{"id":28652,"date":"2025-01-15T12:41:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T12:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/entertainment\/books\/this-feast-of-a-life\/"},"modified":"2025-01-15T12:41:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T12:41:55","slug":"this-feast-of-a-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=28652","title":{"rendered":"This Feast of a Life"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

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From the\u00a0author\u00a0of\u00a0If You Still Recognise Me<\/em>\u00a0comes\u00a0a\u00a0delicious story\u00a0of\u00a0two people brought together by\u00a0a\u00a0shared love\u00a0of\u00a0food\u00a0as they figure out themselves\u00a0and each other.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Auden<\/strong>\u00a0is finding different ways to be themself. The first \u2013 using their new chosen name, which feels most\u00a0authentically them. The second \u2013 starting\u00a0a\u00a0food blog where they can share their passion for food, through family recipes\u00a0and the stories behind them.\u00a0And when the blog brings them Valerie, they discover more than they\u2019d ever expected.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been over\u00a0a\u00a0year since\u00a0Valerie\u00a0<\/strong>lost her mum \u2013 her beautiful, vibrant mum who loved cooking. Since her mum\u2019s death, Valerie\u00a0and her dad have drifted further\u00a0and further\u00a0apart, the kitchen left cold\u00a0and empty, until Valerie finds\u00a0Auden\u2019s blog. The blog (and its writer) spark something in Valerie. Could she have found\u00a0a\u00a0recipe for happiness?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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\"\"<\/i-amphtml-sizer>\"\"<\/amp-img><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

I interviewed Cynthia when their first novel IF YOU STILL RECOGNISE ME<\/a> came out, so was very keen to read their next offering and pleased to see that the premise was completely different while still focusing on young people reflecting on their identities and exploring relationships (friendships, romances, and family). I asked a few new questions:<\/p>\n

The parents played a significant role in this story. I really appreciated that they weren\u2019t perfect but also weren\u2019t awful, they felt very real. Did you consider making Auden\u2019s\u00a0parents more or less supportive?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I did think about making them less supportive, but I know that there\u2019s a desire for something a bit more upbeat when it comes to narratives around trans\/nonbinary characters. And I didn\u2019t want dealing with unsupportive parents to be a big focus of the book \u2013 and if the parents were less supportive, I felt like that would have to take up too much space within the narrative. That wasn\u2019t the story I was trying to tell.<\/p>\n

So I did also consider making them more supportive, but I personally don\u2019t find it very satisfying or easy to write about parents who are wholly supportive \u2013 maybe because I don\u2019t actually know anyone whose parents are like that. (If your parents are, then I\u2019m thrilled for you!)<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why they ended up more in the middle, and I\u2019m glad they seem real!<\/p>\n

I *love* all the food references in THIS FEAST OF A LIFE<\/a>, do you cook yourself?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I do! Although I don\u2019t think of myself as a great cook, I can follow a recipe well enough and I cooked for myself for years. My wife Olivia now does the majority of the cooking in our household (she\u2019s incredible at it) but I still cook regularly.<\/p>\n

When I asked you about the reaction from teens to IF YOU STILL RECOGNISE ME you hadn\u2019t really had any as it was still brand new\u2026what response from readers has the last couple of years brought you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Readers who have messaged me about how the book helped them through a tough time, how it felt like a warm hug or made them feel less alone \u2013 these are the responses I treasure the most. One teen reader I met in a signing queue said they found me inspirational as a person from a different background discovering their identity, which is something I wrote down word for word in my diary because it moved me so much! I\u2019m really glad my books can be there for queer teens who don\u2019t always feel seen.<\/p>\n

Have you started working on a fantasy novel yet or can we expect more beautiful contemporary characters?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, I have started working on a fantasy novel \u2013 very slowly! It\u2019s a contemporary fantasy though and I\u2019m especially interested in trying to balance a contemporary narrative that includes my usual elements of queer romance and identity \u2013 understanding yourself \u00a0and figuring out who you want to be in the world \u2013 with the fantastical aspects.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/i-amphtml-sizer>\"\"<\/amp-img>
Cynthia So (credit Caitlin Wilder)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Cynthia So<\/strong>\u00a0was born in Hong Kong and lives in London. Their work has been published in speculative fiction magazines such as Uncanny, Strange Horizons and Anathema. They are also one of the new voices in PROUD<\/a>, an anthology of LGBTQ+ YA stories, poems and art by LGBTQ+ creators, published by Little Tiger in March 2019. When they\u2019re not writing, they can often be found at the theatre, entranced by a play or a musical. They\u2019re also extremely enthusiastic about board games and tabletop role-playing. If You Still Recognise Me \u2013 shortlisted for the Waterstones Prize, the YA Prize and the Diverse Book Awards \u2013 was their first novel.<\/p>\n

THIS FEAST OF A LIFE<\/a> is out now in the UK, published by Little Tiger. Thanks to Jade for sending me a review copy and co-ordinating interview questions.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the\u00a0author\u00a0of\u00a0If You Still Recognise Me\u00a0comes\u00a0a\u00a0delicious story\u00a0of\u00a0two people brought together by\u00a0a\u00a0shared love\u00a0of\u00a0food\u00a0as they figure out themselves\u00a0and each other. Auden\u00a0is finding different ways to be themself. The first \u2013 using their new chosen name, which feels most\u00a0authentically them. The second \u2013 starting\u00a0a\u00a0food blog where they can share their passion for food, through family recipes\u00a0and the stories […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28653,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[15359,3333],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-28652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-books","tag-feast","tag-life"],"yoast_head":"\nThis Feast of a Life - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=28652\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Feast of a Life - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From the\u00a0author\u00a0of\u00a0If You Still Recognise Me\u00a0comes\u00a0a\u00a0delicious story\u00a0of\u00a0two people brought together by\u00a0a\u00a0shared love\u00a0of\u00a0food\u00a0as they figure out themselves\u00a0and each other. 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