I’m excited to have Hazel with a guest post today
See what my fellow bloggers thought of this one —
Genre: Womenâs fiction / cosy fantasy
Publication Date: February 28, 2025
Estimated Page Count: 312
Standalone First Book in a series
Grab your copy on Amazon ~ https://amzn.to/3Xcay2r
Add to Goodreads ~ https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/221926592-babs-and-aggie
Babs and Aggie – A Question of Taste
Babs and Aggie – the Good, the Bad and the Vegan is out in the big, wide world but it started life as a joke. Or rather, a pun.
A few years ago, I won a place on a writing retreat hosted by a well-known writer/performer. It was fantastic. I came away refreshed, invigorated and ready to write.
But there was a downside.
The majority of the food served on the retreat was vegan and, whilst delicious, for a digestive tract unused to a glut of such fare, there were⊠ramifications.
The effects wore off and I was able to see the funny side. It even became a bit of a family joke – whenever anyone offered me food, they would add the words, âDonât worry, itâs vegan!â. Oh, how we laughed!
The thing is, my writerâs mind started to play with the words and a grisly little story started to take shape with the words âDonât worry, itâs vegan,â as a warped punchline. I saw it as a modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel and for that, Iâd need witches. My memory dredged up a few likely candidates from folklore and I started to write.
The rest is history.
Aggie started talking and told me to write a different story altogether with her and Babs as heroes, not villains. But certain elements of that original idea endure – food is a recurring element of the story and helps to engage the readerâs senses to bring the tale to life.
Itâs no surprise, really. Anyone who knows me knows Iâm obsessed with food. I always think cooking and baking is an almost magical kind of alchemy. You take a few raw ingredients, mix them together, apply some form of heat and end up with something completely different.
But itâs more than that. Food is one of those great levellers that binds humanity. We all have a favourite food. It doesnât matter if itâs fish and chips eaten from the paper on a park bench or lobster bisque, eaten in the finest French restaurant, we all have something that seems to speak to our souls when we eat it. Far beyond providing the nourishment we need, food speaks to us of home and comfort and togetherness. Itâs an expression of love. When we send food to someone who is ill or bereaved, we are telling them, âI care. I want you to be wellâ. When we gather together at major holidays, there is usually some kind of feast involved – an opportunity to share food with the ones we love most and celebrate.
Aside from the emotional connections, food is a great way of tracking our similarities. For
example, travel the world and you will find every country has some form of bread. It may be leavened or unleavened, it may have different seasonings but the basic principle of mixing flour and water and cooking it is one we all share. There is usually some form of stuffed dough – be it pies, samosas or pierogi. Even a simple trek through Europe will show you numerous variations of layered pastry desserts – Mille Feuille, strudel, baklava⊠Ultimately, food is one of the great ways we connect with each other and isnât that what weâre looking for when we read fiction? A way to connect with the things that unite us?
Okay, Iâll admit it, I spent more time than was probably healthy scouring cook books of the world when writing Babs and Aggie. It gave me the perfect opportunity to learn more about a topic that already fascinated me. I even tried several recipes myself. I donât want to brag but I think even Babs may have given the faintest of nods in the direction of my baklava (before telling me hers was better).
Yes, food was always going to be a big part of this story. The research I undertook to write it reminded me that, with very little effort, food can be a source of great pleasure and comfort and I believe that comes through in Babs and Aggie – the Good, the Bad and the Vegan⊠just donât read it on an empty stomach!
Babs and Aggie – the Good, the Bad and the Vegan is out on the 28th February.
Book blurb:
Aggie has reached that âcertain ageâ â in her case, a thousand years or so, give or take a decade.
After centuries of bringing kings to their knees, running a small-town cafe isnât how she imagined her life would pan out. Now, thanks to the machinations of the false vegan from across the road, she risks losing even that. And just when she thinks things canât get any worse, along comes her old friend, Babs, in her House-on-chicken-legs, ready to ruffle some feathers with her unique blend of borscht, tough love and alcohol.
But everybody has a secret â the grocer who hides his loneliness behind a cheery smile, the neighbour crippled by debt and grief, and the young woman who jumps at her shadow â and before Aggie can help anyone else, she has demons of her own to lay to rest.
Can she confront her past to save her future? What is the âVeganâ really hiding? Will Babs ever let her have the last word?
Raucous, rowdy, and heart-wrenching and heart-warming in equal measures, Babs and Aggie is a magical tale of love, loss and the comfort of a friendship forged through food, laughter and a LOT of slivovica.
Purchase Link – https://buy.bookfunnel.com/41hzpamzdh
Author Bio â
Hazel Hitchins is a writer who spends her days having conversations with her imaginary friends, some of which she writes down. She lives in Wales with her normal family, normal(ish) cat, and entirely abnormal laundry pile.
Find her on socials: @hazelhitchinsauthor
Social Media Links â
https://www.threads.net/@hazelhitchinsauthor
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