There is a definite learning curve when it comes to writing and you learn things about yourself along the way. I learned that I’m obsessed with food. Have I always enjoyed food? Yes. Do I fantasize about being able to suck down an entire package of chocolate covered double stuffed mint Oreo’s without consequences? Yes.  Did I realize my characters eat all the time and that I apparently give food descriptions bordering on pornographic? No.

In Going Down In Flames, a lot of the scenes take place while Bryn, Clint, and Ivy are eating. At a boarding school, breakfast, lunch, and dinner would be major conversational points of the day. It didn’t occur to me that my characters ate too often and I wrote about it too much. What’s funny is readers either enjoyed the food scenes or were annoyed by them. My favorite reaction came from fellow writer Juli Caveny who gifted me with a stash of food equivalent to what Bryn ate in the book (see photo below) as retribution for making her hungry while she read. You can also see the dragon eyes she painted for me, which are amazing.

I purposely set out to cut food scenes from book 2 and thought I’d done a good job. Nope. My editors asked me to cut more. I probably cut ten food scenes. It will be interesting to see if readers comment on the food in Bridges Burned as often as they did for Going Down In Flames.

How do you feel about characters eating in books? Is there something else you notice characters doing too often?