’4” African American chunk of ebony granite, burns enough calories to keep him in tip top shape, even if he will never see 50 again.

When a potential client walks into Keeper’s downtown Albany, second floor Sherman Street office, he or she might find the muscular private eye feasting on an Italian submarine constructed of fresh ham, salami, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion slices, plus black olives, green peppers, all stuffed tightly inside a full loaf of freshly baked Italian bread. While washing this feast down with a cold Pilsner beer is always an option, Keeper is known to enjoy it with a glass of blood red Chianti, or even a double shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey, neat.

But allow me to back up a bit, to earlier in the detective’s day. As soon as the morning workout is finished, it is often customary for Keeper and Blood to hit up the local Dunkin' Donuts for two large coffees (no sugar, just milk for Keeper; black, no sugar for Blood), and a bag of half a dozen assorted donuts. Now, before you automatically do the “Cops and donuts” thing, remember, Keeper is a private dick and so is Blood. In fact, Keeper wasn’t even a real cop in a previous life. He was a prison warden and Blood was his inmate. Their relationship is a solid one. Brotherly almost. They can think one another’s thoughts. So when Blood opens the bag and spots a Blueberry Cake donut, he automatically hands it to Keeper. In keeping with the brother-from-another-mother mantra, if Keeper opens the bag and spots a chocolate frosted, he immediately hands it off to Blood. Such is the selfless nature of their crime stopping and hunger feeding relationship.

At the end of a long day of snooping and detecting, the likes of which you will find in the newly released Keeper Marconi novel, Sins of the Sons, Keeper and Blood will likely hit up a local watering hole called, Lanies Bar (which you will find in North Albany, off Albany Shaker Road…look it up. Terrific wings and steaks). Blood doesn’t have to ask for his dirty vodka martini from one of the bartenders. He or she will drop what they are doing to start on a shaker of them as soon as they see the big man approaching the glass entrance. Keeper, on the other hand, will drink a frosty domestic beer and maybe a Jameson back. Lately, he’s been enjoying the new IPA Jameson for its bite, which seems to remove much of the chill from his bones in mid-winter. Keeper will also order one of the amazing homemade soups Lanies prepares such as the Tuscan chicken with its red sauce, white beans, chunks of white chicken meat, and kale. Or a New England clam chowder so thick you can stand a spoon inside it. And he’s been tempted in the past to trade in his .45 sidearm for a bowl of the chicken and rice.

Come dinner time, when Blood and Keeper have parted, the former warden will retire to the first floor of his Sherman Street building, pour another couple of fingers of Irish whiskey, open another cold beer, and put a pot of cold tap water on the gas stove to boil. While the water heats, he’ll spin a Blue Note jazz record on the old turn table, curse himself for having sold his vintage Roger’s drum kit for some badly needed cash, and set his sights on preparing one of his famous pasta dishes. While he’s fully capable of stirring up a mean bolognese of fresh ground beef, salt and peppered to taste, and prepared in a sizzling skillet along with a full clove of garlic, chopped onion, and imported olive oil (if it ain’t nuclear green it’s not fresh enough for Keeper), he might choose instead to prepare a linguini with white clam sauce and fresh Maine quahogs. Sometimes, he’s satisfied with a spaghetti pomodoro, but only if he has fresh tomatoes, basil, and grated Romano cheese lying around. For starters he’ll prepare a fresh garden salad of iceberg, onions, black olives, and tomatoes, drowned in a simple dressing of olive oil and red wine vinegar just like his mother and grandmother used to prepare. Desert will be one last whiskey or perhaps a glass of Chianti.

It’s not easy cooking for one’s self, the lonely private eye often finds himself thinking. But then, eating and drinking as well as possible is as much a part of his life as hunting down the bad guys. And God knows, hell knoweth no fury like a hungry gumshoe.

Thanks for stopping by and sharing your food for thought, Vincent!

You can find Vincent here:

VincentZandri.com

Twitter @VincentZandri

Facebook Fan Page

Books on Amazon

Vincent Zandri is the New York Times and USA Today Bestselling ITW Thriller Award and PWA Shamus Award winning author of more than forty novels and novellas. His Keeper Marconi series has sold more than 300,000 copies by three different publishers. Sins of the Sons, the newest novel in the series, is released on February 8, 2018.

FOODFIC: Please Welcome Bobby Nash, Author of 85 North

The road trip snacks of 85 North!
Bobby Nash

We all have them.

If you work as a writer long enough, you will find yourself with a drawer (or in modern terms, a computer file folder) full of unused stories that, for one reason or another, never found a home to call their own. Sometimes it’s because of publisher or editor rejection; other times it happens because projects stall or publishers go out of business. It happens. Things do simply fall by the wayside.

Whatever the reason, things happen, and some stories fall through the cracks.

It’s a crazy business we’re in, isn’t it?

85 North is a collection of stories I wrote over the years that fell through the cracks, as it were. Every story in the book was contracted by a publisher at one time or another, but never made it to the published page for one reason or another. There are a couple of exceptions. When Falstaff Books asked about publishing this collection of stories, I added a couple of previously published pieces to round out the set.

The title story, 85 North, deals with a road trip that takes a decidedly strange turn when a routine gas stop turns out to be anything but routine. It’s also loosely based on a true story. Once the story goes into full horror mode, I embellish a lot, but the inspiration for the story has its roots in the real world.

The one thread that holds all of the wildly different stories in this collection together is that they all revolve around a trip. Sometimes that trip is straightforward, having to get from here to there, but some of the trips are to the past, the future, toward danger, away from danger, and toward bad decisions.

And what do you need on any good road trip?

Road snacks!

Pete, Robert, Bethany, and Jill were inseparable during their high school years. Now, with college separating them, the gang takes one last road trip together, delivering Jill to her new home for the next four years. It’s also Pete’s last chance to tell her how he feels about her. Or is he already too late?

Food plays an important role in the story.

We open in the boys’ cluttered apartment, empty pizza boxes and take out containers everywhere. Ah, the life of a college student, back when we could survive on pizza, beer, and two hours of sleep a night.

The Sidewinder is a bar and grill they end up in on their last night in town before the big road trip. The sidewinder is that college town hole in the wall with greasy burgers, cheap beer, and heavy battered, deep fried onion rings with ranch dipping sauce. My mouth waters already at the thought of it. As good as the food is, what really draws crowds to the Sidewinder is the music. Local and regional acts flock to Athens, Georgia. You can sometimes catch national acts for the price of a bar band. It’s a music mecca.

Once on the road, we get the antithesis of the Sidewinder. It doesn’t have a name, but there is a diner attached to a gas station. This part of the story is true. We took the exit, which we realized wasn’t often traveled dur to the grass growing through the pavement. We crossed the bridge to the gas station and diner, the only thing on the exit.

While one friend pumped the gas, the other two of us headed toward the bathroom.

This is where things get weird.

To get to the restroom, we had to go through the diner. No worries. As soon as we crossed the threshold into the packed diner, all sounds ceased. It became eerily quiet. The diners all stopped eating and watched as we crossed the diner. No clinking silverware against plates, no nothing. It was like something out of a horror movie. If Rod Serling had been sitting at one of the booths, having a smoke and sipping on a steaming hot cup of coffee, I would not have been surprised.

After our bathroom stop, we retraced our steps as they watched us walk out. Once we were back in the gas station part, the sound of people eating resumed.

As I said, eerie.

Suffice to say, we beat a hasty retreat.

That wasn’t the end to the weirdness, but I’ll save that part for when you read the book. I can only assume that the diner was serving traditional American breakfast fare like eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, orange juice and coffee, but I was too focused on getting the hell out of there to pay that close attention. Ha! Ha!

We had considered grabbing a bit at the diner when we got off the interstate, but that option was quickly discarded. Thankfully, we had packed the usual junk food snacks and drinks so we were good until we reached our destination and could get a proper meal.

After that trip, I’ll vowed never to go on a road trip without a full stocked cooler again.

Bobby Nash
On The Road Again

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

You can find Bobby here:

BobbyNash.com

Twitter @BobbyNash

Facebook Fan Page

Books on Amazon

An award-winning author, Bobby Nash writes novels, comic books, short stories, novellas, graphic novels, and the occasional screenplay for a variety of publishers. Bobby is a member of the International Association of Media Tie-in Writers and International Thriller Writers. On occasion, Bobby appears in movies and TV shows, usually standing behind your favorite actor. For more information on Bobby Nash please visit him at www.bobbynash.com, www.ben-books.com, and across social media.

About 85 North:

ROAD TRIP! There are many roads along life’s highway, paths taken or not. You come to a crossroad. Do you turn left? Do you turn right? And can you live with the consequences of that decision?

85 North is a collection of tales from Award-Winning Author Bobby Nash that heads off the beaten path into roads not yet discovered. From superheroes to robots, 85 North is full of tales of action and adventure for the modern world and beyond.

Buckle up. It’s gonna be a bumpy ride.

Published by Falstaff Books (http://falstaffbooks.com)

85 North is available in paperback and ebook at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and more. You can read 85 North FREE with your Kindle Unlimited subscription.