Recently, someone I follow on twitter observed they do not include their characters eating at all in their writing. This made me think of my own writing and made me think of my old blog, Popcorn: More Than Just A Minor Detail. Sometimes in books, details are just details. Blue curtains could just happen to be blue and the meaning we take from these details are often what we ourselves, as readers, read into the books. But, sometimes, as authors we intend these details to carry more weight. I can't say I always intend for food to be important to the characters and my books, but food tends to be very important to me. A lot of this is family traditions, like Prime Rib, Yorkshire Pudding, and Green Beans Amadine on Christmas Eve and Chinese Food on Christmas. Some of this could also be influenced by my Jewish background, like Latkas on Hanukkah or Matzoh on Passover. Outside of traditions and holidays, it's the slice and bake cookie dough or mom's mac and cheese. It's no wonder then that food shows up frequently in my writing, whether it's the popcorn in Society's Foundlings, baking birthday butter biscuits in The Butter Thief, growing tomatoes in Ben's Little Tomato, imagining different uses of pumpkins in Peggy's Little Pumpkin, or drinking hot chocolate in The Memory Tree. There's traditions, memories, and connection tied to the food in The Butter Thief, Ben's Little Tomato, Peggy's Little Pumpkin, and The Memory Tree. In Society's Foundlings, popcorn is lack of money and resources. It is a dividing line, the feeling of being an outsider, a reminder of all the goals and dreams that are still out of reach, friendship, and feelings of belonging and security depending on the character. In an upcoming WIP, food is always a source of tension between siblings. There's frustration in lack of resources, but also frustration in what has and has not changed from the past. There is still that feeling of belonging or exclusion. What does food mean to you? How do you use food in your own writing?
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"Sometimes things don't turn out exactly how we think they will, but it doesn't mean they won’t be just as good. Or even better…"
In Ben's Little Tomato, (sequel to Ben's Little Acorn), Ben's favorite plant is tomatoes. There are so any different tomatoes out there, and here is a list of just 8 that exceed expectations for what a tomato is, looks like, tastes like, and how it can be used. These are also tomatoes Ben, from the Ben's Little Book, would find cool! The author found these tomatoes through The Whole Seed Catalalogue from Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds (2019)!
Get Stuffed
"5-7 ounces golden streaked flesh hollow bell pepper shape strawberry like seed clusters stands up well to powdery mildew"
Lucid Gem Tomato
"5 ounce yellow-orange when ripe black anthocyanin splashes contrasts with lighter colored skin flesh marbled yellow to red sweet, juicy, fruity heat tolerant winner of The Sweetest Tomato Award at the 2017 National Heirloom Expo
Berkley Tie-Dye Green Tomato
"8-16 ounces green with red and yellow stripes each color has a different flavor"
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Ellie Lieberman |