Happy Monday! Time for another round of asking authors about their favorite meals? Why? Because the protagonist from my own fiction, the Amazing Conroy, is a foodie.
Today we have Carrie Vaughn famous the world over for her “Kitty series,” the ongoing saga of a latenight radio host who just happens to be a werewolf. If you’re a fan of these books, then you probably already know the newest and ninth of them, Kitty’s Big Trouble, is being released tomorrow! In fact, Carrie’s been having a busy year. Steel, her new YA adventure novel came out back in March, and After the Golden Age, a superhero novel was released in a month later. But Kitty fans are going to particularly overjoyed in 2011, because in addition to the ninth novel in the series mentioned above, August will see the publication of a short story collection, Kitty’s Greatest Hits. But enough about all that. Let’s get on to the food portion of this blog post.
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LMS: Carrie, the last meal we had together was at an altitude of about 10,000 feet. That was pretty high up, and while the food was good, I doubt it makes either of our top ten lists. What’s your most memorable meal?
CV: I’ve had so many memorable meals I could talk about I hardly know which one to pick. But I do need to back up and explain something: for me, these meals are memorable not because of the food. Rather, I remember the location, the occasion, and the people I was with. I’m not much of a foodie — I’m one of those people that everyone hates, the skinny person who actually does forget to eat sometimes. Often for me eating isn’t a pleasure, it’s the thing I have to do to make sure I take in enough calories to keep functioning. Long story, I can talk about that another time. So while I sometimes have a problematic relationship with eating, I love meals, especially meals that are events.
Okay, I think I’ve narrowed it down to one:
About two years ago, I was traveling with two friends through the south of France. We spent a couple of days in the walled medieval city of Carcassonne. A couple of magical days, because in a chilly November we pretty much had the fortress to ourselves and spent the evenings wandering around the walls and ramparts, thinking about the Crusades and Dungeon and Dragons adventures. (Those slate tile roofs absolutely needed thieves running across them.) We found a little restaurant that looked and felt as medieval as the rest of the city: rustic wood furniture, exposed beams on a very low ceiling, whitewashed plaster walls, tapestries and wrought iron decoration. The best part: the owner cooked our meals over an open fire in the fireplace, right there in the dining room. We shared a bottle of wine, ate fresh roasted sausage and potatoes, and then wandered back to the hostel nestled in a medieval city that hasn’t changed in centuries. Perfect, really.
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Good stuff, Carrie. Though I think some Kitty readers are going to be disappointed you didn’t talk about rare meat.
Still, speaking as one of those people who is less than pleased (“hate” is too strong a word to use here) by the skinny people who forget to eat, that meal does sound pretty perfect. Thanks for sharing.
Next Monday: We begin a special month of Eating Authors as this year’s Campbell Award nominees talk about their most memorable meals. Don’t miss it; it just may influence how you vote!
Tags: Eating Authors
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