Dirty Sugar Cookies Virtual Book Tour

When fellow blogger Ayun Halliday invited me to take part in her Dirty Sugar Cookies Virtual book tour I was pleased. Hey, to hang out with a published author, ask pointed questions, talk trash, you know the cool things! Then between the time we chatted and the book arrived the skeptic in me emerged. What if this book is a giant stinker? The kind of book you were forced to read in the seventh grade and write a long book report about. What the heck did I get myself into?

It turns out I worried needlessly. The book is a kick in the butt! Ayun begins with tales of her sugar fueled youth. Candy helped her endure the slings and arrows of childhood. Green Apple Stix, Pop Tarts, and Grape Fanta eased the misery. I was a Hostess Chocolate Cupcake and RC Cola junkie myself. She was trained as a juvenile farm worker, picking strawberries under the tutelage of her summer camp director.

Into the adult years we learn of her travels, boyfriends and family infused with a huge dose of wicked humor; an optimistic skeptic a la Anthony Bourdain with New York attitude. The chapter about making sugar cookies for her kid’s classroom had me laughing so hard in the lunch room at work that I nearly choked on my sandwich. Some guy tried to give me the Heimlich maneuver! To sum it up, Ayun’s book is a little naughty and a whole lot nice. Buy a couple of copies!

Now to the pointed questions I needed to ask.

How do you pronounce your first name? I know it’s a stupid question but inquiring minds want to know.
How's your Southern Indiana accent? It sort of rhymes with ray gun, if the hard g was short and squishy like a y. A lot of my friends side step the issue by referring to me as Annie, a nickname I tried to evade as a child, because I found its inevitable second part (banan-y) beneath my dignity.

Knowing you are a fan of breakfast, what would be your perfect breakfast?
Huevos Rancheros in in an open air cafe in the Yucatan. Lots and lots of cafe con leche. Nothing more pressing on the schedule than a date with my hammock.

What did you really have for breakfast today?
Some familia low fat granola with non-fat organic plain yogurt and a handful of blackberries that started their journey in the very country where I was indulging in my fantasy huevos. We woke up so late, it was a choice between cappuccino and getting the kids to school on time, so my bucket of black snakes was delayed until my arrival at the Flying Saucer Cafe, where I spent a very pleasant few hours working on the newissue of my zine.

Thanks for coming by Ayun. Feel free to join me at the virtual picnic buffet. We have a whole bunch of California goodies here. Of special interest is the strawberry shortcake for your ‘zert hole (inside joke - read the book).