INTERVIEW and GIVEAWAY
Street Food and Love
by H. A. Enri
This book blitz and giveaway for Street Food and Love is brought to you by Xpresso Book Tours.
Description
Sole Eaby, seventeen, has a few complaints he’d like to lodge against life, the main one being that his dad, Cedro, has recently quit his job and withdrawn his entire life savings, which included Sole’s college fund. Why? To launch a food truck business he knows nothing about.
To cope, Sole uses his knifelike wit to moonlight as a stand-up comedian, and so far, it’s paying off. He’s not only replenishing his college treasury, he’s making people laugh; but it’s one person in particular he performs for.
Her name is Ava. When the fated bond of humor joins the two, and they begin a sort of quasi-romance, things begin to seem somewhat bearable. Of course, that’s when an ill-timed event decides to put another spin on things.
Just when Sole is ready to move on with his own life and disconnect himself from his father and the family business, he suddenly finds himself in charge of the food truck he desperately loathes. Here is where Sole must realize that the answers to love and life are not to be found apart but, rather, are more like a savory recipe: only by combining the ingredients will the wonderful flavors reveal themselves.
When comedy isn’t enough, the future seems ever bleak, and a fledgling love has barely had a chance to bloom, where will Sole turn?
Book Video
Featured Review
By Lala
Right off the bat the title caught my attention since it oddly combined two topics I enjoy but never thought to sandwich together: Street Food and Love. Yum and Awww.
I rarely say this about a book but I really, really liked it! I can’t say love because love is for people, pets, and chocolate :) It was quirky and witty, with some of the unusual scenarios the characters get into – like Sole getting held up at gunpoint but refusing to keep his mouth shut and slinging jokes at the criminal. Crazy but funny. The characters were funny and sweet, especially Sole and Ava as a budding couple. What girl wouldn’t want a guy that can make her laugh like Sole can?
Plot:
Essentially the story centers around high school senior Sole Eaby who’s pursuing a career in comedy. Things are chugging along nicely for him when his father Cedro , in full midlife crisis mode, ditches his teaching job and uses Sole’s entire college fund to pursue his own career goals: owning a successful food truck. Naturally, a rift forms between father and son which Sole must navigate through as he toggles between his budding comedic career and helping his father when his business inevitably goes south. Sole is aided by his romantic interest Ava along with his long time, socially awkward buddy Nuke.
Things I disliked:
1) Ava was way too good for Sole - but isn’t that the truth with boys and girls anyway? :) She was so sweet and helpful at a time when Sole clearly did not deserve it. She’s too merciful, is there such a thing though? In addition, I did not understand how she could so easily jump from one long term relationship with her ex to Sole in a heartbeat. Take a breather girl.
2) I would have liked the food truck theme to be more prominent in the first half of the book as much as it was in the second half. It seemed that it took a backseat to developing Sole’s personal life and though it made sense because we were watching the character grow, I just would have liked the food truck to be more obvious.
3)Why is Sole’s ex popping up at odd places? And since when did supremely hot girls clamor for aspiring comedians and food truck owners? Shouldn’t she be busy wriggling in front of a jock slated for future NFL or NBA drafting instead?
Things I liked:
1) Sole’s character was layered. There were reasons why he did things and why his character ticked the way it did, and those reasons weren’t flimsy or illogical, but rather similar to what teens experience and feel today – abandonment by mom, resentment towards dad, a desire to make it big on their own etc.
2) Sole’s character transformed. I detest reading a book where it seems as though there is no growth in the main character as the story progresses, and sadly there have been a few *cough The Beginning of Everything cough* I enjoyed reading about how the character’s priorities and relationships evolved and deepened, it was realistic.
3) This book is funny! I found myself laughing aloud at the odd situations and scenarios that the characters wound up in which made it a fast read.
Overall:
Like I said earlier, It was a great read – humor, a bit of drama, memorable characters, and what most girls like - a funny guy with a good heart and who’s able to sling out some junk food for you in a heartbeat. With food trucks being so popular these days, why hasn’t someone written a book about it? Tadaa, here it is, and it’s worth it. :)
Interview With the Author
Have you always wanted to be a writer?
I've actually known I've wanted to be a writer since I was twelve. The brief excerpt of that mini epiphany is on my website’s FAQ's. As for YA, I didn’t know I actually wanted to write for young adults until about eight years ago. This book made it through the publication portal, but there are other predecessors on my hard drive, many young adults megabyte format wondering why they never got to graduate from being mere Word docs to full blown, bound, edited and printed books.
How often do you write?
As often as I can but not as often as I’d like. This is where you probably want to hear my writing process and such. Really, some days it feels like I’m hacking away like a lumberjack at a petrified tree other days it feels like I’m driving up the 101 outside of L.A., ocean to my left, top down, music on, and the sun holding back some of its heat just because I’m on the highway. Do I go at it daily? At least four days out of the week, but I aim for seven. Writing doesn’t currently foot the bills fully, so I have another gig. I know, I know: when I say that I leave myself open for comments like, “Good thing, then I don’t have to worry about reading too much of your work,” or, “I can see why you keep your day job.” Sure, I get that I’m vulnerable to those criticisms, but it’s just the reality of most writers’ lives. Want to buy a thousand copies and change that? Ha, ha. Kidding.
Is there a certain type of scene that's harder for you to write than others? Love? Action? Racy?
That’s up to the reader to decide. If it doesn’t work, they’ll probably say that scene is my trouble spot. As for love and romance: I like to trace the scene and use allusion. Most writers, if honest, probably like scenes that the editor said, “Eh.” So, I just go where the character needs to and try not to worry about the words, like real people do in real life in difficult situations.
What writing advice do you have for other aspiring authors?
I’m sort of just lifting off the launch pad. That’s a flattering question, but I’m not quite in a position to answer that yet. One might say, “I’ll take his advice and do the opposite.” Ha. I’m kidding about the mini joke. But really, I feel like I’m still aspiring. I’ll answer better when I’m past the aspiring level.
Novelists who inspired you?
The list is long. In YA we have Sarah Dessen, Gary Schmidt, Caroline Cooney, Ned Vizzini, I will add that not many people mention Vizzini - God rest his talented soul, and it’s shocking. He’s been considered a pioneer of the modern YA lit genre, and I agree. Hopefully, I'll see him on the other side and we can collaborate.
What kind of books do you read?
I’m a social science junkie. I’m talking an obsession beyond obsessions. As for other genres, I do read lots of YA, of course, lots of it. And, I take in about four literary adult novels a year, one per quarter. I read that in parts between my others.
Talk about YA Lit.
It is summarily different than it used to be even twelve years ago. And pre 2000’s - forget it. That was like reading Homer. Seriously, I mean you have to practice writing effective scenes during commercials (do don’t delete them, you aspiring YA writers, from your DVR. They may prove to be useful yet) in order to match the pace of the current ideal YA. Secondly, don’t forget the lingo the characters used in your favorite sitcom right before the commercial. It should be transposed to your novel. Remember they used to teach, “Don’t write how you speak”? Not so anymore. Those teachers, apparently, were wrong. And no, I haven’t perfectly mastered the art of copy-matching-and-pacing at commercial speed in my writing style. You remember reading with a dictionary handy? Hey, with apps now, it should be easier, except that rarely do YA books require readers to have to use one anymore. Remember when you read something and went WTF? Even after three reads! And it wasn’t because you checked out. Sometimes it was like the writer just wrote and invited you to his house but said, “There’s the fridge and stove. If you’re hungry, do your best.” I’m not saying I don’t appreciate what is happening now and don’t get it, I do and am not against it. But something in my writing approach still doesn’t mind if readers are expected to sort of work through certain language tones and aspects.
Why did you write this book?
I wrote this book because this idea had never been pursued in YA lit, let alone fiction. When the idea came to me, I thought it was worth telling for others out there. Of course, now there’s a film about a food truck owner operator, but not when I wrote the novel. I wanted to explore the concept of the food truck operator as a person with issues, so that’s when it turned YA because my teenage protagonist Sole became the focus. You can watch The Great Food Truck Race or Eat St. if you just care about someone and their food truck, but life as an owner operator is not the star idea of this narrative.
Would you actually want to own a food truck, and if so, what would you serve and what would you call it?
Owning and operating? Hmm. Perhaps, with a capital P. In conducting the research for this book, I came to understand a) it’s no easy task to keep a successful food truck running; b) success does not always have to do with the ability to deliver big on taste; c) concept and branding, i.e. marketing, are huge aspects to the business and, like many artists, that whole part of it is not always where the passion of it all lie; d) a little luck never hurts. Does this sound like someone trying to be a writer? Surely does. I love to cook and do at least four days out of the week, but to make my livelihood out it ... I’d have to be pretty hungry to commit anytime soon. Lots of love to food truck owner operators.
If you were a dish on a food truck, what would you be called?
I would be a patty of thick, ground, kobe beef, topped with cheese, caramelized onion, tomato, guacamole and a special sauce, all between buttered and toasted, thick sourdough. I’m simple, like a burger, but I am also not just your regular drive-through or diner burger either (does this sound like some dating site profile? Ha!). In any case, it would be called the Soul Melt because more than deeply satisfying the palate, it would penetrate the soul of anyone who ate it. P.S. I really am into the word “soul” and all it connotes.
How’d you pick the title of the book?
It’s the material clashing with the existential. The truck is a symbol for all things wrong with the world for Sole, the novel’s main dude. Street food is what the truck is all about, so I used that terms versus “food truck”. Since the food truck or “street food” are always at odds with Sole and his heart (yes, it’s okay to sigh and say “aw”), I chose to capture that with “love”. Until these two opposing forces learn to coexist, neither of them has a chance to make it. The title, in a simple way, somewhat epitomizes the novel’s major motifs.
Why did you pick L.A. as the setting?
My character, as an aspiring comedian, inspired all that is L.A. - someone who wants to get into showbiz and has the chops to do so. Sole thinks, like many, that achieving his celebrity plan is his exit card from all things painful. From there, I wanted to unveil a story of someone whose greatest obstacle is not external - abuse, violence, etc. - but rather is the soft issues of the heart that are sometimes more detrimental than the obvious ones. There is this individual surrounded by the giant of possibility that is L.A., and his world is just this tiny, fading echo. I liked the contradiction.
Your main character’s defence mechanism against pangs of the soul is comedy. It seems like you can relate.
That is maybe one trait the novel’s main dude and I share.
You have a lot of comedy in your book. What’s the best joke (keep it clean) that you’ve ever heard?
I heard Dennis Miller onstage and, though I’m not saying this is my favorite, I’ll mention it because it just came to mind: he was speaking of the past and with subtlety, in his verbal memoir, he said, “It was hot back then ...” and he paused. It was all about the way he said it. The audience slowly got it. Then he said, “The sun was still hot then, right?” He was comparing it to the way people think the past happened in black and white. The genius was, he didn’t even have to say that part to get audience in on it. Brilliant.
In your novel, love and romance aren’t depicted the way the YA genre seems to be going. Why?
Have you been around a high school aged lately? Till death do us part, mad love isn’t en vogue. Most young adults aren’t really sure where love fits into their lives, and to begin to truly answer that is scary enough for many people, let alone young people. I wanted Sole to reflect a kid who didn’t just zero in on one girl and know she was the one. That’s usually not how it works anyway, at least not when your age still has “teen” as a suffix. As for Ava, many young girls with allure have older guys after them, and that’s why I wanted to show that in the first chapters. That’s reality for many young adult girls of her capacity. Sometimes, too, they chose those guys. I don’t think this makes my book not YA. Upper YA? Sure. But still YA definitely.
I sense an intentional avenue in your book carved out, specifically referring to your focus of a father and son conflict. Explain that.
Well, it’s got nothing to do with my own relationship with my father. We have an outstanding and close one. But you’re correct about the father and son aspect. Many fathers take a backseat in literature or are two dimensional caricatures who are hands off and don’t really permeate the minds of the young adult protagonist. Really? That is most dads? Huh ... Anyway, I wanted to write not for guys, but so that guys could related to the literature as easily as girls could and do. Let’s face it: girl readers vastly outnumber young males, and I sort of wanted both to equally relate here. I can say I’ll probably continue to develop that in other novels.
Are any of the characters in the book based off of someone you know?
Most characters are concoctions of many people in various forms - those we know, those we’ve heard about, those we’d like to know and those we knew. Once you put all that together, my answer, like a writer, would technically be kind of but not really. Not very technical, is it ...
How important are names to you in your books?
Sometimes too much, so I try to back off. Many of my first drafts start off with names looking like this: ________. Yes, really. Then, when I finally give them a name, it’s nothing as potent and floral and full of atmosphere and meaning like I thought it would be. Someday, I’ll name my characters Jim, John, Jen, and things like that.
What secret talents do you have?
You mean writing isn’t one of them?
If you had a superpower, what would it be?
Time travel with knowledge retention. I would continually perfect my life, constantly updating it with the new life lessons I am learning.
What is the biggest lie you've ever told?
If I answered that, then that would be it. The biggest one hopefully was my best and hopefully I got away with it (last time I checked, that was still the case). So, yeah ...
About the Author
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