Hello to all my new subscribers. Thank you for supporting my work. If you’ve used any of my research resources, I’d love to hear about it. And if you have any to share, please let me know.
I’ve just returned from The Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) conference in Chicago. I served four years as the association’s Vice President of Communications. I’m currently the Executive Editor for the WFWA magazine, WriteOn! All this to say, WFWA is my “home”. This year’s 10th anniversary event was amazing.
Personal highlights were speakers, Nancy Johnson, Camille Pagan, and a master class with Courtney Maum. I met the enthusiastic group of Lake Union Publishing authors, a group I’m happy to join. I also met my agent “siblings,” writers who are repped by my agent.
Before I left for Chicago, plans were in place for where I would meet friends for dinners. Chicago is an incredible foodie city. Chicago is also synonymous with deep dish pizza. I just binged “The Bear” about a chef in Chicago. The show has a deep dish pizza reference. This show is seriously good if you haven’t yet had a taste, check out the trailer.
Finding Your Next Favorite Dish or Story Element
(the pizza is coming, keep reading)
I research food all the time. For my upcoming novel, The Pelican Tide, I did a deep dive on Cajun cooking, hot sauces, and chili peppers. When I’m not writing, I’m also researching food, looking for great restaurants or where to find my power source - coffee - when I travel.
Food is a featured element in thousands of books. Everyone eats and food represents culture, manners, preferences, locations, and so much more. I recently interviewed Dr. Annie Fenn about brain health and food. You can read that issue here.
Here are a few links to articles that have done the heavy lifting of curating some popular food books. I’m surprised how many of these books I’ve read. I just learned something about my reading habits.
The Uncorked Librarian ( I like the books in this article, but I apologize for all the crappy ads.)
Taste Atlas (love that name) Best California pizza
Italy - The Heart of Pizza
Regions of Italy source Wikimedia
Pizza hails from Naples and I could devote an entire issue to talking about Naples and pizza. Don’t worry, I won’t. But I do want to say that there is a special certification that is bestowed to pizzerias around the world that follow Neapolitan pizza making techniques, buy authentic ingredients, and use a special wood-fired oven. You can read about it here and search for videos on the subject.
The Best Pizza in the World
No one asked me to judge, but here it is. I Masanielli (they need a better website - just saying)
Food and Winebest pizza’s in the world (with jazzy music video)
I pulled this shot! I’m not a professional barista, but I can knock it out in the morning
Coffee is serious business in my world, and we have a system of sussing out cafes. The secret is pictures. Yelp is a great way to search for local coffee (to me that means espresso drinks.) When you find local shops, look at the customer posted photos. If there are no coffee drinks, that’s a sign the coffee isn’t that good or at least people aren’t going there for coffee. Look for lots of latte art!
I recently downloaded a new phone app, Best Coffee. It’s an international directory of coffee shops. But… it’s only as good as its data. My favorite local spots aren’t in the directory.
Your newsletter is delightful and chock full of information. I felt I had been in all those pizza joints with you! I missed being with all of you in Chicago!
Your newsletter is delightful and chock full of information. I felt I had been in all those pizza joints with you! I missed being with all of you in Chicago!
I missed you too! I thought you'd be there but I heard through the grapevine you couldn't make it.