Recently I was doing one of those authors’ talks where I read an excerpt from a recent novel and then I answer questions from the audience. Someone was saying how they enjoyed the characters I create, that they were like friends, and I was so pleased. Someone else asked about location – they were very keen to visit one or two of the places in my novels, and asked if they were based on real places. I was thrilled.

Then someone else said they liked the way I wrote about food, and I had to admit that I’ve never eaten half the things I write about. Fair play, the dishes Katherine Ferrers enjoys in The Wicked Lady had to be researched – I wasn’t alive in 1660, and I’ve never eaten some of the things at the London party attended by Kate, Samuel Pepys and Andrew Marvell.  In The Lady of the Loch and The Highland Hens, there’s a lot of Cullen skink, haggis, cranachan, Clooties, shortbread. I’ve never eaten any of them, although I love porridge and I’ve had a go at making a vegan cranachan. I can recommend it.

In The Golden Gals’ French Adventure, Fliss and Shirl dine out on all sorts of things that I’ve never eaten – moules marinière, Far Breton, Croque Monsieur, Kouign-amann. Of course, I know what they are. I’ve watched other people eat them. But I write about them because they are just what my characters would like. And I hope, my readers will like them too. They add flavour in more ways than one.

In The Vintage Village Bake Off, Robert made scones of all sorts, from limoncello and fruit to savoury ones. And cakes, jams, biscuits. A real feast of all things sweet and creamy. And again, I’ve never eaten any of them. Not even a single scone. I don’t have a sweet tooth.

But it’s all about inclusivity. People eat what they eat. I don’t have to eat it myself to put it in my books. Brenda, the cat in The Seal Bay cozy crime series, eats cat food. I don’t. Morwenna’s tearoom sells meaty pasties. They aren’t for me. But I hope my readers will find that they add to the ambience of the novels. At the beginning of The Golden Gals’ French Adventure, Fliss is drinking cocktails and smoking cigarettes. She soon learns that’s not the healthiest way to live. Admittedly, I did try a Viking’s Testicle cocktail once – just for research, you understand. But I’ve never smoked a cigarette. I have seen others do it – it’s not hard to describe…

The five senses play a huge part in my writing, and I want everything to be a feast for sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. I write about emotions – as humans, we experience situations with a range of emotional responses. I hope empathy is at the heart of what we share as author and reader.

I have included a few vegans in my novels, simply because they exist in the real world. Some of you may remember Kristof, the gorgeous Belgian chef in Chasing the Sun. I even added a few of his vegan recipes in the back of the book for good measure.

Last week I went to a Harvest Festival, where everyone was connected to farming and the talk was all about meat. The week before I went to an Onam Harvest festival and ate vegan dishes from a banana leaf with my fingers. Both events were about celebrating blessings – I was there for the grain and the vegetables..

Of course, as a vegan of thirty years, I dislike animal cruelty and I’m fussy about what I eat, wear and use. I understand that everyone in the world doesn’t think as I do. Would I like them to?  No-one asked me that question at the talk. I’m glad they didn’t. I might have gone on for too long about peace and kindness…

A while ago I had a blog called Vegan Bacon Bites. It was nothing to do with bacon at all – that was the name of the persona. Here’s the link – there are loads of recipes, in case you’re interested.

In my latest novel, The Silver-Haired Sisterhood, Sandy, the chef at the hotel in Sky,e makes incredible food, and the Hens – Tess, Della, Rose, Jen and Pam – are seated around a table scoffing all sorts of delicious things at Hogmanay, watching a show with some incredible performers who I know you’ll love. I hope that it will be a book bursting with the five senses – the beauty of Skye, sounds, smells, tastes, the mountains, snow, sea, ice. Christmas. I hope you’ll enjoy it. It’s out at the beginning of December.

And that leads me to another blog entirely. Christmas food. Now I wonder what I’ll be eating this year?

Mmmmm.

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