Well today is the day I have the pleasure of hosting Michael Offutt, author of SLIPSTREAM ... Many of you know Michael from his edgy blog, but if you don't, please drop in on Michael and tell him I sent you. You will certainly enjoy his wit, writing style, and honesty.
Since I am an Interior Designer by trade, Michael thought incorporating design into today's post would be quite appropriate, and I whole heartily agree.
Take it away Michael ...
The houses and apartments of television bombarding our eyes portray the top 1% of our country as the normal America. When I write, I go along with this illusion by using appliances made by industry kings Sub-Zero and Wolf to give a level of authenticity to the Yuppie/bourgeoisie lifestyle of 2012. Sub-Zero and Wolf make arguably the best refrigeration and cooking units on the planet. I’ve included some pictures of kitchens you can design around these kinds of appliances so you can see what I’m talking about. One look screams “Modern Family” or the Cullens in “Twilight” or anything really with stuck up white teenagers trying to attend high school as werewolves or vampires with perfect bodies but somehow, not fitting in. My book doesn’t have this in it…but you get the picture.
I’ve heard more than once that the kitchen is the heart of the home. So many conversations and scenes in my books take place in the kitchen while people are preparing food. This may also have something to do with the fact that I like to eat, and I like describing Italian sausages covered in black mission fig sauce.
So, I mention quartz countertops (because granite is so out now), steam ovens, and Sub-Zero cooling units. Keep in mind that many of these kitchens can cost $100,000 or more just to get them and that’s not even counting the rest of the house. But Hollywood doesn’t talk about that and neither do I. It’s all an illusion of wealth, an illusion of youth, and of being pretty and sexy, right?
It’s like the header on Sub-Zero’s webpage says “Freshness Above All”. Taken literally, this means that stuff goes out of style really quick. It also means that price is no object when freshness is on the line.
So yeah…when writing about the Hamptons, I like to drop brand names.
Do you ever use a kitchen as a setting in your book? If so, how do you go about describing appliances?
I have a contest for the release of my book. I will pick one random person who comments on this post to win a $5 Amazon Gift Card and a SLIPSTREAM jeweled spider (the same person wins both prizes). The jeweled spider really sparkles in the sunlight. I hope whoever wins it really likes it. Also, please make sure that your email is linked to your signature in some way . And yes, the crystal spiders play an important role in my book.
Rules:
Mark my book “To Read” on Goodreads.
Comment on this post.
Tweet this post if you have twitter. You don’t have to sign-up for twitter. It’s the “honor” system.
That’s it. I will choose a winner on Saturday, May 19th. And thank you, Michael, for having me on your fine blog.
NOW these are some AWESOME kitchens .... worthy of my design talents. ... LOL.
31 comments:
Great post, great kitchen, great couple of guy! Good luck with your book Michael and the both of you have a great day ---Yep, I am in a great mood so even though I am not found of spiders, this one is pretty.
In my book the main characters live in a crappy little apartment so they don't have much of a kitchen.
In my last MS there were quite a few kitchen scenes. But nothing in the current one.
Wow! Such nice kitchens.
I'm trying to think if I have any kitchen scenes in my books. At the moment I can't think of any. Maybe that's because I'm not much on cooking. Heh.
awesome post and very cool kitchen - though I prefer something with warmer colors. It looks better with the people in it. And yes! I would love to win that spider - much as I hate the creatures, lol.
How timely! I'm re-modeling our kitchen and will use any help I can get.
@Huntress: Remodeling a kitchen can cost as much as a brand new house. Unless you don't care and want to go cheap. Then your whole house will look cheap which is fine for some people. Just sayin... these expensive kitchens are what I'd want. I just could never afford one on my salary.
Those are photos of very nice kitchens! When I write, I also imagine scenes in kitchens and involving food. The kitchen in my YA series is a lot more homey than those pictured. The teens also do eat a lot which I think is true to life. Right?
Ooh those kitchens are lovely. Nothing like my plain old kitchen. Pretty sure all those expensive appliances aren't going to make people better cooks though.
Huh... Now, I'm thinking of where I used the kitchen and food in my book. And the sequel almost opens with a scene in the kitchen...
Give me the spider!
I think most people who have those awesome kitchens also have awesome debt that will take a few awesome years to pay off.
Kitchens to die for. though I don't slave around the kitchen, I do love to cook varied stuff every other day.
The kitchens in my book would be the Indian kind as they appear only in my women's fiction - contemporary and realistic.
My tales are about the middle class - all levels, so no rich woman's stuff.
Very nice kitchens. My characters and settings tend to not be in the 1%. But I would love that lower kitchen. Need to meet me a millionaire I guess.
No kitchens used yet though I might have one in my third book.
Ernest Hemingway compared life to a feast, so in that way each moment of our lives is in the "Kitchen" of our souls.
For my latest character, Alice Wentworth, a ghoul, the deserted night-time streets of the French Quarter are her kitchens!
Michael Offut radiates personality. Good of you to blog his latest release! Roland
There really aren't that many domestic scenes in my writing, so I can't think of any kitchens. But wow, the ones in the bottom pictures are certainly fancy. Though I could never really bring myself to like chrome.
...the two Michael's, chatting on about, of all things, kitchens ;)
Good stuff, fellas! Hoping Slipstream sales are going well.
El
Michael Di; I'd cringe if you saw my kitchen in my rented house. If I hadn't needed the space in the rest of the house, I would have ran away without looking back.
Is all going well in your world? No gators chomped a leg or arm as you ran along the beach? I've been missing your humor.
Mike O; yep, all it takes is money to have the house of your dreams, lol. I have several scenes in a kitchen; but they all reflect my practical, economical mind. Food, not design, is my main focus.
Not long ago my writers group had a prompt which involved a furniture, and two of our members used Ikea specifically in their descriptions of the studio flat. I had no idea what that was, let alone what it could look like.
Shameful, I know. Hey, that emerald spider would look gooood in my kitchen window :)
......dhole
@Brinda: I love nice kitchens. Some teens eat a lot. I guess it depends on the person.
@Alyson: I know right?
@Andrew: LOL
@Phil: I don't think so. I think the people that have awesome kitchens are rich. If not, then they are people living a lie (and beyond their means). So basically, are you saying that a lot of people with these kitchens are living a lie? Hmmmm
@Rek: Kitchen is the heart of the home, right?
@M Pax: I like fantasizing about the 1% mostly because I'll never be part of it.
@Alex: Space operas and kitchens do not mix, eh?
@Roland: Thank you for the compliment, sir.
@Eagle: I like contemporary.
@Elliot: I think they are decent considering I'm a nobody. I'm gonna go with five book sales a week. I of course don't know. My publisher doesn't share that information with me.
@Donna: Ikea is inexpensive, assemble it yourself furniture, that is very compact and mostly contemporary. I do like contemporary.
Thank you everyone for visiting and supporting me.
Thank you Michael Gesu, for hosting me. I appreciate all that you have done. Let me know how I can return the favor for you.
Sorry I'm a bit late over here, been one of those days, you know the kind, the ones that go from bad to worse than awful...
In my current wip, the first scene that introduces my core group of characters takes place in a kitchen. I think the kitchen is a good setting because you can go from eating and gathering to grabbing a meat cleaver and chopping off heads.
ooh, two of my fave blogging Michaels in one place.... which Holiday is today? :)
Hi Michael and Michael! I love kitchens and love a well designed one but I generally find that the expensive ones aren't really designed for cooking. They are designed for show so I think they look cool but usually I'm not that impressed. I want something that makes cooking fun not that just impresses. I will never have money for such a thing either and my kitchen is only slightly bigger than my refrigerator-lol. But it's lovely dreaming about them isn't it? Nice post and keep on. I will retweet the post because I love you both!
Ok so I know that I have already commented, but as usual someone has to take care of your fish brother :)
I feel a bit outdated when talking kitchens. Mine was renovated several years ago and what a nightmare that was. Those kitchen shots are to die for, except for the chairs. The don't look comfy and therefore have to go. Going to tweet this now!
Poor fish...
oh! I've been seeing this one around the blogosphere a lot, and it sounds very cool. Best of luck to you, Michael and LB hugs to you, Michael--:D
OH Am I the only one who feeds your fish! Miss you Bro.
OMG, they are getting fat. Better stop coming around and feeding them! You think?
I have used a kitchen as a setting, more than once. In fact, now that you mention it, a pretty major scene in my second book takes place in one. Great guest post, even if the pictures make me shudder, and I don't mean the kitchen ones. ;)
I nearly always have a kitchen and/or food in my stories. The opening scene of In Name Only is set in a Mexican restaurant called the Pink Tortilla.
Waving to Other Michael, Blog Owner here :) Thanks for commenting on my blog today.
Kitchen with design cabinets, place to keep all plates and dishes covered, with stainless Range Hood make a good design
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