December 11, 2023 • 29 mins
Chef Charlie is thrilled to be a participant on television’s newest competition Food Fight!A win will prove her talent as well as provide a cash prize she needs to pay off the large loan on her food truck. But to Charlie’s dismay, her plans are upended when she discovers her high school nemesis Drew is also a contestant.
He’s the bad boy of the culinary world but Drew still harbors guilt for his past behavior to Charlie. However, he desperately needs to win for the competition’s prize money as well as redemption for his shady loss on another TV cooking contest. When Charlie trounces Drew in the first leg of the bout, he realizes that she is his obstacle to victory. He must find a way to make sure he wins and not her. And what better way for a player to get the competition off her game than by romancing her?
But soon Drew is falling for his mark and Charlie begins to question her mistrust of Drew. Can two people have a chance at forever when each has so much to lose?
It was a great thrill when I saw my first story in hardcover. Okay, so the book was titled Super Pickle and was part of a grade school assignment, but it did start me on this journey of wanting to write a good story and make readers happy.After growing up preppy on the East Coast and living yuppy on the West Coast, I now reside in the Midwest where I enjoy the cheese curds and gorgeous sunsets, try to avoid slamming my car into the kamikaze diving birds, and battle my black Lab Molly for supremacy of the couch
He’s the bad boy of the culinary world but Drew still harbors guilt for his past behavior to Charlie. However, he desperately needs to win for the competition’s prize money as well as redemption for his shady loss on another TV cooking contest. When Charlie trounces Drew in the first leg of the bout, he realizes that she is his obstacle to victory. He must find a way to make sure he wins and not her. And what better way for a player to get the competition off her game than by romancing her?
But soon Drew is falling for his mark and Charlie begins to question her mistrust of Drew. Can two people have a chance at forever when each has so much to lose?
It was a great thrill when I saw my first story in hardcover. Okay, so the book was titled Super Pickle and was part of a grade school assignment, but it did start me on this journey of wanting to write a good story and make readers happy.After growing up preppy on the East Coast and living yuppy on the West Coast, I now reside in the Midwest where I enjoy the cheese curds and gorgeous sunsets, try to avoid slamming my car into the kamikaze diving birds, and battle my black Lab Molly for supremacy of the couch
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:02):
Hello, welcome to another edition ofin Between the Pages. But James Junior,
I am James Jr. What wedo here is I talk to writers
and authors and screenwriters all that stuff. We go in between the pages,
folks of some of the writing processes. What they what they write about,
and what's going on. This bookwas so cute. I have a story
for I'm gonna tell her when weget started. It's called Food Fight.
(00:23):
It's part of the mouth watering series. I just love saying that over and
over again. Uh you go on, anyone have a thought to get a
pair back end or whatever. Butwe're gonna talk to the author, Theo
Lambert about this book. Hypia,Hi there, how are you? Thanks
for my show? Okay, soI tell you a quick little story.
So now now, oh for me, I probably wouldn't pick this book out
(00:47):
on my own. Just that's welllooking at books, right, it's a
it's a romantic hoy rare. Butthe story is somebody say, I'm glad
to not just a book by itscover. I love that. I always
read always the books I get becausefolks are gonna tell you the story.
But the story is about a foodcompetition show and behind the scenes and two
people. So my grandmother, mygrand season you passed here a few years
(01:08):
ago, would have loved this bookand our connection. She lived in Brooklyn,
I was here in LA and ourconnection was food competition shows. Is
that specific? So when I goto visit I go twice a year to
see her because I just love NewYork and I'll go visit her and we
always, oh, my god,watch the show, talk about everything,
and I ween this book. Itmight even my grand So that's why I
(01:30):
say thank you the well, thankyou. That makes me feel good,
not just my book. But likeyou were saying, I think food competitions
actually do bring people together. Youknow, I caregive for my mom.
(01:51):
She has a nurse coming once aweek, and that nurse was talking about
how she just discovered great British fakeshow and she just, you know,
just watched everything and now she's sadbecause no more. But we were talking
about all that. I think foodbrings people together. Yes, the competition
(02:14):
is kind of fun. I loveChopped. I'm watching the Holiday Baking Champion
Chips right now. I'm enjoying thatjust there. I think it's creativity.
I think people don't give the foodarts or whatever you want to call it,
enough do. But I think theidea of just creating something that makes
(02:38):
people happy either you know, withthe way it tastes reminds you of your
youth, or a friend or afamily member. Like you were saying,
I think breaking brag around a tableespecially, I think it brings people closer
together. And and that's part ofthe reason I liked writing this series,
(03:04):
because you have the romance, ofcourse, but you also have friends who
are together, and you have thisfood, and everything sort of melds together
and it brings u It brings alittle big of happiness, you know,
when you're you know, trying toget through your less than joyful lives.
(03:30):
We you know, I'm very happyto be alive, but it's it's nice
to escape a little from the dayto day routine. I think it's also
to other in my opinion, isalso to other things. My grandmother and
I did tell her this when shewas alive. One of them is food
is culture, food is love,food is all that mixed together. That
(03:53):
is why you come from a Greekbackground. I come from a Puerto Rican
and Black and Southern and Dutchy's beenbackgrounds and and food is that it's just
it's just that, I mean,there's all that's poured into food. But
I think number two another thing II also appreciate too, is as long
as you feel like you're inadequate,like you're not a good cook yourself,
(04:14):
So you watch these people cook food. Some of it is voyeurism. It's
kind of like I might never dothat. And they make things look so
beautiful, you know, on screen, like you're just like you and you
know, and and that parves thecompetition. It's like people are saying,
can they make it? You know, like chopped, especially mention chop,
where they get these ingredients. Hereyou go, here's a linea bean and
(04:35):
pickle and some chocolate sauce. Makea lunch. You know. I kind
of think it's kind of like,well, can they do it? Will
they make it? How they invade? Like it's I think it's all those
things. And and your book issuch a feel good book as well as
a seriously in a in a timewhere everything's heavy. It's such a feel
(04:59):
good book that I happily read this, and now I want to read you
have another one. I think outthere too, I want to read I
saw them there too. I wantto read. I know it's self contained,
but I'm like if her other booksfeel like this, where you just
kind of smile and be like,Okay, that was very cute. I
want more, Well, thank you. That's that's what I want to do
with my writing. You know.Would I like to make some good money.
(05:26):
That's you know who wouldn't want tobe you know is Stephen King.
But just the idea of making peoplelaugh or smile, I mean that really
is what turns me on for forwriting. You know, I just love
the idea that someone finishes a bookor you know, it just feels better
(05:47):
by it, even though it's notsomething literary. Yes, it's it's the
genre, the romantic comedy genre.But I think there is a place for
these different genres that make people happy. You know. I'm I've enjoyed fantasy,
but I'm not a big fantasy reader, but I know how much people
(06:11):
enjoy that or why a yeah,So I I just love the idea of
being able to h set someone's imaginationand uh, you know moving and actually
I think with books, I thinkthat's why I started to write. When
(06:31):
I was a kid, there wasthis series of books, and it was
like little family series. It was, and I wanted to write like that.
And I think that's what other peopledo, and then they get their
own style and their own you knowstick if you will, you know what
(06:57):
what what turns them on. SoI'm glad that it made you happy.
That's That's the nicest thing people cansay to me. For real. I
appreciate it. So that was good. And so some people who don't know
this book involves it's almost like abehind the scenes of a possible sheet.
It's called food Fights. Name ofthe show, which is a fun show's
(07:18):
fide. There's a show named thatalready. So when you picked the name,
so when you picked the one inbetween the pages, when you picked
the name of the show, how'dyou pick it? Well, I just
thought of the term food fight.I mean, in the story, uh,
the nemesis turned lovers were high schoolenemies, and I thought of high
(07:41):
school and school and food fights inthe cafeteria, and I thought it was
a cute, cute title for areality competition or and a book. And
I thought, gosh, why hasn'tsomeone taken food fight? Well, it
turned out they had, but Ihave figure, Yeah, I think long
(08:03):
ago there was a food truck ofa food competition called food Fight, and
so I thought, well, Ihaven't heard about it. It was quite
a while ago. I'm gonna takea chance. I know it's very hard
to find an original title. Youcan find it. I think you can
find an original plot more than youcan find an original anywhere. Yeah,
(08:31):
that was like food Fight, Ican find. Yeah. So they it's
Charlie and Drew and they were tryingto work together or a real name was
Charlotte. Yeah, so, andso it's kind of fun because you always
you watched I watched these shows.I always wanted to sell I'm like chemist
with all these people and what's gonnabuy the scene? So it's kind of
fun faux peeling back on impossible ona show, and it was. There
(08:56):
was a lot of fun, Likethat'd be interesting if that was for yell
and I close. I can seethis as a as a movie on some
on some network. I can tosee it as a something on network.
I told you our series, Ican see it. I can see it.
Thank you. You're math to God'sEars. Yes, so seriously,
(09:18):
seriously, because you are you aredescriptive in your series in your book,
and you put people in situations andstuff. So I so I I felt
like I was there, you know, a Maine situations maybe help imagine the
world. Is that something? Becauseyou know, as you know, some
writers are not as subscriptive. Somewriters are very descriptive. Some writers choose
(09:43):
third persons do first. So howdid you choose like the narrative of the
other book and how kind of whatthe book was going to be on its
own? Well, I Drew issort of a based on somebody from my
junior high high school experience who wasn'tvery nice, who was actually kind of
(10:05):
a buggy in second grade. Andand I guess I thought about I mean,
I haven't seen him, there wasthere's been no you know, contexts
since high school. But I guessI wondered, well, what what happened?
He moved away and then he cameback years later, and so that
(10:26):
would be like eight five eight yearslater, you know what happened that?
You know? You know, whyis he attacking me? Now? Is
it just he you know, it'sjust a jerk with everybody, and he
wasn't a jerk back in second grade? Or you know, did something else
(10:48):
happening in so that's what started it. It never became an issue in the
book. You know, there wasno oh he he uh. He turned
from you know, being nice toher to being a mean guy because you
know, his dog was kicked orsomething when he was tayg and he just
(11:11):
you know, railed against the world. I never really solved that, but
I think in real life there isno measure of why someone changes. So
I kind of liked the idea ofthese two people competing and what would happen
(11:31):
if the hero Drew thought, there'sno the only way to beat Charlie in
this competition because he realizes she's thereal deal. He's going to have to
get her off her game. AndI think a big way of getting someone
(11:54):
off her days expressing interests when therewas nothing like that previously. And that's
what he does, and it backfireson him because then he really does start
caring for her and vice versa,which is the fun part. And then
we're gonna tell you about you havethat's the fun part. A lot of
(12:15):
things are intersecting and real feelings comein there. Yeah, competition is still
there. It's a whole it's it'sit's like it's a classic story is it's
a fun story, just with thisbackground of competition. I did right that
you're not a book called Sex ona Plate, so I have I have
to read that one. I'm like, these are these are all stand alone?
(12:39):
Well yeah, yeah, you don'thave to read I mean you'll learn
about Drew and Charlie and book two. But it's really about Charlie's friend Lula.
She uh is ready to go afterher own dream. She's sort of
helped out her friend Charlie with financingher food truck, and before that she
(13:07):
was taking care of her father afterher mother has passed away, so now
it's really time for her. Butshe meets up with someone who insists on
her staying in town to do amural, a piece of artwork for his
new restaurant, and she's not interesteduntil he gives her an offer he can't
(13:31):
she can't refuse, which was ismaking an introduction to a well known artist
in Japan that he knows and havingher become that woman's apprentice. So Lula
(13:52):
doesn't have to do it, butshe really wants that gig, and she
is aming of her words. Soeven though she could just say oh okay,
bye, you know, just uhrun away from you know, even
though she's gotten the job, shecould run away and say, oh,
you know, f you I'm goinganyway. She has principles and she decides
(14:16):
to work do the mural, andthey become friends with benefits, and then
it becomes more and I there's there'shumor in that that one too. They
meet adding airport and she she hassome words for him with his his rico
(14:39):
swabec I behavior with a woman whohe's been with for the few last few
weeks. So I think they hada good meet cute if you will.
It's more meat antagonism, But Ithink all the best romances have some antagonism.
(15:01):
And I'm a fan of screwball comedies, you know, so I think
I put a lot of that inthere, like Philadelphia's Story or What's Up?
Doc. Yeah, Bridget Jones's DiaryI think is less uh screwball,
but it's got that kind of kindof spirit. So are there any other
(15:24):
romance writers you like? Oh mygosh, there are so many. The
ones that I first started out with, who are I guess the older ones
you don't see them writing as muchromance. Jennifer cruisey. Oh gosh,
(15:50):
you put me at this spot there. Oh, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, who's
a writer based here in the midwest, Chicago, who has let's let's uh,
let's give some recommendations if you want. Susan Elizabeth Phillips match me if
(16:10):
you can, which is kind ofalso a you know, antagonistic relationship between
the two main characters. Gosh,there are so many I'm blanking out right
now. I also like a lotof books that do have the food theme
(16:33):
in them. There are a lotof those, and I'm blanking out.
I am. Yeah, And withJennifer Cruise, I'll give you the name
of my my favorite Cruisy book,which is bet Me. And I just
(16:55):
love the fact that it's it's sosilly, you know. Oh they I
like the silly, the silly storiesthat have real stakes besides the fact that
they're you know, big screwball comedy. So well, it's kind of you
know, it's one of those things. I'm a mass producer myself. I
(17:15):
put out certain products and things andit's like it's not a sphere and you
know, and I think, butthere is a place for pop kind of
work. Is this work is itlike it's just work that people want this
stuff because like they want something that'staken away from their world, easy to
(17:36):
read. A story. We havea story. It's a story in there.
You can popping your purse, poppingyour backpack, you know, put
your briefcase and go. And Ithink there's there's room for all of this,
right Yeah. I've never I neverthought of myself as wanting to do
raivery work because it's it's so yeah, so sometimes deep, and you get
(18:02):
into a dark place, and Ithink most people don't want to be in
that. They just want I know. It sounds like people are probably thinking
it's fast food, right right,which is usually an insult. But if
I were to say something, Iwould say that it's healthier fast food,
more like granola. You get some, you get some nice flavors and it
(18:26):
goes down easy. But it's notgoing to make you feel ill the day
after. You just enjoy your justenjoy the story, enjoy your life.
It's a nice beach read. Isthat they like to call those these type
of books? When did you decideto become a writer who produces books.
(18:51):
I'm sure you're always a writer,but actually going okay, I will put
out books. That was a realhard decision because I always, basically I
would educate myself to ridiculous heights.I would take class after class after class,
(19:15):
and I think education is very important. But I think I was using
all the writing classes I was takingsort of as a crutch so that I
did not have to actually stick down, do it and throw it out for
(19:36):
the world to see. I thinkit really came about from Nango Rymo,
which I'm sure you've heard of,for those who don't, National Novel Writing
Month, which just and I didn'tdo it this year, but I've done
it four times and I was successible, well many times, but I was
(19:56):
successful four times. But with FoodFight, I tried doing Nano Raimo over
and over again and it just wouldn'twork. And actually it was another story.
It wasn't Food Fight. Food Fightdidn't take that much time to write
(20:18):
because I went through hell with aprevious book which I haven't published. I
tried two or three times, youknow, to do it every November,
couldn't get through it. And thenone year I decided I'm going to do
it no matter what, no matterif I don't even finish it. In
November, which I did not,didn't finish it at the end of December,
(20:41):
didn't finish it in March. Tookme till September of that next year.
I finally finished it, and Ifelt like it was such a achievement,
and I thought the story was prettygood. I still haven't in needs
tweaking, but I had this bookfor idea for food fighting. I decide,
Okay, well, you enjoyed doingit, you think you have a
(21:04):
good product, Let's actually go forit. And that's kind of scary too,
because it's more than just okay,putting it on Amazon, you know,
ebook and just leaving it alone,right, you have to actually be
all sorts of things like a marketer, a promoter, and it's hard to
(21:26):
learn that stuff. It's very slowgoing. I don't know if authors had
the advantage thirty years ago before ebooks. I mean maybe maybe you have
heard opinions, because nowadays all themarketing, even with book publishing, is
(21:48):
a lot on the author now ratherthan the publisher. So I don't know.
I don't know if it would havebeen better being like you know,
you watch Anne of Greens and yousee her send wrap up per little thing,
in in cardboard and send it outand then the publisher, oh,
(22:08):
well, we'll publish it and we'llput it out. You know, was
was that? But really the wayit was one hundred years ago? Or
you know, was it that easy? Did they or did did did they
have to do a lot of marketingback then? I have no idea.
I never thought about it. Youknow, it's funny, I feel like
(22:30):
to answer your question. I thinknow it's just easier because social media it's
free. No more the quarter pageads and magazines and stuff that anymore.
I'm paying for it now. Literallyit's re advertising anywhere, So that helps.
I think also with self publishing andeven with publishing with it nowadays,
(22:52):
there's some books out there, right, but it's a great thing too.
There's so many books out there sopeople can you have choice? Yes,
but with the but most of thelarger companies now is more like four or
five big companies that run all thebook publishing and now just publishing. So
that was just choice. And Ithink if we were doing both, do
(23:15):
they do some self published? Theydo some? They both? Yeah.
Right. The thing is, thougha writer like me, I'm very shy,
you might not be able to tellthem. But I am very shy
and and you know, introvert.So for me, it's hard to do
(23:37):
these things, you know, toget my face or the idea of my
book out there. But with thenumber of books coming out a week,
I mean, it's a you're lucky. Even if you have you know,
a genius manuscript, you know,a great idea for for advertising marketing,
(24:07):
and you're outgoing and you you know, think of all these you know,
wonderful ways to get people's attention,it's still really hard if you have that
many as it's very well, Idon't know about you, but when I'm
looking at a book to read,it's you know, you've got so many
choices, and it's kind of likeh with Hulu or Netflix or all the
(24:34):
all these companies that have so manynew television shows coming out that you just
I want to watch that. Iwant to watch it. You don't have
time unless you you know, areyou know, independently wealthy and you know,
maybe could watch it fast forwarded orsomething like that. I I don't
(24:59):
know, are we burning our Idon't know about burning ourselves up at burning
the companies out, Will they youknow, be able to you know,
get you know, make enough moneyto be able to do stories that they
want. You know, same witha writer. You know, writing is
(25:22):
you're you're going to be probably you'reyou know, unless they're Stephen King or
something, you're going to be writing. You're going to be working as well
as I And do you have enoughyou know, enough money and time to
be able to advertise and you knowwhile you know, while doing your job.
(25:45):
And so it's it's not easy.I know I'm sounding like woe's me,
but it's not easy. So Ithink it will take a few years
to hopefully my books sort of takingoff. I don't know, we'll see,
(26:07):
yeah, no, no, don'tjust this show we talk about the
business of books. That's part ofit also, and that's what we're talking
about. It's for everybody watch uswith your writer. It's it's in some
ways it's a better time and insome ways it's just a it's so now
there's a lot this It's like thedoors are open, so good we can
all go through. But now wecan all go through. It's it just
kind of it's just a double eddedsword. What's actually good but actually isn't
(26:33):
good? And of course that's subjectivealso, but it's still kind of like
what's good, what's not good,what's going to get in magazines as you
know, as marketing for free,what's gonna get an interview? Like,
it's it's a lot of work.It's a lot. It's a business mind.
It's just a business mind. Youbook out, I mean, what's
next. You gotta we got peopleto buy it. You want folks have
it in their hands or in akindle or whatever it is, have it.
(26:57):
That's the bottom line. So you'vegot to do it. So,
I mean, it's it's that's sofolks. You write a book, you're
not just writing for yourself, youknow what I mean. You want folks
to actually read it. So right, I'm not trying to discourage people because
if you have that idea in yourhead, like food Fight I had for
(27:17):
a long time, uh, youknow, I just wanted to get out
there and and create it. Andit's also making new worlds. Yes,
it's contemporary romance. It's not likeyou know, paranormal or fantasy where those
worlds are huge. But it's justthe idea you make these people. You
(27:41):
know, you're kind of you're kindof you know, godlike in a sense,
you're you're creating these people who youmight really enjoy, you would love
to have them, you know,over at your place for lunch or something
like that. That's a lot offun to make people that you would you
(28:03):
would like, you know, Ihave these people who become your friends in
a in a strange sort of way. I think I think non book people
won't get that. I mean,on writer people. I think they might
think I'm a little weird because youknow, no, I'm not. I'm
not seeing these people behind me,you know, I see it. I'm
(28:25):
just imagining them. No, thankyou, I see them, folks.
Writ That's the other thing. Whenyou're writing, you're immersing yourself in the
world. You're creating a world andyou're immersing yourself in there. It's a
lot of fun and it's fine.It's working. It's fun. That's fine.
Yes, I do. I likeFood Fight, folks. Folks check
it out, finger out the way, theo Lambert is the name. Food
(28:48):
Fight is the book. There's abook called sex Plainton. Also, you
go you go on Amazon? Isthere any probably your Barnes and double two
all that or just right now whereyou are just on Amazon or just paperback.
Check one of those out. Youhave your little tablet your phone and
said, that's a fun reading.Guys. A lot of you guys are
traveling this year for your holidays,will be at airports and stuff. There's
(29:10):
the book. This will keep youoccupied and smiling as you're doing that.
The Elambora. Thanks for being onthe show. Thank you so much for
inviting me. I've had a reallygood time. My pleasure too. And
I'm James and you can follow meeverywhere. Support the arts, support writers.
Check out writers you may not evenknow about, and I just look
(29:30):
on see what they're see they're talkingabout. You may be pleasantly surprised.
But support the arts. Writing isjust important. At least books are just
as important as everything else, nonfiction, fiction, whatever, it's like,
there's there's a whole world out there. You want to support people who
are creating this art for us whilewe're going through the craziest of our times
these days. I'm James, IJunior, and I'll see you next time.
Hello, welcome to another edition ofin Between the Pages. But James Junior,
I am James Jr. What wedo here is I talk to writers
and authors and screenwriters all that stuff. We go in between the pages,
folks of some of the writing processes. What they what they write about,
and what's going on. This bookwas so cute. I have a story
for I'm gonna tell her when weget started. It's called Food Fight.
(00:23):
It's part of the mouth watering series. I just love saying that over and
over again. Uh you go on, anyone have a thought to get a
pair back end or whatever. Butwe're gonna talk to the author, Theo
Lambert about this book. Hypia,Hi there, how are you? Thanks
for my show? Okay, soI tell you a quick little story.
So now now, oh for me, I probably wouldn't pick this book out
(00:47):
on my own. Just that's welllooking at books, right, it's a
it's a romantic hoy rare. Butthe story is somebody say, I'm glad
to not just a book by itscover. I love that. I always
read always the books I get becausefolks are gonna tell you the story.
But the story is about a foodcompetition show and behind the scenes and two
people. So my grandmother, mygrand season you passed here a few years
(01:08):
ago, would have loved this bookand our connection. She lived in Brooklyn,
I was here in LA and ourconnection was food competition shows. Is
that specific? So when I goto visit I go twice a year to
see her because I just love NewYork and I'll go visit her and we
always, oh, my god,watch the show, talk about everything,
and I ween this book. Itmight even my grand So that's why I
(01:30):
say thank you the well, thankyou. That makes me feel good,
not just my book. But likeyou were saying, I think food competitions
actually do bring people together. Youknow, I caregive for my mom.
(01:51):
She has a nurse coming once aweek, and that nurse was talking about
how she just discovered great British fakeshow and she just, you know,
just watched everything and now she's sadbecause no more. But we were talking
about all that. I think foodbrings people together. Yes, the competition
(02:14):
is kind of fun. I loveChopped. I'm watching the Holiday Baking Champion
Chips right now. I'm enjoying thatjust there. I think it's creativity.
I think people don't give the foodarts or whatever you want to call it,
enough do. But I think theidea of just creating something that makes
(02:38):
people happy either you know, withthe way it tastes reminds you of your
youth, or a friend or afamily member. Like you were saying,
I think breaking brag around a tableespecially, I think it brings people closer
together. And and that's part ofthe reason I liked writing this series,
(03:04):
because you have the romance, ofcourse, but you also have friends who
are together, and you have thisfood, and everything sort of melds together
and it brings u It brings alittle big of happiness, you know,
when you're you know, trying toget through your less than joyful lives.
(03:30):
We you know, I'm very happyto be alive, but it's it's nice
to escape a little from the dayto day routine. I think it's also
to other in my opinion, isalso to other things. My grandmother and
I did tell her this when shewas alive. One of them is food
is culture, food is love,food is all that mixed together. That
(03:53):
is why you come from a Greekbackground. I come from a Puerto Rican
and Black and Southern and Dutchy's beenbackgrounds and and food is that it's just
it's just that, I mean,there's all that's poured into food. But
I think number two another thing II also appreciate too, is as long
as you feel like you're inadequate,like you're not a good cook yourself,
(04:14):
So you watch these people cook food. Some of it is voyeurism. It's
kind of like I might never dothat. And they make things look so
beautiful, you know, on screen, like you're just like you and you
know, and and that parves thecompetition. It's like people are saying,
can they make it? You know, like chopped, especially mention chop,
where they get these ingredients. Hereyou go, here's a linea bean and
(04:35):
pickle and some chocolate sauce. Makea lunch. You know. I kind
of think it's kind of like,well, can they do it? Will
they make it? How they invade? Like it's I think it's all those
things. And and your book issuch a feel good book as well as
a seriously in a in a timewhere everything's heavy. It's such a feel
(04:59):
good book that I happily read this, and now I want to read you
have another one. I think outthere too, I want to read I
saw them there too. I wantto read. I know it's self contained,
but I'm like if her other booksfeel like this, where you just
kind of smile and be like,Okay, that was very cute. I
want more, Well, thank you. That's that's what I want to do
with my writing. You know.Would I like to make some good money.
(05:26):
That's you know who wouldn't want tobe you know is Stephen King.
But just the idea of making peoplelaugh or smile, I mean that really
is what turns me on for forwriting. You know, I just love
the idea that someone finishes a bookor you know, it just feels better
(05:47):
by it, even though it's notsomething literary. Yes, it's it's the
genre, the romantic comedy genre.But I think there is a place for
these different genres that make people happy. You know. I'm I've enjoyed fantasy,
but I'm not a big fantasy reader, but I know how much people
(06:11):
enjoy that or why a yeah,So I I just love the idea of
being able to h set someone's imaginationand uh, you know moving and actually
I think with books, I thinkthat's why I started to write. When
(06:31):
I was a kid, there wasthis series of books, and it was
like little family series. It was, and I wanted to write like that.
And I think that's what other peopledo, and then they get their
own style and their own you knowstick if you will, you know what
(06:57):
what what turns them on. SoI'm glad that it made you happy.
That's That's the nicest thing people cansay to me. For real. I
appreciate it. So that was good. And so some people who don't know
this book involves it's almost like abehind the scenes of a possible sheet.
It's called food Fights. Name ofthe show, which is a fun show's
(07:18):
fide. There's a show named thatalready. So when you picked the name,
so when you picked the one inbetween the pages, when you picked
the name of the show, how'dyou pick it? Well, I just
thought of the term food fight.I mean, in the story, uh,
the nemesis turned lovers were high schoolenemies, and I thought of high
(07:41):
school and school and food fights inthe cafeteria, and I thought it was
a cute, cute title for areality competition or and a book. And
I thought, gosh, why hasn'tsomeone taken food fight? Well, it
turned out they had, but Ihave figure, Yeah, I think long
(08:03):
ago there was a food truck ofa food competition called food Fight, and
so I thought, well, Ihaven't heard about it. It was quite
a while ago. I'm gonna takea chance. I know it's very hard
to find an original title. Youcan find it. I think you can
find an original plot more than youcan find an original anywhere. Yeah,
(08:31):
that was like food Fight, Ican find. Yeah. So they it's
Charlie and Drew and they were tryingto work together or a real name was
Charlotte. Yeah, so, andso it's kind of fun because you always
you watched I watched these shows.I always wanted to sell I'm like chemist
with all these people and what's gonnabuy the scene? So it's kind of
fun faux peeling back on impossible ona show, and it was. There
(08:56):
was a lot of fun, Likethat'd be interesting if that was for yell
and I close. I can seethis as a as a movie on some
on some network. I can tosee it as a something on network.
I told you our series, Ican see it. I can see it.
Thank you. You're math to God'sEars. Yes, so seriously,
(09:18):
seriously, because you are you aredescriptive in your series in your book,
and you put people in situations andstuff. So I so I I felt
like I was there, you know, a Maine situations maybe help imagine the
world. Is that something? Becauseyou know, as you know, some
writers are not as subscriptive. Somewriters are very descriptive. Some writers choose
(09:43):
third persons do first. So howdid you choose like the narrative of the
other book and how kind of whatthe book was going to be on its
own? Well, I Drew issort of a based on somebody from my
junior high high school experience who wasn'tvery nice, who was actually kind of
(10:05):
a buggy in second grade. Andand I guess I thought about I mean,
I haven't seen him, there wasthere's been no you know, contexts
since high school. But I guessI wondered, well, what what happened?
He moved away and then he cameback years later, and so that
(10:26):
would be like eight five eight yearslater, you know what happened that?
You know? You know, whyis he attacking me? Now? Is
it just he you know, it'sjust a jerk with everybody, and he
wasn't a jerk back in second grade? Or you know, did something else
(10:48):
happening in so that's what started it. It never became an issue in the
book. You know, there wasno oh he he uh. He turned
from you know, being nice toher to being a mean guy because you
know, his dog was kicked orsomething when he was tayg and he just
(11:11):
you know, railed against the world. I never really solved that, but
I think in real life there isno measure of why someone changes. So
I kind of liked the idea ofthese two people competing and what would happen
(11:31):
if the hero Drew thought, there'sno the only way to beat Charlie in
this competition because he realizes she's thereal deal. He's going to have to
get her off her game. AndI think a big way of getting someone
(11:54):
off her days expressing interests when therewas nothing like that previously. And that's
what he does, and it backfireson him because then he really does start
caring for her and vice versa,which is the fun part. And then
we're gonna tell you about you havethat's the fun part. A lot of
(12:15):
things are intersecting and real feelings comein there. Yeah, competition is still
there. It's a whole it's it'sit's like it's a classic story is it's
a fun story, just with thisbackground of competition. I did right that
you're not a book called Sex ona Plate, so I have I have
to read that one. I'm like, these are these are all stand alone?
(12:39):
Well yeah, yeah, you don'thave to read I mean you'll learn
about Drew and Charlie and book two. But it's really about Charlie's friend Lula.
She uh is ready to go afterher own dream. She's sort of
helped out her friend Charlie with financingher food truck, and before that she
(13:07):
was taking care of her father afterher mother has passed away, so now
it's really time for her. Butshe meets up with someone who insists on
her staying in town to do amural, a piece of artwork for his
new restaurant, and she's not interesteduntil he gives her an offer he can't
(13:31):
she can't refuse, which was ismaking an introduction to a well known artist
in Japan that he knows and havingher become that woman's apprentice. So Lula
(13:52):
doesn't have to do it, butshe really wants that gig, and she
is aming of her words. Soeven though she could just say oh okay,
bye, you know, just uhrun away from you know, even
though she's gotten the job, shecould run away and say, oh,
you know, f you I'm goinganyway. She has principles and she decides
(14:16):
to work do the mural, andthey become friends with benefits, and then
it becomes more and I there's there'shumor in that that one too. They
meet adding airport and she she hassome words for him with his his rico
(14:39):
swabec I behavior with a woman whohe's been with for the few last few
weeks. So I think they hada good meet cute if you will.
It's more meat antagonism, But Ithink all the best romances have some antagonism.
(15:01):
And I'm a fan of screwball comedies, you know, so I think
I put a lot of that inthere, like Philadelphia's Story or What's Up?
Doc. Yeah, Bridget Jones's DiaryI think is less uh screwball,
but it's got that kind of kindof spirit. So are there any other
(15:24):
romance writers you like? Oh mygosh, there are so many. The
ones that I first started out with, who are I guess the older ones
you don't see them writing as muchromance. Jennifer cruisey. Oh gosh,
(15:50):
you put me at this spot there. Oh, Susan Elizabeth Phillips, who's
a writer based here in the midwest, Chicago, who has let's let's uh,
let's give some recommendations if you want. Susan Elizabeth Phillips match me if
(16:10):
you can, which is kind ofalso a you know, antagonistic relationship between
the two main characters. Gosh,there are so many I'm blanking out right
now. I also like a lotof books that do have the food theme
(16:33):
in them. There are a lotof those, and I'm blanking out.
I am. Yeah, And withJennifer Cruise, I'll give you the name
of my my favorite Cruisy book,which is bet Me. And I just
(16:55):
love the fact that it's it's sosilly, you know. Oh they I
like the silly, the silly storiesthat have real stakes besides the fact that
they're you know, big screwball comedy. So well, it's kind of you
know, it's one of those things. I'm a mass producer myself. I
(17:15):
put out certain products and things andit's like it's not a sphere and you
know, and I think, butthere is a place for pop kind of
work. Is this work is itlike it's just work that people want this
stuff because like they want something that'staken away from their world, easy to
(17:36):
read. A story. We havea story. It's a story in there.
You can popping your purse, poppingyour backpack, you know, put
your briefcase and go. And Ithink there's there's room for all of this,
right Yeah. I've never I neverthought of myself as wanting to do
raivery work because it's it's so yeah, so sometimes deep, and you get
(18:02):
into a dark place, and Ithink most people don't want to be in
that. They just want I know. It sounds like people are probably thinking
it's fast food, right right,which is usually an insult. But if
I were to say something, Iwould say that it's healthier fast food,
more like granola. You get some, you get some nice flavors and it
(18:26):
goes down easy. But it's notgoing to make you feel ill the day
after. You just enjoy your justenjoy the story, enjoy your life.
It's a nice beach read. Isthat they like to call those these type
of books? When did you decideto become a writer who produces books.
(18:51):
I'm sure you're always a writer,but actually going okay, I will put
out books. That was a realhard decision because I always, basically I
would educate myself to ridiculous heights.I would take class after class after class,
(19:15):
and I think education is very important. But I think I was using
all the writing classes I was takingsort of as a crutch so that I
did not have to actually stick down, do it and throw it out for
(19:36):
the world to see. I thinkit really came about from Nango Rymo,
which I'm sure you've heard of,for those who don't, National Novel Writing
Month, which just and I didn'tdo it this year, but I've done
it four times and I was successible, well many times, but I was
(19:56):
successful four times. But with FoodFight, I tried doing Nano Raimo over
and over again and it just wouldn'twork. And actually it was another story.
It wasn't Food Fight. Food Fightdidn't take that much time to write
(20:18):
because I went through hell with aprevious book which I haven't published. I
tried two or three times, youknow, to do it every November,
couldn't get through it. And thenone year I decided I'm going to do
it no matter what, no matterif I don't even finish it. In
November, which I did not,didn't finish it at the end of December,
(20:41):
didn't finish it in March. Tookme till September of that next year.
I finally finished it, and Ifelt like it was such a achievement,
and I thought the story was prettygood. I still haven't in needs
tweaking, but I had this bookfor idea for food fighting. I decide,
Okay, well, you enjoyed doingit, you think you have a
(21:04):
good product, Let's actually go forit. And that's kind of scary too,
because it's more than just okay,putting it on Amazon, you know,
ebook and just leaving it alone,right, you have to actually be
all sorts of things like a marketer, a promoter, and it's hard to
(21:26):
learn that stuff. It's very slowgoing. I don't know if authors had
the advantage thirty years ago before ebooks. I mean maybe maybe you have
heard opinions, because nowadays all themarketing, even with book publishing, is
(21:48):
a lot on the author now ratherthan the publisher. So I don't know.
I don't know if it would havebeen better being like you know,
you watch Anne of Greens and yousee her send wrap up per little thing,
in in cardboard and send it outand then the publisher, oh,
(22:08):
well, we'll publish it and we'llput it out. You know, was
was that? But really the wayit was one hundred years ago? Or
you know, was it that easy? Did they or did did did they
have to do a lot of marketingback then? I have no idea.
I never thought about it. Youknow, it's funny, I feel like
(22:30):
to answer your question. I thinknow it's just easier because social media it's
free. No more the quarter pageads and magazines and stuff that anymore.
I'm paying for it now. Literallyit's re advertising anywhere, So that helps.
I think also with self publishing andeven with publishing with it nowadays,
(22:52):
there's some books out there, right, but it's a great thing too.
There's so many books out there sopeople can you have choice? Yes,
but with the but most of thelarger companies now is more like four or
five big companies that run all thebook publishing and now just publishing. So
that was just choice. And Ithink if we were doing both, do
(23:15):
they do some self published? Theydo some? They both? Yeah.
Right. The thing is, thougha writer like me, I'm very shy,
you might not be able to tellthem. But I am very shy
and and you know, introvert.So for me, it's hard to do
(23:37):
these things, you know, toget my face or the idea of my
book out there. But with thenumber of books coming out a week,
I mean, it's a you're lucky. Even if you have you know,
a genius manuscript, you know,a great idea for for advertising marketing,
(24:07):
and you're outgoing and you you know, think of all these you know,
wonderful ways to get people's attention,it's still really hard if you have that
many as it's very well, Idon't know about you, but when I'm
looking at a book to read,it's you know, you've got so many
choices, and it's kind of likeh with Hulu or Netflix or all the
(24:34):
all these companies that have so manynew television shows coming out that you just
I want to watch that. Iwant to watch it. You don't have
time unless you you know, areyou know, independently wealthy and you know,
maybe could watch it fast forwarded orsomething like that. I I don't
(24:59):
know, are we burning our Idon't know about burning ourselves up at burning
the companies out, Will they youknow, be able to you know,
get you know, make enough moneyto be able to do stories that they
want. You know, same witha writer. You know, writing is
(25:22):
you're you're going to be probably you'reyou know, unless they're Stephen King or
something, you're going to be writing. You're going to be working as well
as I And do you have enoughyou know, enough money and time to
be able to advertise and you knowwhile you know, while doing your job.
(25:45):
And so it's it's not easy.I know I'm sounding like woe's me,
but it's not easy. So Ithink it will take a few years
to hopefully my books sort of takingoff. I don't know, we'll see,
(26:07):
yeah, no, no, don'tjust this show we talk about the
business of books. That's part ofit also, and that's what we're talking
about. It's for everybody watch uswith your writer. It's it's in some
ways it's a better time and insome ways it's just a it's so now
there's a lot this It's like thedoors are open, so good we can
all go through. But now wecan all go through. It's it just
kind of it's just a double eddedsword. What's actually good but actually isn't
(26:33):
good? And of course that's subjectivealso, but it's still kind of like
what's good, what's not good,what's going to get in magazines as you
know, as marketing for free,what's gonna get an interview? Like,
it's it's a lot of work.It's a lot. It's a business mind.
It's just a business mind. Youbook out, I mean, what's
next. You gotta we got peopleto buy it. You want folks have
it in their hands or in akindle or whatever it is, have it.
(26:57):
That's the bottom line. So you'vegot to do it. So,
I mean, it's it's that's sofolks. You write a book, you're
not just writing for yourself, youknow what I mean. You want folks
to actually read it. So right, I'm not trying to discourage people because
if you have that idea in yourhead, like food Fight I had for
(27:17):
a long time, uh, youknow, I just wanted to get out
there and and create it. Andit's also making new worlds. Yes,
it's contemporary romance. It's not likeyou know, paranormal or fantasy where those
worlds are huge. But it's justthe idea you make these people. You
(27:41):
know, you're kind of you're kindof you know, godlike in a sense,
you're you're creating these people who youmight really enjoy, you would love
to have them, you know,over at your place for lunch or something
like that. That's a lot offun to make people that you would you
(28:03):
would like, you know, Ihave these people who become your friends in
a in a strange sort of way. I think I think non book people
won't get that. I mean,on writer people. I think they might
think I'm a little weird because youknow, no, I'm not. I'm
not seeing these people behind me,you know, I see it. I'm
(28:25):
just imagining them. No, thankyou, I see them, folks.
Writ That's the other thing. Whenyou're writing, you're immersing yourself in the
world. You're creating a world andyou're immersing yourself in there. It's a
lot of fun and it's fine.It's working. It's fun. That's fine.
Yes, I do. I likeFood Fight, folks. Folks check
it out, finger out the way, theo Lambert is the name. Food
(28:48):
Fight is the book. There's abook called sex Plainton. Also, you
go you go on Amazon? Isthere any probably your Barnes and double two
all that or just right now whereyou are just on Amazon or just paperback.
Check one of those out. Youhave your little tablet your phone and
said, that's a fun reading.Guys. A lot of you guys are
traveling this year for your holidays,will be at airports and stuff. There's
(29:10):
the book. This will keep youoccupied and smiling as you're doing that.
The Elambora. Thanks for being onthe show. Thank you so much for
inviting me. I've had a reallygood time. My pleasure too. And
I'm James and you can follow meeverywhere. Support the arts, support writers.
Check out writers you may not evenknow about, and I just look
(29:30):
on see what they're see they're talkingabout. You may be pleasantly surprised.
But support the arts. Writing isjust important. At least books are just
as important as everything else, nonfiction, fiction, whatever, it's like,
there's there's a whole world out there. You want to support people who
are creating this art for us whilewe're going through the craziest of our times
these days. I'm James, IJunior, and I'll see you next time.
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