It’s April! You know what that means. No, not spring. Although that’s an extra benefit. April – it’s the month of the A to Z Blog Challenge! And on that note, here we go. We’re off and running. This month I’ll be sharing some ‘Behind the Scene’ moments of my writing journey.
In yesterday’s ‘A’ post on my Vintage Daze blog, I talked about how items from antique stores inspired stories. But not all the vintage items that became my muse come from antique stores. Such is the case with my short story ‘Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.’
Growing up, we lived next door to two elderly ladies, Bea and Pauline. They died when I was in High School, and I got many mementoes from them to remember them by. Many of the pieces I chose were old pictures, postcards, and some cookbooks.
Fast forward – many years after those high school days! I was now a grandmother and turning to writing. I pulled out two small cookbooks, both from 1928, and decided to use them as a basis for a short story. I had absolutely no idea in mind about what I wanted to write. I only knew that it had to be set in 1928 and that I wanted to feature the two cookbooks in them somehow.
When I started researching 1928 to discover some historical snippet that I could use to place my story in time, I saw that the first loaves of sliced bread were sold that year – in Chillicothe Missouri. Since my Grandpa Jones grew up not far from Chillicothe, and I was very familiar with that part of Missouri from our visits there, I knew immediately that this is where my story was set.
Then I set about developing two characters. Luetta was the one who loved to bake. Her best friend, Amanda, was a flapper that would rather dance and have a good time. Piece by piece, the story fell into a plot, and my short story was born.
Here’s the start of Best Thing Since Sliced Bread.
Best Thing Since Sliced Bread
June 1928
Luetta fought back a flash of irritation as she heard the stream of incessant chatter headed in her direction. She placed one finger at her place on the page and looked up as her best friend swept into the kitchen, the fringe on her dress swinging in pandemonium. “Really, Amanda. Must you be so…vocal?”
“It appears so, my reclusive friend. To counterbalance your quiet demeanor as you hide away in the kitchen. What are you doing sitting in here on such a fine day?” Her fingers looped through the long strand of pearls draped around her neck in a fidgety manner that Luetta was familiar with.
“If you must know, I’m looking up…”
Amanda cut Luetta’s answer off with a dismissive wave of her hands. “Never mind. It wasn’t a serious question. I know how you are with your cookbooks. Don’t you know there’s more to life than being a drudge in the kitchen?”
Luetta’s mouth dropped open, aghast at the implication. “Hardly. I love cooking and baking and reading about it. Besides, I need to master these delicacies if I aim to become Mrs. Adams one day. Haven’t you heard that a way to a man’s heart is through the stomach?”
Amanda pulled out a cane-backed chair and dropped down in the seat. “Horsefeathers! That’s not going to be how I get my man. No dreary kitchen duty for me.” She stretched out a silk-clad leg and pointed her toes towards the tin ceiling. “With gams like these, I aim to catch a swell fellow that will hire me a maid for all this…scullery work.”
“Oh, posh. You even have anyone in your sights?” Luetta calmly closed her cookbook with only a small twinge of anger at the interruption. Once Amanda invaded a space, all future peace and quiet was a lost cause.
Stroking her sleek bob cut Amanda rolled her eyes and sighed. “In Chillicothe? This one-horse town? You’ve got to be joking. Although I’m wearing Father down. He’s closer to giving me the money so I can go to Hollywood. I’ll find my Prince Charming there. Once I’m a screen star and famous, like Lillian Gish or Clara Bow.”
Luetta’s gaze lingered on the small Taylor Book of Recipes sitting in front of her on the table. It came with the new candy thermometer Mother had purchased at the mercantile downtown earlier in the week. There were some interesting new fudge recipes she was simply itching to try out.
But, as had happened all their adolescence as they were growing up, Amanda with all of her enthusiasm dominated and Luetta had learned to follow along. Even though they’d graduated from high school – with honors nonetheless – and were both turning eighteen later that summer, the dynamics between the duo hadn’t altered. The decision to choose between the tempting new fudge recipes – all named after popular colleges – was postponed.
Trisha Faye 