Eating Authors: Rachel A. Marks

Why is it that the summer is such a crazy time? It’s not the heat (or not just the heat), and since I’m not in academia any more, on either side of the desk, I can’t blame it on the change in work schedule. Maybe it’s the conventions. I haven’t been to any yet this summer (though many of you reading this may have just returned from Readercon or ComicCon) but I’m still feeling it. Like when everyone around you is coming down with the flu and you’re still fine but a part of you knows it’s probably only a matter of time. Yeah, convention fever. It’s a viral thing.

I haven’t caught it yet — though the 22nd annual Klingon Language Conference, the qep’a’ cha’maH cha’DIch, is little more than a week away — but this week’s guest on EATING AUTHORS has a bad case of it. Rachel A. Marks has been off at ComicCon, and why not? The first volume of her Dark Cycle series, Darkness Brutal, just launched on the first of the month. Book two, Darkness Fair, is already in the can and should be coming your way in February.

LMS: Welcome, Rachael, and congratulations on the launch of your first novel. Now, let’s get to it. What’s your most memorable meal?

RAM: The best meals in my life were never about what was on my plate in front of me but rather who was sitting beside me. I’ve had meals that should have been delicious turn sour due to conversation becoming negative or silence turning awkward. The most lovely meals were with friends and family, and lingered on my pallet for their warm laughter or sweet silence.

I always feel like food tastes better when my husband is with me, especially if I didn’t cook it, and someone else is doing the dishes—so a date eating out is my favorite. I can relax fully and enjoy my meal, not be concerned with cleaning up after, or worrying what work I need to get caught up on. It’s only about sitting back and enjoying, being together and reconnecting after a long week of being ships passing in the night.

On one of these nights we wandered into a new restaurant, looking for something a little different. The wait was too long for a table, though, so we opted for the patio couch seating instead, which was also a part of the bar. We were low on funds, and planned on sharing, and when the paper menu was set on the coffee table in front of us we realized it was happy hour. Perfect. But we also soon realized that everyone else in town realized that it was happy hour. Our couch, along with the three others on the patio, quickly filled to bursting with people getting off work and looking for time to unwind. The woman beside my husband was getting a little close and she hit me with her purse twice, but all the people were laughing and enjoying their time, so my husband and I scrunched into the corner and ordered our food: four Street Tacos made with roasted organic beef, red pepper aioli sauce, and shredded radishes, all on a handmade organic corn tortilla.

They came quickly, and were so lovely on the plate we didn’t want to eat them (we did, though, quickly). We paired them with mojitos and were soon staring at each other wide-eyed as we ate, both of us stunned at the amazing tastes and quality of the meal, all for so little. We snuggled close on the couch, blocking out all the other chatter, and talked as we ate; about our amazing kids, things we were thinking of for the future, concerns at work. We connected everything back together again and then sat and watched the night sky as the people around us did the same.

It was a lovely night, and soon became our favorite place to go and unwind when things became stressful. There’s nothing more satisfying and relieving than a meal under the stars, with my hand held in the one that fits it best.

#SFWApro