Posts Tagged ‘Eating Authors’

Welcome back to another installment of asking authors about their favorite meals. This feature was inspired by my protagonist, the Amazing Conroy, who in addition to being a stage hypnotist is also very much a foodie. This week, we hear from Myke Cole, an author I’ve shared a number of meals with over the years. I first met Myke way back when he was a member of my local writers’ workshop, not long after he’d snagged third place in the 2003 Writers of the Future competition.

He’s bounced around a bit since then, and I kind of lost track of him as he went off and had adventures as a secu­rity con­tractor, gov­ern­ment civilian and mil­i­tary officer. After three tours in Iraq and lending a hand with the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Myke is back to going full force on his writing career. His first book, Shadow Ops: Control Point, is due out tomorrow (though I’m told people have been snatching up copies since last week). This will befollowed by, Shadow Ops: Fortress Frontier, and Shadow Ops: Breach Zone in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

We continue our series of weekly visits with science fiction and fantasy authors and their culinary recollections, or as I like to call this feature: Eating Authors. Our guest today is one of my very favorite writers, Mark Tiedemann. Like many of this feature’s guests, Mark is an alumnus of Clarion. He’s best known for the dazzling short stories and novels that make up his Secantis Sequence (Compass Reach, Metal of Night, Peace & Memory, and Other Ways:Three Tales From The Secant ), and if you haven’t read them, you need to rush right out and start because this is galaxy-wide SF unlike anything you’ve experienced before! You’d think that would be enough for an author, but no, Mark also has the distinction of being one of only a few authors to play in Isaac Asimov’s sandbox, penning three robot mystery novels (Mirage, Chimera, and Aurora) set in the years between Asimov’s The Robots of Dawn and Robots and Empire.

When he’s not writing, or committing photography, Mark has the distinction of being the president of the Missouri Center for the Book. I pursued Mark for months, pestering him to send me a description of his most memorable meal. When he finally did, I promptly buried it under a virtual pile of other email (sorry about that, Mark). Fortunately, I found it again, and now I can share it with you.

Hello, and welcome. You’re just in time for another round of asking authors about their favorite meals. This weekly feature was inspired by my protagonist, the Amazing Conroy, who in addition to being a stage hypnotist is also very much a foodie.

Today’s guest is Shauna Roberts, a Clarion graduate, a fellow Hadley Rille Books author, as well as card carying Ph.D. in anthropology. Shauna’s been publishing short fiction since 2002, and her first novel, Like Mayflies in a Stream, came out in 2009 as part of HRB’s archaeology series.

To the best of my addled recollection, Shauna and I have never met (let alone shared a meal), but our respective travels have had us living in pretty much the same places (Philadelphia, Chicago, southern California), albeit in different years. Plus, I always enjoy checking in with other academicians-turned-authors; so let’s get to it and let her tell us about her most memorable meal!

Greetings! If it’s Monday, then this must be the latest installment of Eating Authors, my weekly blog feature where I ask authors about their favorite meals.

Today’s gourmand is none other than Mr. Magic Realism himself, Bruce Taylor. I’ve had the privilege of publishing one of Bruce’s novellas in the first Alembical volume. Bruce is a Seattle native and the founder of the Magic Realist Writers International Network.

Bruce’s work has been collected in Kafka’s Uncle And Other Strange Tales, Edward: Dancing on the Edge of Infinity, Mr. Magic Realism, and Metamorphosis Blues. As a leading proponent for Magic Realism he co-edited the anthology Like Water for Quarks.

LMS: Bruce, tell me a story about your most memorable meal.

BT: Roberta Gregory and I looked at the menu. Actually, stared would have been more accurate.

“Holy cats, “I said, “this is amazing!”

“It all looks so good,” Roberta said, “How do we choose?” She read from the menu:

“‘Beef Ragout–moist tender beef and vegetables slowly simmered with natural pan gravy. A glass of cabernet is suggested with this meal.’ Um— ”

“Geeze, and then there’s the lamb shank — ‘Braised in its own natural juices and delicately seasoned with honey and lemon. We recommend a glass of merlot with this selection.’ OK—and we have ‘Seared Farm Raised Catfish Filet, Cheese Ravioli, Stone Fried Roasted Chicken Pizza. Crab Louie Salad with shrimp and with our choice of two of the following—baked potato, whipped mashed potatoes, rice pilaf, tonight’s vegetables.”

“Well,” Roberta said, studying the menu, “the Seafood Crab Louie salad looks great—”

“Okay — I’ll get the lamb shank.”

The waiter came back with rolls and warm chunks of bread. He was a robust fellow, gray haired and with a warm smile as if really liked what he was doing. “Good evening and welcome. What would you nice folks like this evening?” he said.

We placed our order.

“Coffee? Tea? Soft drinks? Wine?”

“Diet Coke and two coffees,” I said.

The waiter left only to return in seconds with the beverages and seemingly just a few minutes later with the main course.

Roberta smiled then said to the waiter, “Sure can’t complain about the service.”

The waiter laughed, as he placed the dishes on the table. “Now that’s what we like to hear.”

And we began our meal.

One bite of the lamb shank and I said, “Unbelievable. I’ve never had meat feel like it was melting in my mouth. Here—” I pushed the plate toward her. “You gotta try some.”

She did. “Wonderful,” she said. “Here. Try some of my salad.”

Needless to say—

She laughed, got out her digital camera and took my picture. “Had to get your picture! You look incredulous.”

“I am,” I said, “I wasn’t expecting this!”

We continued our meal. The rice pilaf was great and the salad of sliced cucumbers, strawberries, oranges and eggs on greens was fresh; the shrimp large, crunchy, tasty, and just as good as everything else.

And the desert?

Oh, wow—

Roberta had the Mississippi Mud Cake (‘Coffee bathed chunks of chocolate cake and rich chocolate ganache drizzled with rivers of milk and dark chocolate.’)

And I had the diet cheesecake but, avoiding sugar, declined the topping (‘Complementing your dessert with any combination of strawberry topping, whipped cream or chocolate sauce.’)

The waiter returned. “Everything satisfactory?” he said, as he began to clear away the dishes.

I shook my head. “Uh — try amazing. That was really – really good.”

Roberta grinned. “Delicious.”

The waiter just smiled.

We paid our bill, giving our waiter a 20% percent tip not only for great service but an absolutely fabulous meal. And after dinner, we just sat, enjoying abundantly supplied delicious coffee as we admired the late afternoon, unfolding panorama of Puget Sound, from our comfortable seats in the lounge car on the Amtrak Coast Starlight, on our way back to Seattle.

Welcome to the first 2012 installment of asking authors about their favorite meals. This feature was inspired by my protagonist, the Amazing Conroy, who in addition to being a stage hypnotist is also very much a foodie.

Our guest today is Diana Rowland, who’s CV really highlights the old adage of “write what you know.” She’s been a bartender, a blackjack dealer, a pit boss, a street cop, a detective, a computer forensics specialist, a crime scene investigator, and a morgue assistant. She has a marksmanship award from her days in the Police Academy, and a black belt in Hapkido. She’s also the author of the White Trash Zombie series (My Life as A White Trash Zombie, and coming in July Even White Trash Zombies Get the Blues) as well as the Kara Gillian series (Mark of the Demon, Blood of the Demon, Secrets of the Demon). The fourth Kara Gillian novel, Sins of the Demon, hits bookstores tomorrow.

Welcome to the Boxing Day edition of Eating Authors, the blog feature that asks genre writers to share tales of their most memorable meals. With us today is Elaine Isaak, an author I’ve had the great pleasure to know for years and years, and to have published in the pages of Prime Codex. She graced the virtual pages of this blog for a quick Q&A session nearly a year ago so to recap let me tell you that she is the author of The Singer’s Crown in 2005, and sequels The Eunuch’s Heir in 2006, and The Bastard Queen in 2010. In 2011 she began a new dark historical fantasy series with DAW books, but these are under a pseudonym and she’s still not letting the name leak.

Here to talk about her most memorable meal with us is Lisa Mantchev. She’s the author of the Théâtre Illuminata trilogy (Eyes Like Stars, Perchance to Dream, and So Silver Bright), a series of YA novel of the theatre and magic guaranteed to delight readers of any age. And believe me when I say, you are going to love her protagonist, Beatrice “Bertie” Shakespeare Smith.

Lisa’s yet another of those authors living in one of those Pacific Northwest States, and so it’s been years since our paths have crossed. And yet, through the magic of email we reconnected and she was only to happy to share the following memory.

Welcome back to another installment of asking authors about their favorite meals. This feature was inspired by my protagonist, the Amazing Conroy, who in addition to being a stage hypnotist is also very much a foodie.

Here with us today is Terri-Lynne DeFino, a graduate of the Viable Paradise workshop, a fellow Hadley Rille Books author, as well as one of the Fantasy editors at HRB. Terri’s first novel, Finder, was published in 2010, and though we haven’t sat down to a meal together yet, that detail will likely be taken care of next March when we’re both attending Lunacon.