Why A Bryony Cookbook

Well, why not?

Even before I began submitting Bryony to agents and small presses, my kids and I talked about all the fun, additional products the novel might inspire.

Although I’ll probably never see bendable dolls with their own line of clothing (too bad, since we could make a fortune on all those lost, little shoes) or a Simons Mansion dollhouse (I REALLY want one), the cookbook idea took root inside me and flourished.

A cookbook was a common fundraiser for many organizations—just look at what Kathy Carey did for March of Dimes-- and Bryony was full of food references: balls, formal dinner parties, and 1970s-style family dinners. So, why NOT a cookbook? Surely, there was a group out there who wouldn’t mind being the recipient of anything we made from it, even if only enough to purchase a book of stamps.

Soon after WriteLife accepted Bryony, I scrolled through the manuscript and jotted down all the food references I could find. I organized them into topics. I researched publishing options. I made a list of possible organizations to contact. The first was Big Brothers Big Sisters of Will and Grundy Counties. I contacted its chief operations officer and, once she approved of the project, the recipe collection began.