How To Write About Food

My neighbors across the hall had a nasty habit of stealing. This included my food deliveries, my shoes from the cabinet, and even my clothes drying on the rooftop. Nothing was safe from them. I had enough. One day, I placed a pair of shoes borrowed from my friend, who was battling an extreme case of athlete’s foot, outside my door. Not long after they stole them, they came banging on my door in the middle of the night, furious about the outbreak on their feet. They even filed a complaint at the hospital where I work. I was so furious that I invited a few homeless patients to move in. A muscular man with HIV, an elderly woman with syphilis, and a young man with severe mental health issues became their new neighbors. The thieves could not handle it and begged the landlord to evict them. However, the joke was on them. My family owned the entire building. If anyone was leaving, it certainly was not me.

I sat at the table, watching the food grow cold, much like my heart. Today was my birthday. It was also Leslie Buck's birthday—Katherine White's childhood sweetheart. I unlocked my phone and opened Leslie's social media page. As expected, a new post awaited me. "Grateful to have you by my side for every birthday. Let's keep our promise to celebrate every one of them together in the future!" The photo showed two hands forming a heart in front of a cake. One of them was Katherine's. I could tell from the bracelet she wore. It was the one I had given her. I gave the post a like, then set my phone aside. Without hesitation, I dumped the dishes Katherine liked into the trash and went out to a restaurant to order the food I liked, celebrating my birthday alone. From now on, I would make sure to enjoy every birthday of mine.

In a world where judgment is so easily passed, how can love be free and true? Is there a world where two people can freely express their love for one another and show their true color? How can someone so sure about himself become so conflicted about everything because of a stranger he just met?

Emma's life was not different than Cinderella's, she was punished by her stepmother and sister. And only a prince charming could change her life. For five years, Emma lived in Charlotte Miller’s shadow—forced to play her double, smile for her photos, write her speeches, and disappear the moment the spotlight hit. She was paid to be silent, obedient, and forgettable. Until the night everything shattered. Her heart. Her pride. And her place as Charlotte’s puppet. They forced her into a marriage with Xeros Martinez—a dangerous billionaire heir of the Martinez empire and a man who makes danger feel like desire. She was a substitute bride for him, and the only thing she expected from him was coldness and rejection. But what she didn't expect was his intervention when Charlotte's mother was about to whip her. "How dare you touch my vanilla?" He growled like thunder. "Try it again—and I'll remind you why people fear my name." Their marriage may have begun as a business arrangement, but the heat between them refuses to be ignored. Because later, when she tried to avoid the heat burning between them, he dropped his towel with a smirk, “Scrub my body, wife.” She hesitated. “W-Will I…?” He stepped closer, water dripping down his chiseled chest. “Isn’t that what a wife does?” And when her fingers brushed against his skin, he leaned in, voice low and wicked: “Tell me… do you think I’m sexy?” She mumbled a breathless yes. “What was that?” he asked, teasing. She shook her head, flustered. So he grabbed her waist and smashed his lips onto hers, stealing the truth straight from her mouth.

He’s been looking for someone to hold on to. She’s been waiting for the right guy. This Jersey Devil has a jaded past. Too many loveless affairs, sleazy backroom deals, and an overall loss of his love for life has led Maximillian Leeds to one conclusion. He needs a change. What could be more different for a city slicker than buying a ranch in Northern New Jersey? There’s just one problem. He has no idea how to run a farm/ranch/thing. What’s he even supposed to do on a horse? An announcement in a supernatural newsletter gets him a misfit group of lone Shifters that all have one thing in common. They each need an anchor to settle their beasts. Good thing the Motley Crewd Ranch is fully insured. Thinking he's made a big mistake, Max changes his tune when he meets his fated mate at the Devil’s Food Bakery. The pouty-lipped maker of decadent delights makes his mouth water. Can this Jersey Devil convince the curvy baker to be his?

Patrick and Clare wake up trapped in a basement, a thin wall separating their cells. Their captor is mysteriously absent, which at first seems like a blessing. As more time passes with no food or water, they begin to realize a clock is ticking for their survival.They know their captor is still out there, and it is only a matter of time before he returns.©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

So how many times you accidentally end up having an annoying roommate? It's a story about Haze and Richard. In life unexpected things are expected, and we do our best to deal with it. How about this two? Can they deal with this unexpected roommate thingy? Let's find out

From as far back as I can remember, I knew my mom hated me. She gives me sleeping pills when I'm three. When I'm five, she tries pesticide instead. But I'm hard to get rid of. By the time I'm seven, I've already learned how to fight back. If she refuses to give me food, I flip the table so no one can eat either. If she beats me up until I'm on the ground, writhing in pain, I go after her beloved son the same way, leaving him bruised and bawling. That's how we stay locked in battle until I turn 12. Everything changes when my youngest sister is born. I'm clumsily trying to help with her wet diaper when Mom suddenly shoves me against the wall. The look in her eyes holds both disgust and fear. "What were you trying to do to my daughter? I knew it. You take after that monster of a father. Why didn't you just die with him?" I hold my aching head. For the first time, I don't fight back. I believe she's right. My existence is a mistake. I should never have been alive.

On our first wedding anniversary, my husband came home with a woman who was six months pregnant. He introduced her as his cousin, someone who had fallen on hard times, and asked me to take care of her. I was just about to agree when fragments of imaginary commentary floated through my mind: [She's just my 'cousin'. Uh-uh, that's a cliche.] [Poor supporting female character! A maid by day, the husband's bedwarmer by night.] [But she totally deserved it! If she hadn't broken up the main couple, they'd have a whole soccer team of kids by now!] Wait—what? Supporting female character? Me? And what's this about breaking them up? So now these two get to cheat under my roof, and somehow I'm the villain? Before I could process it all, my husband was already dragging her luggage inside. "Alice doesn't like fried food," he said matter-of-factly. "And nothing too salty or spicy. Make sure you keep that in mind when you're cooking. "Oh, and pregnant women love sweets. Go out now and buy a cherry cake. The one from that bakery in the suburbs."

"You are not frigid, Miracle. Your husband just have no idea how to love a woman like I do," he said as his fingertip trace my body, making me tremble beneath his touch. "So get ready to lose your voice because I'm going to make you scream all night." * Miracle thought her story had ended when her husband of five years, whom she gave up everything for, cheated on her. Until a man named Hawkins, whom she later found out to be a billionaire, saved her from drowning in the ocean and offered to help her find a new purpose in life.  The two clicked instantly and agreed on a no-strings attached relationship for mutual benefit. Miracle thought he was a plot twist in her life, but Hawkins turned out to be a conflict when her father forced her to seduce him in exchange for her and her mother's freedom.  Miracle found herself torn between following what her heart and body desires, and her love for her mother.  One thing is for sure. She will no longer let anyone control her life and write her own ending!