They All Scream For Ice Cream, Part I

Summer is here -- yahoo! --  and ice cream is on my mind. Okay, it’s also on my mind because (1) I eat it year-round, and (2) my new book called Rocky Road is set in an ice cream shop. In Rocky Road, Tess's favorite ice cream flavor is – surprise, surprise -- rocky road. (It also describes what life has served up for her family.) Tess loves how rocky road swirls chocolate ice cream with chunks of marshmallow and crunchy nuts. True story: Rocky road was created back in 1929 by an ice cream man named William Dryer. He wanted to give folks something to smile about during the Great Depression. My character Tess considers him a hero.

Thinking about Tess’s love for rocky road has made me imagine other characters from children's books and what their favorite ice cream flavors might be.

Pooh from Winnie the Pooh -- Honey, of course

Anne of Anne of Green Gables - strawberry, (redhead preference)

Wilbur of Charlotte's Web -- Slop swirl

Harry Potter -- Walnut Wizard Mocha

James of James and the Giant Peach – duh, peach sherbet

Junie B. Jones -- Chawcloate Chip

Huck Finn -- Mississippi Mud Pie

Your turn. Think of other children’s literature characters. Can you guess about their favorite ice cream flavors?

I asked some of my local author buddies about their main character's favorite ice cream flavor. Here’s what they said:

Nancy Castaldo, author of Pizza For The Queen, suspects that Queen Margherita would go for stracciatella, a chocolate chip flavor that was very common with people. A perfect choice since Margherita liked to taste the foods of her subjects.

Eric Luper, author of Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto, says that Seth’s favorite would be chocolate/vanilla twist soft-serve on a waffle cone. “The kind that’s just a little melty so it’s a battle to lick the melty parts before they make it onto your hand or, worse, onto your brand new Izod shirt.”

Matt McElligott, co-author with Larry David Tuxbury, of the soon-to-be released novel, Benjamin Franklinstein Lives!, says that Ben would be evenly split between Philly Vanilla and French vanilla. (Makes sense if you know Ben’s hangouts.)

Coleen Paratore, author of The Wedding Planner's Daughter series, knows with certainty that Willa always gets vanilla frozen yogurt with Heath bar chunks on a cone when she has ice cream with JFK on Cape Cod.  

And Jennifer Roy author of Trading Faces, Take Two and Times Squared (2011) says identical twins Emma and Payton would definitely get double scoops!  Payton would pick whatever flavor is trendy, and straight-forward Emma would stick with vanilla.

See that. You can learn something from a character’s favorite ice cream flavor.

Stay tuned. I’ll be serving up plenty more blog scoops about ice cream…

Sticking Up For Schenectady

I’ll say it loud,
and I’ll say it proud.
 I’m a fan of oldie-but-goodie cities.

Cities like Schenectady, which so happens to be

about eight miles from where I live in upstate NY.

I like walking alongside the Mohawk River. I like the Stockade district with its old-world charm and historical landmarks (George Washington stayed there several times during the American Revolution.) And I like Schenectady’s local-owned fooderies that sell my favorite crusty bread (Perreca’s) and lemon ice (Civitellos) and, of course, books (Open Door).

Schenectady is where Rocky Road, my new book, takes place. On arrival, Tess calls Schenectady “a sorry city just asking to be misspelled.” Some people out there agree with Tess’s first impression of Schenectady. (I write first impression because she changes her mind.) Even famous people take cheap shots at Schenectady.

Stephen Colbert joked that Schenectady should be visited by helicopter only. You usually crack me up, Stephen, but not when you mess with my hangout. You've never sat down in the Central Park Rose Garden and soaked in all that beauty. Being there is way better than an aerial view -- see above photo. (Aka Rose in the roses.)

 Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer compared it to poverty-struck Appalachia. Well excuse me, Eliot, but obviously you haven't toured Union College and Proctor’s Theater. And like we couldn’t hit you with some low blows?

It’s true that Schenectady has struggled for years due to an aging infrastructure, mall mania, and sprawling suburbs. But it’s also true that many Schenectadites refused to give up on this city whose name comes from a Mohawk word meaning “place beyond the pine plains.”  They pitched in with funding, elbow grease and TLC, and its downtown revitalization is the fruit of their labors.

Plenty of cities in the USA have their own Comeback Kid stories. Do you know one? If so, I bet you could tell a tale or two about the good times you’ve spent there.