It’s another Monday and though as mentioned in a previous post, I’m off celebrating Doctoral Day in the company of some bison, I do so only after making sure I leave you in good company. Specifically, Kim Vandervort, another of my fellow Hadley Rille authors. Actually, Kim has the further distinction of being Hadley Rille’s first fantasy novelist with The Song and the Sorceress. She quickly followed that book with sequel The Northern Queen.
Armed (and armored) with a Master’s degree in Medieval Literature, when she’s not writing novels, or serving as one of HRB’s Fantasy Editors, Kim is on the faculty at California State University, Fullerton, doing her part to ensure the next generation of writers.
LMS: Kim, I’ve been pestering you about coming on the blog for months now. Why has it taken so long to get you here?
KV: When you asked me to write something up about my most memorable meal, I struggled. A lot. I’m not a gourmand by any stretch of the imagination; my mother’s terrible cooking when I was a child pretty much destroyed my taste buds for all eternity. Still, I love food, and not just for the taste. For me, food is social, an opportunity to take some time out of my busy life and connect with others, whether they be my kids, my friends, my family.
My writing group, the ladies of Lumosliterati, is no exception. Most of our meetings, from our group’s inception, have revolved around food. In the early days, we would meet at a restaurant to discuss our current chapters, then move on to a coffee house, and sometimes, after we shut the place down, we would finish reading in our cars. Naturally, we have a sacred tradition that also involved dining: when one of us finishes a novel, we all take the hard-working authoress out to a fabulous dinner—and the Book Dinner must be special. Whether the restaurant is pricier, the food more exquisite, or the dress code fancy, the author being celebrated must choose, and she must choose a place where we would not ordinarily dine.
When I finished my first novel, The Song and the Sorceress, I chose Stubrick’s, a local Fullerton, California steak house with an excellent reputation. Naturally, the steak was perfect, the garlic mashed potatoes to die for, the wine delicious, the chocolate-molten-whatever we had for dessert absolutely fantastic. But what made this meal most special was the company. These women had listened to every single word of The Song and the Sorceress read aloud over the course of about five years. They had nitpicked the plot, argued over commas, laughed at both my intentional and unintentional jokes, and above all, helped me push the characters and the story to its completion. To share a fine meal that night with the women who had helped me weave this story from its first agonizing fits and starts made this one of the most incredible dinners of my life.
We’ve had many other dinners since then, and there are more to come. But this, my first Book Dinner, will always hold a special place in my heart.
Can’t argue with that. Fine food with cherished colleagues in celebration of a milestone (especially with the chocolate-molten-whatever). Does it get any better?
Next Monday: Another author and another meal!
Tags: Eating Authors
Well, Kim–I’m hurt that you didn’t even MENTION the dinner I made for you. Harumph! 😉
04.02.12 at 9:43 am
Kim, what a great story! You made me all misty-eyed. 🙂
04.03.12 at 9:23 am