SOUP'S ON: Tanita S. Davis in the Kitchen Interview!
mood: 
excited
excited
Recipe for a Delicious Young Adult Novel:
Take one smart-as-a-whip, talented, vegetarian, Thai-food-loving, gregariously introverted, voracious reader and lifelong writer named Tanita S. Davis,
Give her a laptop, quiet time, patience, perseverance, and a husband, David, who just happens to be the world's best baker,
Allow her imagination to concoct a coming-of-age story about a 17-year-old girl named Lainey, who dreams of having her own vegetarian cooking show;
Add Lainey's ex-best friend and secret crush, Simeon, who stirs things up by hanging with new friends, taking her for granted, and suddenly leaving home,
Then let everything simmer and stew in scenes that are fresh, biting, sweet, a little spicy, and explosive, every chapter enhanced with handwritten recipes --
And you have, One. Feast. Of. A. Good. Book.
A LA CARTE by Tanita S. Davis (Knopf, 2008)
Young Adult, 288 pp.
A La Carte, Tanita's first novel, was just released in June, and I would call it a favorite even if I wasn't already shamelessly partial to food-related books. The kitchen scenes are engaging, sensual, convincing, and emotionally resonant, and the story of how Lainey comes into her own, despite being treated so poorly by the guy she loves, will stay with me for a long time.
Originally from California, Tanita is visiting today from Glasgow, Scotland, where she lives with David in a converted church called the Angel Building. How cool is that?! Some of you may know that she's also an avid blogger, reviewer, and champion of YA books, who goes by the name of TadMack. And this girl can cook! I know you'll enjoy what she's serving up today:
( Read the Interview! )
The cooking scenes and details about restaurant operation are vivid and authentic. Did you have to do much research? Is La Salle Rouge based on a real restaurant? How did you go about choosing the recipes?
I wish La Salle Rouge were a real restaurant! I’d love to go there and play around in Lainey’s little bakery station! And the sous-chefs are so cool.
Tanita's Rhubarb Jam Tarts
Tanita's Rhubarb Jam Tarts
I have to admit that I’ve never worked in the behind-the-scenes of a restaurant, but I did work at a summer camp and retreat center for six summers through high school and into my first year of college. My first two years I worked in the laundry, and when the kitchen would get swamped, those of us not wrestling a cabin full of kids got pressed into kitchen duty periodically. You had to seriously hustle back there, but we got into a rhythm of prepping and serving and cleaning. Just going out to eat and sitting near enough the kitchen to see what was going on helped me refine a lot of what I put into my book, but it’s mainly a heaping serving of imagination.
I chose the recipes based on what I thought would go with each chapter. You know how there’s a song for every occasion? Well, sometimes there’s a food to go with it, too. And some days, you just need to chop something. I had a great time choosing the recipes. Lainey’s ‘notebook’ is based on my own recipe adaptations, and our fabulous book designer’s own cooking notebooks, splatters and all. I think she did a fantastic job of making it look real!
Tanita's Mediterranean Chickpea Stew
Tell us a little about your evolution and apprenticeship as a writer (early influences, favorite authors, why you chose YA). What were you like as a child?
My experience with fiction was limited as a young adult -- my parents tried hard to ground their dreamy child by requiring me to read non-fiction only. In the third grade I found a battered copy of Anne of Green Gables that the school library was throwing away. It was a 1950’s edition, bound in green with a brown spine. I loved that book, and it began in me a love of words. I started talking like Anne, at the age of nine. I must have been such a weird kid -- I told people about ‘epochs’ in my life, and ‘kindred spirits’ was one of my favorite phrases. I don’t think I ever grew out of the wonder of finding Anne, finding someone years out of my time, but really, just as weird as me. I want to give that experience to someone else.
The question of what draws me to YA writing in particular is a difficult one to answer. Maybe it's just a matter of not being drawn to adult novels? I don't know -- YA novels interest me because the YA world is still open to possibility, unique solutions, different ways of seeing, and new stories. As a genre, it's the most tightly edited, creatively presented and freshest thing going outside of maybe Science Fiction and Fantasy, and that's embraced into YA. I'm just not as interested in adult themes, I guess; adult writing tries to figure out things I haven't had time to get interested in yet. A lot of times it seems more detached and that's not where my interests lie. That probably doesn't make sense, but it's all I've got.
David and Tanita's work space
Tanita's Mediterranean Chickpea Stew
Tell us a little about your evolution and apprenticeship as a writer (early influences, favorite authors, why you chose YA). What were you like as a child?
My experience with fiction was limited as a young adult -- my parents tried hard to ground their dreamy child by requiring me to read non-fiction only. In the third grade I found a battered copy of Anne of Green Gables that the school library was throwing away. It was a 1950’s edition, bound in green with a brown spine. I loved that book, and it began in me a love of words. I started talking like Anne, at the age of nine. I must have been such a weird kid -- I told people about ‘epochs’ in my life, and ‘kindred spirits’ was one of my favorite phrases. I don’t think I ever grew out of the wonder of finding Anne, finding someone years out of my time, but really, just as weird as me. I want to give that experience to someone else.
The question of what draws me to YA writing in particular is a difficult one to answer. Maybe it's just a matter of not being drawn to adult novels? I don't know -- YA novels interest me because the YA world is still open to possibility, unique solutions, different ways of seeing, and new stories. As a genre, it's the most tightly edited, creatively presented and freshest thing going outside of maybe Science Fiction and Fantasy, and that's embraced into YA. I'm just not as interested in adult themes, I guess; adult writing tries to figure out things I haven't had time to get interested in yet. A lot of times it seems more detached and that's not where my interests lie. That probably doesn't make sense, but it's all I've got.
David and Tanita's work space
How do you approach a new project -- lots of prewriting? character sketches? outlines? scenes in or out of order? What part of writing do you like the most? the least?
I can’t seem to make it through a week without thinking of something new! I have a very active imagination -- and I have stories lined up in my brain, all trying to push to the forefront. There are three notebooks on my desk strictly for when I have a thought, and still I end up jotting things down on the backs of envelopes and sticky notes. I don’t have an organized mind.
One of my MFA instructors advocated outlines, and we were required to write them -- that was really difficult for me. I hate outlining in a traditional way, but I’m pretty good with . . . kind of a Venn-diagrammy looking thing, that has lots of arrows. When I get stuck working out how to get a character from where they are, to the sort of Big Picture I need to move them toward, then I start jotting down phrases and ideas and connecting them with arrows . . . Again, it’s not very neat, but it works.
I can’t seem to make it through a week without thinking of something new! I have a very active imagination -- and I have stories lined up in my brain, all trying to push to the forefront. There are three notebooks on my desk strictly for when I have a thought, and still I end up jotting things down on the backs of envelopes and sticky notes. I don’t have an organized mind.
One of my MFA instructors advocated outlines, and we were required to write them -- that was really difficult for me. I hate outlining in a traditional way, but I’m pretty good with . . . kind of a Venn-diagrammy looking thing, that has lots of arrows. When I get stuck working out how to get a character from where they are, to the sort of Big Picture I need to move them toward, then I start jotting down phrases and ideas and connecting them with arrows . . . Again, it’s not very neat, but it works.
As for what parts of writing I like the least -- well, I never did anything but first drafts of papers in school, and I generally made decent grades. It makes me wince now -- to think if I’d maybe tried a little rewriting, I could have gotten brilliant grades, but I kind of just made-do with my glib tongue, and aimed for average. I didn’t start rewriting papers until my MFA, which is sort of horrifying. The only reason I did it then is because my very smart professor made us turn in our drafts.
Even when I first started writing, I knew better than to try to pass off my stories at only one draft -- but I tend to rewrite while I’m writing the first draft -- that’s just how my circuitous brain works. I take two steps forward, and then go back a chapter and rewrite several paragraphs, and then that gives me impetus to move forward another two steps . . . and then back one. My long-suffering writing partners got used to reading multiple copies of the same story, and by the time I’m finished with anything, I honestly feel like I know it by heart.
But rewriting for other people was tough, seriously tough. My first novel took six drafts to get it where my agent liked it, and then at least another six before my editor thought it was done. And that’s not to mention the two rounds I did with copy editing! I realized I needed to learn to love the process -- what I do love is the feeling of exhilaration at the teamwork that takes place, and the feeling of accomplishment that what I’ve written is understood and appreciated.
Mitchell Library, Glasgow, across the street from Tanita's apartment building
But rewriting for other people was tough, seriously tough. My first novel took six drafts to get it where my agent liked it, and then at least another six before my editor thought it was done. And that’s not to mention the two rounds I did with copy editing! I realized I needed to learn to love the process -- what I do love is the feeling of exhilaration at the teamwork that takes place, and the feeling of accomplishment that what I’ve written is understood and appreciated.
Mitchell Library, Glasgow, across the street from Tanita's apartment building
What are you working on now?
I just finished MARE’S WAR, which is scheduled to be published June of ’09. At the moment, I’m trying to finish my work in progress by the end of the month; until I’m actually finished with it, it’s hard to explain! Suffice it to say that it’s a family story about a brother and sister whose concept of ‘family’ has to change and grow in order for them to be happy where they are.
I just finished MARE’S WAR, which is scheduled to be published June of ’09. At the moment, I’m trying to finish my work in progress by the end of the month; until I’m actually finished with it, it’s hard to explain! Suffice it to say that it’s a family story about a brother and sister whose concept of ‘family’ has to change and grow in order for them to be happy where they are.
What's the best piece of writing advice you ever received? What advice can you offer those wanting to break into the YA market?
I heard John Green at SCBWI’s L.A. Conference in 2007. He said “All writing is rewriting,” and while it’s not exactly advice, it’s a truism that means that you always have to be prepared to roll up your map and strike out cross-country in terms of your manuscript. What you have -- where you’ve already been -- may not be where you need to go!
I heard John Green at SCBWI’s L.A. Conference in 2007. He said “All writing is rewriting,” and while it’s not exactly advice, it’s a truism that means that you always have to be prepared to roll up your map and strike out cross-country in terms of your manuscript. What you have -- where you’ve already been -- may not be where you need to go!
The best piece of writing advice I can pass on is to get a writing group, and don’t be too stubborn to rewrite. I think the biggest mistake we can make is to be so convinced of our own genius that we want our work to stay exactly as we have envisioned it, despite comments that indicate that it’s not being understood the way we’d like. Writing is a collaborative effort, and if your writing group and your editor is nudging you into some new directions, never be afraid to at least consider them. It may sound clichéd, but letting go of our personal pride sometimes means being able to have our hands and minds open enough to have room for inspiration.
What similarities do you see between writing and cooking?
For me, cooking and writing are both arts, thus they are created with the rule that there are few mistakes in either. This isn’t to say no mistakes, because sometimes when something’s burned, it’s over -- and there are some stories that, well, you just have to rewrite! But rarely are there mistakes that from which one cannot recover. There are merely new ways of seeing things; rewriting or re-seasoning something makes a whole new dish.
For me, cooking and writing are both arts, thus they are created with the rule that there are few mistakes in either. This isn’t to say no mistakes, because sometimes when something’s burned, it’s over -- and there are some stories that, well, you just have to rewrite! But rarely are there mistakes that from which one cannot recover. There are merely new ways of seeing things; rewriting or re-seasoning something makes a whole new dish.
I'm envious of you living in Scotland, and know you love cooking from scratch. What are some of the new or different culinary adventures you've had since moving there? Any big adjustments in the kitchen?
The biggest adjustment for me has been labels! The FDA doesn’t work here, so UK labels are vastly different from American labels. Also, remembering my metrics has been challenging -- kilograms and grams and doing those mental calculations that help you ask the green grocer for a reasonable amount of produce instead of way more than you wanted!
One of Tanita's favorite grocery shopping haunts
One of Tanita's favorite grocery shopping haunts
Everyone asks if we’ve tried haggis, the traditional Scottish sausage type of thing which is a sheep’s stomach stuffed with oats and entrails and cooked with the esophagus hanging out of the pot. Short answer: Me = vegetarian. Longer answer, nope, but if you’re a sausage person, it probably won’t bother you. There’s a vegetarian version that is reasonably tasty, and on Burn’s Night, we indulged in that with “neeps and tatties,” which are turnips and potatoes.
Asian market where Tanita shops
QUICK BITES
Describe yourself in 5 words.
Argh! These are always so hard! Creative, Conflicted, Decisive, Thoughtful, Amused (Easily)
Passions besides reading and writing.
Music, Art, Eating, Swimming
Three fondest wishes.
The art to reach and touch those who need it,
the heart to do the most with what I have,
and the head to realize what I've got right now.
Hidden talents.
Gee, I wish I could put something like yodeling or something. But I'm good with Sculpey (modeling clay), and I do a mean color-in-the-lines. I play well with others. Mostly.
Secret crush.
It's not much of a secret, but I think Richard Peck is gorgeous, as is Holly Black.
If you could invite anyone, living or dead, real or imaginary, to dinner, who would it be, and what would you cook for him/her?
Wouldn't it be a kick to have St. Julia to dinner? She could bring Jacques Pepin, of course. And they would pick the wine, because I know nothing from wine.
Tanita and her culinary chums
They would shake their heads at me for being a vegetarian, but Jacques would say pasta, and St. Julia would nod knowingly, and then we'd make it by hand, rolling it out and cutting it and maybe seasoning it with fresh rosemary (which is SO GOOD, in case you've never had it that way). St. Julia would tell us a story about a time she was in Italy, and then Jacques would counter with something his French ancestors told him, and we'd argue about the origins of pasta -- China vs. Italy -- and we'd make a pasta primavera with some lovely roasted seasonal veggies, and then a fresh tomato and herb salad . . . It would be simple, so I could sit and listen, and none of us would have to be in the kitchen for long.
Oh, and dessert? Something light, perhaps just fruit and chocolate. Marinated cherries with peppercorn ice cream. Mango sorbets and raspberry coulis . . . the list could go on and on!
Please share a recipe and tell us a little about it.
I absolutely adore Thai food. I have an ongoing list of The Best Thai Places Ever, and I continue to add onto it as I visit various cities and countries. (When I go to Thailand someday, I'm pretty sure then it will be time to retire the list!)
The recipe in Chapter 13, Pia's Cabbage Slaw, came from an appetizer salad I used to have at a favorite restaurant in the Sonoma Valley. It was so easy -- thinly slivered cabbage and carrots, garnished with chopped peanuts and a sweet-spicy red pepper sauce. Being me, I added to it. Sometimes I make it with cabbage and carrots, mostly recently I've used kohlrabi. It's fresh and fast and very good for the root-veg intensive UK diet!
PIA'S CABBAGE SLAW
2 cups cabbage (use both red and green for extra color)
1 green onion (chiffonaded -- chives snipped into bits works too)
2 T (or more) ginger-habanero salad dressing
1 tsp (or more) Mae Ploy sweet pepper sauce
1/4 cup fried chow mein noodles
1/4 cup honey-roasted soy nuts
Scattered handful of raisins or dried cranberries or dried pineapple
Using a box grater or a mandoline grater, shred cabbage finely. Add to bowl containing finely sliced onions.
Dress cabbage and onion with ginger-habanero dressing. Add Mae Ploy sauce to taste. Garnish with crunchy noodles and soy nuts. Add optional fruit.
**Watch out for the pepper sauce: this can get too spicy fast. Add another cup of chopped cabbage if that happens, or 1 cup fresh medium tofu chunks, lightly stir-fried, or mushrooms.
Tanita blogs as TadMack at Finding Wonderland, Readers' Rants, and Wish I Were Baking.
Her 2007 Interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is here.
See Tanita chatting with Alkelda of Saints and Spinners here.
Check out these reviews of A La Carte by:
Cheryl Rainfield
Becky's Book Reviews
Little Willow (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
slayground)
Thanks for visiting, Tanita!
Asian market where Tanita shops
QUICK BITES
Describe yourself in 5 words.
Argh! These are always so hard! Creative, Conflicted, Decisive, Thoughtful, Amused (Easily)
Passions besides reading and writing.
Music, Art, Eating, Swimming
Three fondest wishes.
The art to reach and touch those who need it,
the heart to do the most with what I have,
and the head to realize what I've got right now.
Hidden talents.
Gee, I wish I could put something like yodeling or something. But I'm good with Sculpey (modeling clay), and I do a mean color-in-the-lines. I play well with others. Mostly.
Secret crush.
It's not much of a secret, but I think Richard Peck is gorgeous, as is Holly Black.
If you could invite anyone, living or dead, real or imaginary, to dinner, who would it be, and what would you cook for him/her?
Wouldn't it be a kick to have St. Julia to dinner? She could bring Jacques Pepin, of course. And they would pick the wine, because I know nothing from wine.
Tanita and her culinary chums
They would shake their heads at me for being a vegetarian, but Jacques would say pasta, and St. Julia would nod knowingly, and then we'd make it by hand, rolling it out and cutting it and maybe seasoning it with fresh rosemary (which is SO GOOD, in case you've never had it that way). St. Julia would tell us a story about a time she was in Italy, and then Jacques would counter with something his French ancestors told him, and we'd argue about the origins of pasta -- China vs. Italy -- and we'd make a pasta primavera with some lovely roasted seasonal veggies, and then a fresh tomato and herb salad . . . It would be simple, so I could sit and listen, and none of us would have to be in the kitchen for long.
Oh, and dessert? Something light, perhaps just fruit and chocolate. Marinated cherries with peppercorn ice cream. Mango sorbets and raspberry coulis . . . the list could go on and on!
Please share a recipe and tell us a little about it.
I absolutely adore Thai food. I have an ongoing list of The Best Thai Places Ever, and I continue to add onto it as I visit various cities and countries. (When I go to Thailand someday, I'm pretty sure then it will be time to retire the list!)
The recipe in Chapter 13, Pia's Cabbage Slaw, came from an appetizer salad I used to have at a favorite restaurant in the Sonoma Valley. It was so easy -- thinly slivered cabbage and carrots, garnished with chopped peanuts and a sweet-spicy red pepper sauce. Being me, I added to it. Sometimes I make it with cabbage and carrots, mostly recently I've used kohlrabi. It's fresh and fast and very good for the root-veg intensive UK diet!
PIA'S CABBAGE SLAW
2 cups cabbage (use both red and green for extra color)
1 green onion (chiffonaded -- chives snipped into bits works too)
2 T (or more) ginger-habanero salad dressing
1 tsp (or more) Mae Ploy sweet pepper sauce
1/4 cup fried chow mein noodles
1/4 cup honey-roasted soy nuts
Scattered handful of raisins or dried cranberries or dried pineapple
Using a box grater or a mandoline grater, shred cabbage finely. Add to bowl containing finely sliced onions.
Dress cabbage and onion with ginger-habanero dressing. Add Mae Ploy sauce to taste. Garnish with crunchy noodles and soy nuts. Add optional fruit.
**Watch out for the pepper sauce: this can get too spicy fast. Add another cup of chopped cabbage if that happens, or 1 cup fresh medium tofu chunks, lightly stir-fried, or mushrooms.
Tanita blogs as TadMack at Finding Wonderland, Readers' Rants, and Wish I Were Baking.
Her 2007 Interview at Seven Impossible Things Before Breakfast is here.
See Tanita chatting with Alkelda of Saints and Spinners here.
Check out these reviews of A La Carte by:
Cheryl Rainfield
Becky's Book Reviews
Little Willow (
slayground)Thanks for visiting, Tanita!