Interview with Author/Illustrator Brian Biggs

Besides being an amazing illustrator and now children's book author, Brian Biggs is also an agency-mate (Writers House represent!) and my neighbor in the Northwest section of Philly. I first met Brian at our friend Sara Goddard's annual soup competition party, and he and his fiancee Sacha blew everyone out of the water with their winning pumpkin-peanut soup. So good that I remember it, years later. So he seemed like a natural for a Pots 'N Pens interview.

About Brian
I was born in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1968. When I was eleven my family moved to the Houston area where I lived until I went to college. I lived in New York City and Paris during the college years attending Parsons School of Design, thinking I’d be a fine graphic designer. In 1993, I moved to San Francisco where I worked in Silicon Valley. I was writing and drawing graphic novels at this time and when it came to balancing “real life” as a designer with a paycheck and health benefits and being an “artist” with none of the above, the latter won out. In 1995, I quit my last real job and decided to make my way in life drawing pictures. I work out of an old garage in Roxborough with a barbecue restaurant directly behind me, which forces me to keep the windows closed if I want to get anything done.

I’ve been drawing children’s books for the last several years, starting with Shredderman (Wendelin Van Draanen, published by Knopf) in 2004. Now I have my first book, which I both wrote and illustrated coming out September 13. It’s called Everything Goes: On Land and it’s full of cars and trucks and bikes and trains and stuff.



What sort of snacks do you keep around your studio? Have you noticed your diet impacting your work in any way?

I have several bananas there currently. And beer is in the fridge. Is beer a snack? My diet has not impacted my work in any way that I am aware...

Does this the way you eat change when you’re on deadline?

Yes, somewhat. If I’m pressed for time I’ll “forget” to go out and get some lunch, and will often work through dinner as well. Having a couple of kids keeps things relatively routine, however. In the days before parenthood I might go several days without eating real actual food in certain time-crunched periods.

What’s your favorite type of cuisine to cook? Do you have any can’t-live-without ingredients stocked in your fridge?

My first favorite type of food to cook was Chinese. More generally, Asian stir-fry. The first items I bought when I moved to San Francisco at 25 was a real nice wok, some bamboo steamer trays, chopsticks, and some bowls. It was pretty much all I had so even if I was cooking a burrito, it was cooked in a wok. (Yeah, don’t ask; I was 25.)

Now I can’t think of any favorite, really. My fiancée and I like to cook together and it often depends on what’s available through our farm-share or what she stops and picks up at the supermarket. I’ll cook anything, and I enjoy cooking everything. I suppose the best answer is that I like a complicated cuisine where there is a lot going on and she and I and the two kids can all find jobs to do in preparing and cooking. Maybe the daughter batters something while the son creates some kind of sauce while I cut and cook and Sacha makes some kind of rockin’ salad and gins and tonics. Whether it’s Italian or Mexican or Asian or Portuguese doesn’t matter much to me.

Is there a link for you between the creative processes of cooking and writing/drawing? Has a meal ever inspired a specific story or image or vice versa?

I think the closest I can come to saying yes to this is that in 1997 I spent two weeks at a comic book festival in Portugal. The hosts of the event spent a lot of energy showing us around and making sure we got to try the local dishes. I had a lot of trout and bacalao (salt cod) on that trip. When I got back home, I invited a bunch of friends over and spent a couple of days preparing and cooking. I think there were about fifteen dishes involved and a lot of alcohol. It was pretty amazing.

Otherwise, the food in my work is pretty limited to chicken fingers and PBJ lately.

Eating while reading: Yay or nay?

Not so much, unless you mean reading the news while drinking coffee and having breakfast.

If you were marooned on an island and Pots & Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose?

Where the Wild Things Are, and soup.

About Brian's Recipe:

At this point in a summer I can usually look back and see some theme or particular dish that has recurred. A few summers ago, for instance, I found that I was making a pile of chicken salad every week, trying variations and different ingredients. Other times it’s been smoothies, fishes (not fish smoothies; that’s gross), and so on. This year Sacha and I were getting a lot of potatoes with the farm-share and we came across a recipe for roasted potatoes cooked on the BBQ grill. The basis of this comes from Stephen Raichlen’s The Barbecue! Bible published by Workman, on page 397 and he calls it “Greek Garlic and Lemon Roasted Potatoes.” (The BBQ! Bible is one of the cookbooks that I use regularly to find an idea on which to riff. I have a lot of really great cookbooks but I find that I go back to the ones that lay down a basic idea of something that can then be elaborated upon. If I have some combination of veggies and critters that I want to eat but don’t know how to make it all work together, this book is one of the three or four with an index that I can often scan and find something that might work.)

I’ve made this dish in some form or fashion probably ten times this summer. I like it best with those little Yukon Gold potatoes, a little more olive oil and garlic than the recipe calls for, and two lemons at the end rather than one. I also don’t use hickory chips in my fire the way the recipe calls for. The hickory overwhelmed the potatoes and it made the fire too hot. I use a Le Creuset french-oven style roasting pan for this. We tried using Pyrex once but the pyrex exploded on the grill, which kind of ruined the potatoes…

3 lb. small red potatoes, scrubbed, cut in half. (As I mentioned, I like Yukons though any small potato is awesome.)
1/4 cut extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. dried oregano
kosher or sea salt and ground black pepper to taste (I use plenty of both)
1 lemon, halved (two for me)
2 tbs. butter, optional (not optional—awesome)
2 tbs. fresh dill (sometimes I forget this, but I like it best with)

If you’re gonna use wood chips for that flavor thing, soak them in water for an hour and drain them.

Light up your grill. If it’s big enough, get only half of it going off to one side. It’s best to be able to have the roasting pan in the grill but not necessarily directly over the fire for the duration.

Put potatoes in the roasting pan. Toss with oil, garlic, bay leaves, oregano, salt, pepper. Squeeze lemon all over this pile, and toss the rind halves on top. (I sometimes wait til the last fifteen minutes of cook time for the lemons.)

Toss the wood chips onto the fire, if you’re using them. Set the roasting pan on the grill uncovered and cook for 1 to 1.25 hours. What I do here is cook indirectly for fifteen minutes or so until the potatoes are softer. Then I stir it all around and cook directly over the fire or another 20-30 minutes, stirring after fifteen. This gets most of the potatoes nice and crispy on their bottoms. If you don’t like crispy crunchy potatoes (what’s wrong with you?), keep the pan indirectly over the fire.

The potatoes should be browned and awesome after about an hour. In the last ten minutes, stir in the butter. (This is where I add the lemons as well.)

Remove and toss out the lemons and bay leaves. Add salt and pepper if desired and serve. Fantastic with kababs or pretty much anything else.

Interview with Author Savenaz Tash

What a fabulous day! Today we are blessed with the wonderful Sarvenaz Tash. Sarvenaz is a multi-talented wonder versed in the art of screenwriting, copywriting, and the world of children’s literature. The Mapmaker and the Ghost, her middle grade novel with Walker Books for Young Readers, premiers April 24^th, 2012.

This is on my buy list.

You can learn more by stopping by her blog and website:

http://www.sarvenaztash.blogspot.com/ http://www.sarvenaztash.com/




(Our characters in this cooking plot.)

Now to the interview:

Let's say a couple of your characters are raiding your fridge right now, what are they most likely to eat? Are they disappointed or excited about what they find?

Besides being a mapmaker, my main character, Goldenrod, is also an excellent sandwich-maker. She spends a lot of time trying to find different and unusual combos. That being said, I think she would be very disappointed in my fridge right now because, besides condiments, there isn't much there she could work with. Sorry to let you down, G! (This writing thing has not done wonders for my kitchen skills/cooking time). 



Share your favorite literary feast or treat. What makes this food and/or writing so memorable?

A few months ago I discovered this recipe for Butterbeer cupcakes: http://amybites.com/?p=623 They are obviously inspired by the world of Harry Potter and, more specifically, by the Butterbeer drinks created for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter theme park in Orlando. As someone who spent years wondering what Butterbeer tasted like, and finally got a very satisfying answer in Orlando, I can tell you these cupcakes are HP-nerd-approved. (They are really SO good).

Describe the best cook you know and something wonderful he or she has served you.

My mom is the best cook I know and there are so many dishes to choose from! But one of my favorites involves a stew made of plums and spinach served over steamed basmati rice. I grew up eating Persian food almost exclusively and I am just starting to learn how to make it myself with the help of my mom of course. I'm trying to collect as many recipes from her as I can since most of them are also my grandma's and they've been verbally handed down. Judging from the state of my fridge (see above), I would say I'm not exactly banging out the recipes like I'm banging out first drafts, though. Hmmm....


Too much salt can ruin an exquisite meal, and the perfect dessert tempers earlier mistakes. What ingredients can destroy a book through overuse or salvage a book despite its flaws?

I think heartfelt, three-dimensional characters can save almost any story. Whenever I'm stuck, I always go back to thinking "what would this character truly do?" Or, even better, "what could this character do that would be surprising but not, ultimately, out of character?"

Clichéd plotting is what I think most easily destroys a book for me, although, again, I think strong character work can overpower and redeem even that!

If you were marooned on an island and Pots & Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose?

The food part is easy: I'd say bread. The book part is painful. If I had a gun to my head and had to choose, I'd say PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. But how could I ever really only choose one book?!

Recipe:

Goldenrod's Peanut Butter and Strawberry Sandwich with Cheerios (for Extra Crunch)

- 2 pieces of toast

- 2 tablespoons Peanut Butter

- 2 chopped up strawberries

- A handful of Cheerios

Toast bread, and chop strawberries.

Smear bread with peanut butter.

Add chopped strawberries and Cheerios.

Note: picture is tipsy. Sorry about that.

Top sandwich with other slice of bread.

If you are looking to put your parents in a good mood so that they'll finally let you properly explore your neighborhood, add fancy toothpicks.

Thank you so much Savenaz.

Writing prompt: The quirky recipe combo inspired me. Write a character description with traits that would embody this quirky combination.

Happy Writing!

Interview with Author Kristine Carlson Asselin

Today I'd like to welcome my wonderful critique partner Kristine Asselin, represented by Vickie Motter, whose novel Sweet Spot is currently out on submission.

Kris, tell us a bit about your book and what foods play a role, if any?

My book is called THE SWEET SPOT. It’s a contemporary realistic young adult novel loosely based on bits and pieces of my life growing up on a golf course. Here’s the synopsis:

With the family golf course on the verge of bankruptcy, Kate Anderson decides she's going to be the first girl to win the Junior State Championship to draw the crowds back, but her plans are derailed when her best friend and crush is accused of vandalizing the course with a blowtorch.

I’m not sure my characters eat at all in the book! Actually, a couple of the boys munch on Snickers bars during a stake out to catch the bad guys. The fact that Kate, my MC, drinks diet soda is particularly important during one pivotal scene.

You’d think that with a title like THE SWEET SPOT there would be some tasty treats! But no, actually the sweet spot refers to the middle of the golf club face. Hit the ball squarely on that spot and you’ll have a great shot! Of course, it’s not that easy.

What's your favorite snack while writing?

I love snacks. But I try really hard not to snack while writing. When I sit in the Barnes and Noble coffee shop, I do like a nice mochachino.

Do you have a go-to meal when you're strapped for time and need to feed the family?

I actually chuckled when Ansha invited me to participate in Pots and Pens, since I am not known for my cooking. Having two picky eaters (spouse and child) makes it a bit hard to be creative. My go-to meal would definitely have to be angel hair pasta, sauce, and garlic bread (see my recipe for homemade no-knead bread). Throw in a salad to make mom (me!) happy, and voila.

Let’s say a couple of your characters are raiding your fridge right now, what are they most likely to eat? Are they disappointed or excited about what they find?

Hmm. My book is populated with teenaged-boys, and a fifteen-year-old girl. The boys would probably be looking for junk food. And volume. I’m embarrassed to admit they’d probably be okay. They’d find half gallons of ice cream and a stock pile of girl scout cookies right now. No Snickers bars, though. Kate would be okay too, I think. Plenty of Diet Coke.

If you were marooned on an island, and Pots & Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose?

This is a hard one! I think I’d be content for a while with HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN by JK Rowling. Though, I’d really want the whole series. If I couldn’t have a series, I think I’d choose ENDER’s GAME by Orson Scott Card. I get so bored with one food, but I think I’d probably take a Cinnamon Raisin bagel with peanut butter. Actually, to survive? All I really need is coffee.

We writers may be able to subsist on coffee and craft alone, but the family inevitably comes calling for food.

Here is a recipe for no knead bread that is super yummy if not super fast. It certainly fills out a pasta and salad dinner into a fit-for-a-king meal.

Speedy No-Knead Bread

3 cups bread flour

1 packet ( 1/4 ounce) instant yeast

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Oil as needed

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl (I sometimes use garlic salt rather than regular salt to add a bit of baked-in flavor). Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.

3. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

4. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: 1 big loaf.

This bread comes out awesome—the picture is one I took myself of a loaf baked earlier this year.

Names, food add dash of believability

Character names are among the first things I notice as a reader. If they’re not quite right, it’s like an off taste in an otherwise pleasing recipe. Good character names give you the flavor of the book and make it more believable.

Think of Sookie Stackhouse, narrator of Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire Mysteries aka HBO’s True Blood. Her name is perfect for the shapely, petite blonde, and it gives you a feel for the rural Louisiana setting.

Or a wizard named Harry—as in Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files. The name conjures up the affable, yet dangerous (as in Dresden firestorm), character who’s kept me intrigued through twelve novels.

When I started writing Zero Time, I knew characters in ancient Peru and Mexico couldn’t be named Sookie or Harry. But what would be believable? Fortunately, I was living in Washington, D.C. and discovered the Pre-Columbian Society. I finally decided to use the names of Inca, Aztec and Mayan mythological figures. You may not find many folks today named Xmucane (shmoo-kane) or Coyolxauhqui (ki-olo-kee), but I’d never heard of anyone named Sookie before I read Harris’ books.

The way names evolve, I have to wonder if one day a boy named Harry will sit in homeroom next to girls named Sookie and Xmucane. You can already buy Xochitl (so-cheel) tortilla chips in local grocery stores, so perhaps it’s not inconceivable.

Along the same lines, what characters eat must also be believable. An ancient priestess wouldn’t sit on the porch with an iced tea like Sookie or go to Burger King like Harry. That would just be wrong. But I can envision Coyolxauhqui drinking chicha—corn beer—and dipping maize tortillas into a spicy tomatillo salsa. Here’s a super-easy recipe to try if you’re ready to go Aztec; grab some Xochitl chips just for giggles.

Salsa de Tomate Verde

6 cups water

2 or 3 cloves garlic

3 Serrano chiles

1 pound tomatillos, husks removed

1 bunch cilantro

¼ cup minced onion

Salt to taste

1. Bring 6 cups of water to boil. Remove husks from tomatillos.

2. Add tomatillos and chiles. Simmer for 6-8 minutes.
3. Transfer cooked tomatillos and chiles to a blender. Add cilantro, garlic and salt. Puree until smooth.
4. Transfer to a bowl and fold in minced onion.
5. Refrigerate until cool. Can be kept for up to five days, if it lasts that long.

*For milder version, reduce the number of chiles.

*Can add diced avocado to make Salsa de Tomate Verde con Aguacate

*Add this salsa to guacamole a tablespoon at a time to your desired taste.

Author Antony John Interview and Carrot and Coriander Soup

Hello, readers. We’re in for a real treat today, with wit, wisdom, and mouth-watering soup from YA writer Antony John.

Besides being the author of Five Flavors of Dumb, winner of the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award, Antony is eminently qualified to talk about food. For starters, he shares a name with one of the hosts of Food Network Canada! Even better, he had a childhood chockfull of fish and chips and has worked as an ice cream seller and a barista. So, now that you’re convinced, let’s start the interview.

Obviously Pots & Pens readers are big fans of “flavor.” Antony, what inspired your novel Five Flavors of Dumb and what ingredients do you hope make it a tasty treat for readers?

Five Flavors of Dumb actually came from a conversation I had with my wife. I’d always wanted to write a YA novel about rock music, but there are quite a lot of those already, so I knew I had to say something new. She said it would be really cool for me to explore music from a deaf person’s perspective. As soon as she suggested that, the novel took off. I did four months of research into deafness, and then began to write. It was a really fun novel to work on.

As for what makes it a “tasty treat” . . . The “five flavors” in the title refer to the five members of the rock band, Dumb, and I think all of them (plus supporting characters) make the book worth reading. I really tried hard to make the characters three-dimensional in all their dysfunctional glory, and a lot of readers seem to appreciate this. Apart from that, it has some nice romance, plenty of drama, and a seriously cool narrator (even if I do say so myself!).

Your upcoming book is splendidly titled Thou Shalt Not Road Trip. Can you share a bit about this, as well as any thoughts you have about quintessential road trip foods?

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip is the story of sixteen-year-old Luke Dorsey, whose book, Hallelujah, has become a national best-seller. Looking to cash in, his publisher sends him on a cross-country tour with his unpredictable older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. But when Matt offers to drive Luke's ex-crush, Fran, across the country too, things get a little crazy.

I have to say that when it comes to road trip foods, a little research is essential—especially if the road trip is along Route 66 (as it is in Thou Shalt Not Road Trip). There are so many great guides to roadside eateries in America. (Really, there’s no excuse for eating at McDonald’s.) Personally, I think you can’t go wrong with BBQ shacks. They are ubiquitous, and frequently very good. And somehow, every one tastes a little different.

As someone who can see Route 66 from my backyard, I have to second the BBQ nomination and the unholy amount of good food along this road. But road trips not withstanding, as we all know, the best food usually comes from the home. Describe the best cook you know and something wonderful he or she has served you.

My neighbor, Nick Reding—author of the award-winning Methland—is a great cook. He’s also a keen bow-and-arrow hunter, and once a year he’ll snag a deer, and have it, uh . . . butchered. Then he invites me and a couple other neighbors over once a month and serves up another cut. Last month it was venison steaks. The month before that it was venison tenderloin. I’ve heard people complain that venison tastes “gamey.” All I can say to that is: Not if you start with the best parts and have a great chef at your disposal.

Since you’ve already pushed the limits by showing it’s possible to mention meth and cooking in the same answer without illegal activity, let’s stretch a little more. Is there a food you’d love to learn how to cook or a different genre or type of book you’d love to try to write? Why?

I’d love to learn to cook truly authentic Italian food. All my family adores pasta, and it seems to me that food served in the finest Italian restaurants is often incredibly simple—in the sense that there aren’t many ingredients, not in terms of the preparation. I have enormous respect for simple foods that pack a complex flavor. I feel much the same way about books, incidentally. If a simple idea is beautifully executed and moving, I’ll probably curse myself for not writing it first.

A genre I’d love to try? It’s funny, but I already find that as an author I’m retreading the same steps as when I was a composer: I want to try everything. Contemporary YA will always be my favorite, but I’m really enjoying my foray into fantasy with the Elemental trilogy. In fact, I’d love to try sci-fi next. I think switching genres is hard to pull off (both from a writing and marketing perspective), but it forces me to completely rethink my writing, and that’s a very energizing experience.

Speaking of switching topics, let’s say a couple of your characters are raiding your fridge right now: what are they most likely to eat? Are they disappointed or excited about what they find?

They’re disappointed that so much of what’s in there are leftovers, but they’re pretty happy that all of it can be eaten after 30 seconds in the microwave: homemade pizza; pasta with homemade pesto; some homemade mac and cheese. Come to think of it, since I invented all of my characters, they should be pretty chuffed by what’s in the fridge at the moment. I know that I am!

See, I was brought up in a typically British DO NOT WASTE FOOD household, and that’s always stuck with me. I have no qualms about cooking a large dinner and sticking the leftovers in Tupperware for lunch the next day. I figure that it’s better to reheat food that started off good than to eat lousy food just because it’s quick.

Amen to that, Antony. Still, as a stay-at-home dad and writer, time and leftovers are not always on your side. What’s your go-to meal when you need to serve something quick and easy?

The aforementioned pasta with homemade pesto is a perfect example. You get the pasta cooking. Meanwhile, you dash outside to grab a handful of basil, and blend it with grated parmesan, toasted pine nuts, olive oil, and salt and pepper (and garlic, if you don’t plan on snogging anyone that evening). By the time you’re done blending, the pasta is ready. Toss and serve. 15 minutes from start to finish. What’s not to like?

Wow! I’m impressed that you snuck a bonus recipe into this interview. Yay for us! While the pasta and pesto sounds great, sometimes ideas in the kitchen or on the keyboard are half-baked. Written or not, what’s the most ill-conceived story idea you’ve ever had?

I once wrote a fair amount of a book in which a couple who have broken up slowly reconcile . . . through email. I thought it was such a cool idea at the time, totally overlooking the fact that (a) it had already been done (much better), and (b) I was going to have to think very hard about how to avoid telling not showing. In this event, the book is almost all telling, and the couple seems mismatched, and it isn’t very sexy, and the guy is annoying, and the book was going to max out at about 25,000 words because there really wasn’t any story there, and . . . well, you get the picture.

The funny thing is, I’ve never regretted the few weeks I spent writing it. It was crucial in showing me that I really need to plan extensively before writing, and to have a firm grasp on who my characters are and what makes them tick. It even highlighted the fact that it’s important to do a little market research before undertaking any project that might be perceived as gimmicky. Oddly enough, the market can only bear so many first-person books written through emails. Who knew?

That’s a great lesson for all writers. Of course it also reinforces the fact that some decisions—whether it’s ditching a manuscript or choosing which idea to work on next—are just plain hard to make. So, here’s a tricky choice for you: if you were marooned on an island, and Pots & Pens granted your wish for only one book and one food, what would you choose?

Book: Oooh, a tough one, that. I’ll go with Anna Karenina, because I always feel as though I should’ve read it, but could never be bothered. True, at 350,000 words, it’s a monster, but given twenty years of total solitude, I ought to get through at least half of it, right?

Food: Fresh-baked bread. I was going to go with a really complicated entrée, but it occurs to me that if it’s all you ever eat, even the most complex food will taste dull pretty quickly. Instead, I’m going with fresh-baked bread, which is absolutely perfect in its simplicity and yumminess.

Thanks for everything, Antony! Now, what favorite recipe do you have for us today?

Growing up in England, I endured a lot of dark, chilly days. Nothing gets you through them quite as well as real ale, but I don’t have a recipe for that, so I’m going with soup instead—specifically, a carrot and coriander soup. It’s really easy to make, can be prepared in advance and heated up later (a crucial tactic for stay-at-home parents), and definitely provides your daily intake of veggies. (My wife is a vegetarian and would like it known that this recipe meets with her full approval, unlike, say, Nick Reding’s venison feasts.)

Carrot and Coriander Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion

1 clove garlic

1¼ lbs carrots, chopped

4 cups vegetable stock (I use Oxo cubes from England; you’ll find them in international food stores.)

nutmeg - a pinch (Fresh is great if you have it, but I normally revert to the spice rack.)

coriander (Again, preferably fresh, but I almost always use the ground stuff from the rack.)

¼ cup cream (or more, if you’re feeling decadent)

salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Melt butter, and cook onion and garlic gently in covered saucepan until soft, without coloring.

2. Add carrots, stock, and nutmeg. Cover, and bring to boiling. Simmer until vegetables are tender.

3. Blend using a hand-blender (or puree in a liquidizer, once soup has cooled). (Note: If you like your soup to have some texture, don’t blend for too long. Personally, I blend the heck out of it.)

4. Stir in coriander (to taste) and cream. Add salt and pepper as you like.

Antony John is the author of young adult novels Busted: Confessions of an Accidental Player and Five Flavors of Dumb (winner of the American Library Association’s Schneider Family Book Award). A native of England, he graduated from Oxford University with a degree in music, and received his Ph.D. from Duke University. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, where he is a stay-at-home dad for his two kids and writes every chance he gets. His novels Thou Shalt Not Road Trip and Elemental are forthcoming from Dial/Penguin in 2012. Check out his website: www.antonyjohn.net.