Skip to main content

A Delicious Summer Confection?


 
From the crazy, mixed up files of Village Green/Town² comes this screenshot from the Howard County Times:



I no longer have a subscription but the information I saw intrigued me:

  • Elkridge author
  • Ellicott City background (Backwater Books)
  • Eat Dessert First
Elkridge author encourages readers to “Eat Dessert First.” Hmm…a self-help book? “Must check this out,” I said to myself as I took a screenshot.

The phrase “Eat Dessert First” brought to mind one of my favorite childhood books, The Pink Motel by Carol Ryrie Brink. 

Nothing exciting ever happens to Kirby or Bitsy Mellen--that is, until their mother inherits a motel in Florida from her great-granduncle Hiram, complete with a roster of eccentric guests.  - - Goodreads 

One of those eccentric guests was a nice lady who invited the children on picnic lunches where all the food was made from scratch and their hostess insisted they eat dessert first. Every single time. As a child that seemed like the most revolutionary, counterculture thing I had ever come across and I loved it. Just imagine! A world where you didn’t have to suffer through strange-smelling lamb shanks or the long, woody stems of broccoli to be rewarded a taste of something which brought you joy.

That’s probably why I found myself going back this morning to learn more about Elkridge author Michelle Paris. 

It turns about that Eat Dessert First is not a self-help book. It’s a romance novel. 

Can a big-hearted plus-sized baker discover the recipe for happiness? 

Baker Abbey Reilly has heard you have such a pretty face enough times to know it’s code for and an ugly body. Her lack of luck in the romance department does little to increase her feelings of self-worth. Her boss, Caroline, a sassy seventy-something encourages Abbey to accept her curves. Like a good cream filled cupcake—what’s inside matters the most.

This is Paris’s second novel. Her first, “New Normal,” centers around the story of a middle-aged widow figuring out her new life after loss. “New Normal” was honored at BookFest 2023 in the Humor Relationship Category. Ms. Paris is a member of the Romance Writers of America and the Maryland Writers’ Association.

And she’s from Elkridge. I learned from her Instagram that she’s been out in the community promoting “Eat Dessert First”. Also: she’s a graduate of Laurel High School.




True confession: I’m not a big reader of romance novels but, since I’m now related to someone who wrote one, I’m trying to be more open-minded. I must admit I’m more hesitant about the subject matter - - can anyone love you if you’re fat? - - especially in light of the recent fat phobic Spectator piece about Bridgerton. If Paris’s story is truly body-positive, that would be thrilling. 

I’ll let you know. Or, you can let me know. I bet you can pick up a copy at Backwater Books.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

F ³: We Are Not Entitled

  A college student went missing. His family and friends were distraught. The community was encouraged to be on the lookout and spread the word.  Days passed.  They must have been agonizing days for those who cared about the missing student. Thoughts that foul play had been involved cannot have been far from their thoughts.  Then, at last, the student was found. Alive. The news was shared with the public.  So. Much. Relief. A family had been reunited with their child. Even though we know that life is complicated, I think it is okay to accept this as a happy ending and leave it at that.  But the world of social media says no. For every expression of joy at the news came questions and even judgement. It became clear to me that some folks felt entitled to an explanation. They wanted the backstory. It’s as though they felt that, by enlisting the help of the public on social media, the authorities now owed them all the details. Television dramas often weave curr...
2 comments
Read more

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
1 comment
Read more