Thanks to Fresh Fiction for having me here today! Apple. Walmart. Chanel. We live a world of brands and categories. It’s a good thing! Shortcuts help you decide in a soundbite (or mindbite) whether you want to buy.  A necessity, really, with as fast as life is these days. Who has time to research every last detail of which toothpaste to buy or how many types of sunscreen there are? But what if you’re not a one-size-fits-all? What if you’re living in a vanilla world but you’re a tiny bit. . . chocolate? Here’s a fun little quiz to see if you might be quirky. A group from work or school is going to McDonald’s for lunch. You: Go along. Mac’s is great! Go along. But order a salad. Suggest that little hole-in-the-wall deli instead. Stay at your desk. You have a hot date with the latest JR Ward. Whip out an array of hot sauces ranging from mild to stupidly toxic and play your own version of First We Feast’s Hot Ones (the show with hot questions and even hotter wings).  Your own answer! You arrange for dinner with a big group of friends, but you arrive an hour…

Thank you to Fresh Fiction for having me here today! Food, glorious food. As a fulltime author, I write all hours of the day, morning, noon, and night. Funny thing, though. I’ll be searing the keyboard with a high-octane car chase or a steamy bedroom scene or snarking it up with a good viola joke (although really, is there such a thing as a bad viola joke? lol) when the urge hits me. I take my characters to a restaurant and sit them down for a good meal. Juicy sausage, crisp fried potatoes, creamy beer cheese soup. Or maybe an orange-cranberry scone, glossy frosting dripping off its steamy, tender pastry to pool glistening onto the plate. Which usually means it’s lunchtime at Casa Hughes, lol. Because my series is set in a small Midwest town settled by German immigrants, bratwurst and schnitzel feature heavily. It started me thinking—food is like romance novels. Why? From paranormal to billionaire to suspense, romance is often identified by its (sub)genres. And food…well, what do you think of when I list spaghetti Bolognese, five-cheese lasagna, and mushroom risotto? How about spring rolls, sweet-and-sour pork, and Peking duck? Doesn’t the first conjure up images of red-and-white…