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Question Not My Salt
Group Reads: Guest Author Invite
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March 2024 Group Read with Guest Author, Amanda M. Blake
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This looks fun I’m getting it now!
Have already downloaded the book and I am looking forward to it!
Hello, everyone and anyone! Looking forward to discussing this next month. It's a rollicking, roiling short read, so tuck those napkins in your collar and brace yourselves for the feast.
I started reading it last night and haven’t been able to put it down.
I started reading it three hours ago and couldn't put it down! I've never been so disgusted yet intrigued. This was my first book with "special meat" and such interesting family traditions as I haven't read much horror. And I think I'll need a few silly, light-hearted books to cleanse my palette. The story flowed so well, and the writing (unfortunately for me) helped create the most vivid images. I have a few questions for the author :)
There's a reference to the Hewitt Family. Are there some secret references that horror super-fans can find?
Does Father help out with cooking or food prepping for other family dinners? Is there a holiday where his unique skills are showcased (if any)?
Does the family celebrate the rest of the holiday in their own special way? Or do they, like other American families, look up the best Black Friday deals on fancy new dinnerware or knife sets?
Glad you 'enjoyed' it, so to speak!1) The Hewitts are the name of the family in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and prequel of the remake. Beyond that, I don't think I make any direct references, although the book was also influenced by Hannibal, The Menu, The Sacrament (which was based on Jonestown), Misery, Would You Rather, Ready or Not, Get Out, and The Invitation (2015). Many of these are a call to a dinner table.
2) I envisioned him doing more of the outdoor cooking, with the barbecue, the smoker, the fire pit, and the pizza oven, although Mother is proficient in these as well. When they're working a catering job, though, they both pitch in. It's a family business. If the meal is in their backyard, like for Independence Day, that's Father's domain. In the kitchen and at the dining room table inside, that's Mother's.
3) After the meal, they all recover in their own way. After the prep and madness of the feast, they're full and tired (particularly Mother), but I'm sure other members of the family are more invigorated. As long as they're staying up watching the game they missed, they might as well ride the momentum to Black Friday sales. :) The newer guests are probably reeling from the experience and knee-deep in justifying the whole mess.
Horror Aficionados offer a generous array of four books this month and I must apologize for reading out of order. The Guest Author Invites are my favorite part and I have already bought the books. I will try to get straightened out.
Mod
There is no "reading order" to be adhered to. Members are able to read any/some/all of the group reads and participate if they wish to. The threads stay open so that even if you don't finish a selection in that month, but wish to discuss it with other members later, you can do so. :)
Amanda, I love your book!! I could’ve devoured it in one sitting but I’m savoring it—like a fine meal, making myself wait a little longer before finishing. I love Sierra and even in the horrifying claustrophobic situation she’s finding herself in, she still has some “humor”. I laughed & love the line “I can get good comfort food at Cracker Barrel, Zoe!”
As to your inspirations, “The Menu” was such a good movie! I was doing the intense clap to my family before serving dinner for a few days after watching it Lol
I'm glad you love it! I enjoy a locked-room horror, even if the doors aren't technically locked.My brother has the loudest clap I've ever heard. While watching sports, he'll stand and clap when his team does something good, and my brain will go in full panic mode because the sound actually hurts. He has since learned that, in this household, he has to refrain from compressing air so violently. That part of The Menu isn't quite as sharp, but it creates an echo of the response.
Amanda wrote: "I'm glad you love it! I enjoy a locked-room horror, even if the doors aren't technically locked."Hahaha, same! The best one of all, because it started it all (I think???) is "And Then There Were None" by Agatha Christie.
That part of The Menu isn't quite as sharp, but it creates an echo of the response.
Right, just a singular, solidly intense clap. Ralph Fiennes was amazing as the chef.
Amanda wrote: "Glad you 'enjoyed' it, so to speak!1) The Hewitts are the name of the family in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and prequel of the remake. Beyond that, I don't think I make any direct referenc..."
I'm definitely pushing those movies up in my ever-growing watchlist. Ready or Not has become a new favourite of mine (I loved it when she missed that nail)! A few weeks ago, I accidentally watched the 2022 Invitation instead of the 2015 one; I think you'd like a certain manicure scene in the 2022 one.
I appreciate the split in household work and that family members accept their role in the family. We love a healthy relationship dynamic for Mother and Father. Communication is key! Though Zoe still needed to learn about clear communication skills from her parents, it might have helped create a stronger base for future relationships.
A few weeks ago, I accidentally watched the 2022 Invitation instead of the 2015 one; I think you'd like a certain manicure scene in the 2022 one. I recently watched the 2022 one for a second time and loved it. I'm a sucker for inventive retellings/reimaginings.
Though Zoe still needed to learn about clear communication skills from her parents, it might have helped create a stronger base for future relationships.
Ah, she's young.
Finished! I love it! Speaking of Zoe...she was maddening! But that helped make the story so good.
(view spoiler)
I can see this as a horror screenplay! Who would you (or anyone who's read it-chime in!) cast as some of the main characters?
My bias came into play here, but I couldn't help but picture Wendy Robie in "People Under the Stairs", as Mother. She's an absolute favorite character of mine!
Although I do think this would make a fun horror movie, I've never casted it in my mind, not least because the characters themselves kept chameleoning in my head. A few traits stayed static, but appearances weren't usually important, so it's pretty open for casting.But I thought about it, and here's one possible cast (although the young women have aged out of the roles):
Sosie Bacon as Sierra
Alexandra Krosney as Zoe
Sarah Paulson as Mother
Giancarlo Esposito as Father
Good ones. I can see Sarah as Mother!
Just downloaded and after reading these comments, excited to start! Thank you Amanda for being here with us this month!
Hope you 'enjoy' it!A little bit of trivia:
For Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners every year, I am expected to make the sweet potato casserole, which is based off a Boston Market Copycat recipe (I scale down on both butter and sugar, and it's still very sweet). My aunt tried one year and set it on fire by overcooking the marshmallows.
I also occasionally make the deviled eggs.
My favorite Thanksgiving dish is broccoli rice cheese casserole.
What are Thanksgiving dishes you traditionally make or look forward to?
I am 68% finished but will finish it tomorrow. It is my opinion that you're a gifted writer who is adept at writing realistic conversations, pacing a plot, and creating tension in short works of extreme horror. Judge Not My Salt is a winner. It is witty too. Laughed out loud a few times.
Oh, these guest author invites are terrific. I apologize for my delay in getting into the discussion.Thank you for your time, Amanda.
Amanda, I love the broccoli, rice, and cheese bake. I look forward to my dad's homemade stuffing made with his rustic breads and fresh herbs. And the gravy!
I love a good stuffing or dressing with gravy, too.Pisces, glad you're enjoying it!
Another bit of trivia, I initially started writing QNMS as a short story. At 6K words, I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to cut it down enough to meet max word count.
At 9K words, I decided to see where it took me.
That's part of the reason why there are no chapter breaks.
I finished Question Not My Salt last night. I rated it 5 Stars. Amanda, you "brought it". Review will be posted later. I forgot to mention that the occasional gallows humor was LOL funny. The book was quite good and delivered on its promises. Strong protagonist.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed it and that the humor came through at the right moments.
I have to admit, I'm wary of extreme horror! I thought this was part of the "main" group read selections for the month. I really did enjoy this book! It walks that fine line of extreme horror I can read, which was really refreshing for me since I don't mind a bit of gore. What a fun--and deeply unsettling! --book. Movie version, anyone?
I would agree that QNMS is on the milder side of extreme, and I'm happy it stayed on the right side of your line so that you could enjoy it more.
What inspired the setting/story concept? Were you wanting to write a story about a dinner gone wrong, or were you feeling the Thanksgiving spirit and decided "needs more cannibalism"?
QNMS was a confluence of story concepts I've always wanted to do. I've always wanted to write some form of locked-room horror, because it's so intimate, so a cave-like kitchen and dining room in a house my MC can't escape--even though it seems so easy to--ticked that box.
I'd been wanting to use an anecdote from my freshman year in college in a story somewhere, where my roommate invited me to her house and her mom told me the soup was going to be a little spicy, but it didn't seem spicy to me at all. My roommate's mom was a lot nicer, and the soup was still good.
And I'd wanted to do a cannibalism story, but a lot of cannibalism seems to be set either in rich or foodie circles or backwoods rural. So I wanted something that was undeniably Suburban Cannibalism.
Add to that my deep secondhand embarrassment with cringe, I wanted to write something that took those cringe feelings to an extreme "frog in boiling water" outcome.
In keeping with the theme, I had a lot of ingredients I'd always wanted to use, so I mixed them together to see what kind of soup it made.
Hi Amanda, I am blown away by your novel! I’m about 2/3 in and your set ups and grossness vs humor are simply amazing. I like a horror book to surprise me and recently I’ve gotten more into intense horror and you have done both. Thank you for the information about what gave you the idea. I think we can all relate to being at a family gathering or dinner party where we just want to go home and your twist on this locked room horror as you named it is certainly that. Did you see the sexual components coming (no pun intended) or was that a natural outcome of the intensity of the situation when you were writing? I loved being in the mind of Sierra when she is trying to figure out herself while seeing herself as a sexual participator step by step but being watched and lusted over at the same time.
The sexual elements arose out of the cringe. I didn't see anything coming in this book, because I wrote it almost completely off the cuff from concept. (I'm a pantser, but I usually plan a little in my head first.)I just asked myself what would be the most mortifying thing that could happen at each course (and of course 'most mortifying' changes with every course when the Samuels' move the goalposts), and I eventually thought of the 'funny uncle.'
But I also liked the innocence of Sierra's attraction against the backdrop of the horrifying things happening to her and around her.
I'm so glad that you're enjoying yourself and that the story is surprising you along the way.
The funny uncle oh yes there’s always one of those too haha. Thanks for getting back to me and yes the cringe vs Sierra’s innocence (with humor) is so very well done and just keeps going up in scale. Funny I was reading in bed and my husband said read me the paragraph you are reading right now and I was like eek yes this is my secret weird life! I promise I won’t eat you. Oh and what do you mean when you call yourself a pantser?
And not being a foodie i find your food descriptions have their own creepiness to them, is that intentional or were you trying to give us readers a snack break from the horror and debauchery? Or maybe a comment on Americans obsession with thanksgiving?!
In my Apple news feed, I randomly came across a "lovely news story" coming out of the NY subways this month....and I instantly thought of Sierra. Woman’s feet amputated after being pushed onto tracks, struck by subway: NYPD https://fox59.com/news/national-world...
Yikes! That's...more efficient, I guess. Oh and what do you mean when you call yourself a pantser?
Pantser vs. Plotter: Pantsers write by the seat of their pants, minimal written prep like outlining or even sometimes researching. (Me? I don't know what to research until I've started writing.) Plotters have all kinds of methods to their planning, from sticky-note boards to binders of research to outlining.
And not being a foodie i find your food descriptions have their own creepiness to them, is that intentional or were you trying to give us readers a snack break from the horror and debauchery? Or maybe a comment on Americans obsession with thanksgiving?!
A bit of both. It's kind of food porn, because I love homemade feasts or potluck-style dinners that are typical of my family's big dinners, but there are also areas that should feel texturally revolting or evoke a certain innuendo.
Ah I see thank you on both of those questions Amanda! I think it’s time for me to finish the book; I can’t stop thinking about it!
Wow just finished, really enjoyed this Amanda, I got all squicky when all was going down for Sierra so I guess you really made me care about her! I really like your combination of horror and humor, it works really well. Thanks to Kenneth and Harpeet too, I loved your questions and thoughts. I would also recommend the Danish horror film Speak no Evil for another cozy family get together.
I would also recommend the Danish horror film Speak no Evil for another cozy family get together.I still need to see that, although everything I've heard suggests I'd really like it.
I'm so glad that you liked it and connected to the horror and humor of it all.
It's been a great deal of fun hanging out with y'all for Question Not My Salt. I appreciate this opportunity. Thanks to Ken and to Horror Aficionados for hosting me!
I just finished this and loved it! It’s probably the first time I’ve truly enjoyed extreme horror (although I’ve only read a few). I couldn’t put it down. I found myself rooting for Sierra and had no idea whether she was going to make it out alive or even what was going to happen next. Such a fun, great read and I will be recommending it to my horror friends!
Awesome! As milder extreme, I think QNMS can reach across the aisle between extreme and pulp, and I wrote it to be disgusting *and* fun. I'm so glad that you enjoyed it!
Some of you will be having holiday feasts this weekend. Some of you will be going to a house for the first time.If they ask you to spit and pass, ask to be excused and run.
https://www.amazon.com/Question-Not-S...