Well, Butter My Butt and Call Me a Biscuit

Don't you just love Southern sayings? lol. I felt this one was appropriate, considering this week's topic.

If you've ever read any of my books, you may have noticed several things that appear on a regular basis. Small-town settings (obviously). Cinnamon roll heroes. Sassy heroines. Muscle cars. And the fact that my characters really enjoy their food and drink.

It's a big part of Southern culture, the bonding over food. Sunday dinners at Grandmas's house. Church picnics. Potlucks. Funeral receptions. There's food everywhere you turn. And, because I'm a Southern girl myself, naturally food and drink find their way into my books on a regular basis.

In my Small Town Hearts series, there's Kari's Cafe. It's a central part of the community and a common place for the girls (and sometimes their guys) to meet up for lunch. (Fun fact, this restaurant was based on a small cafe here in my town. The food there is SO good!). And Lynn, Kari and Bethany love their wine, as they often relax together with a glass of it after a hard day. The guys tend to stick to beer.

With The Bedfords, Grace's house is the place to be if you want to be well-fed. Her sons, Colt and Clay, often drop by to (as their sister, Charlotte, says) mooch breakfast, because they know their mama will make sure they get biscuits and gravy, eggs, and a chunk of country ham. And because she loves having her family all together under one roof, Grace hosts family dinner once every week or so with the help of her mother-in-law, Ann. With all of her kids now paired up and grandkids at the table, Grace needs the extra set of hands to help in the kitchen to feed the crowd! And, like the ladies of Small Town Hearts, Grace and the girls like to relax with wine at the end of the evening while her husband, Ray, and the guys indulge in a beer (or sometimes a little moonshine. They are, after all, in Gatlinburg TN!).

At this point, I feel like food and drink are characters of their own in my books. Characters that add a little something extra to the stories. Characters that bring my actual characters together. And I like that. :)

What about you? Do you like seeing the use of food and drink in stories? Let me know in the comments! I look forward to hearing from you.