Food is an important part of life, and not only because it’s
the fuel that keeps our bodies running.
Meal times can double as social events, business meetings, or
celebrations. Food can be a part of
exploring new cultures, breaking the ice, showing affection, or comforting
ourselves – or others—when the world gets us down.
All of the books in my Jukebox Heroes series mention
food. Even the short stories in the
series mention food or eating. This
isn’t a surprising fact, as most books and stories do mention food; as I said,
it’s a central part of our lives. What
is surprising to me, as the author, is how prevalent food and dining is in the
series and how many different roles food plays in the books.
The first book, The Hand of Fate, takes place on a
cruise ship where food and drink of every description are available ‘round the
clock. In one scene, the main character,
Dylan, and her best friend, Elizabeth share conch fritters at Margaritaville in
Key West while they get to know Dylan’s love interest, Brian. This is an instance of real life working its
way into my writing, as my best friend and I discovered a love for conch
fritters at Margaritaville (though it
was the one in Orlando rather than the one in Key West).
In the next book, Call Out, the conch fritters make
another appearance. When Elizabeth,
Brian, and Brian’s friend London go to Key West to investigate Dylan’s
disappearance, the man helping them – Ashe – sends Brian and Elizabeth after
food so that he can talk to London alone.
Though they don’t go to Margaritaville,
they buy conch fritters along with Cuban sandwiches.
In the next book in the series, Everything You Are, food
is talked about in a little more detail and plays a few more roles. Elizabeth’s brother and her boyfriend make
her a special meal of pecan-crusted chicken and four-cheese mac-and-cheese as
comfort food when she’s going through a rough patch.
Later, her new friend Chris brings food to her apartment
late one night when he comes to talk to her about what’s bothering her; he
shows up with just the right food, proving that he’s been paying
attention. He falls asleep on her couch,
and she brings him breakfast the next morning, her favorite scones and a mocha,
like he’d had once before when they’d gone for coffee—proving she’s been paying
attention, too.
And when Elizabeth goes to visit London in LA over New
Year’s, she has a gourmet burger topped with Port sauce and Stilton cheese at a
restaurant I love there, Umami Burger,
giving readers the tiniest peep inside of Hollywood (I’ve made Port and Stilton
burgers at home, too. Though they aren’t
the same as Umami Burger’s, they are
very good. You just reduce Port in a
small saucepan over medium heat for about 15 minute, then drizzle the sauce
over the cheese-topped burger).
In the latest book in the series, Storm, food once again
plays a large supporting role. My
favorite food-centric scene in this book involves a surprise picnic of maki
rolls and plum sake from my favorite Austin-area Asian restaurant, Origami.
In another scene, Elizabeth’s friend Seth wants to get her mind off the
things troubling her, so he makes her get dressed up and takes her out to a
nice restaurant where they eat dessert first and follow it up with appetizers
in place of an entrée.
‘What are they eating?’is a question that many
readers never think to wonder, but it can be an important one. What a character chooses to eat or where they
choose to dine may seem to many to be unnecessary details, food and dining
choices and the roles they play can give the reader a lot of insight into the
characters’ personalities, motivations, and even their relationships with other
characters.
Thanks for stopping by to share your food for thought, L.B.!
You can find L.B. here:
