Today I'm going to be live commenting on here this afternoon, so if you have something to discuss about the book, please leave a comment and we can all reply back and forth! :) I LOVE this book - what did you guys think?? I love how much Lexi develops as a character through this novel. What was your favorite aspect of the book?
We also have a VERY special treat today! Sandra Byrd answered a few questions I had for her about the novel AND she's been so very generous and is going to give one of you a free copy of the sequel to Let Them Eat Cake!
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Erynn: What was your
inspiration for Let Them Eat Cake?
Sandra: I had quite a few inspirations! First, I had written a
couple of series for tweens and teens; they had grown up and said, hey! Guess
what? We still have problems and they are new ones, but there aren't many books
(at that time) geared toward twenty-somethings.
Would you write some? I combined that with my love of food, Seattle,
France, and the typical family and career issues we all face when launching
into adult life and, voila! The French Twist series was born.
Erynn: Do you enjoy
baking/cooking?
Sandra: Love it. I have
worked in food service of some sort since I was a teenager - first for a
catering company, then at a high end bakery.
In college I worked at an Italian foodstuffs store. I am an experienced home baker (which means I
have lots of failures notched on my belt) and still cook portions so large I
have to deliver them to neighbors or my adult children. Thankfully, they don't seem to mind.
Two places you might want to visit are my Pinterest Board
with pictures of recipes from the series, and Allrecipes.com, in which I
have Lexi posting a few recipes as
herself. Here are links!
Erynn: Wow, thank you!! So, have you ever been to France?
Yes, twice. I stayed
for a summer, as a home-stay, when I was a teenager, living with a French
family. And then I returned when I was
researching this book. I had wanted to
go with my husband, but those plans did not work out. In God's wonderful way, He used my insights
traveling alone to show me just how Lexi felt.
Erynn: I love how God does stuff like that! And I love the friends
that Lexi has in the book - what was the inspiration for their characters?
Sandra: I have had such good friends in my life, and I draw heavily
from my own experiences and those of my girlfriends. I like to draw characters as
three-dimensionally as possible; we're all a mix of good, bad, and in
process. I hope that comes through.
Erynn: It definitely does. Thank you so much, Sandra!!
Let's get some dicussion going!! What did you think about the book? What were your favorite parts/characters? What do you think the takeaway value was??
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