Illinois Kids Have TONS of Questions about Talk Show Host’s ‘Lunchtime’ Book

Have you ever had a New Year's Resolution that ended up being bigger and (mostly) better than you expected? Here's what happens when you decide to publish a book.

Shall we start at the beginning?

I think the beginning might be in the mid-90s, when my mom worked part time as a legal secretary.

At this point I can't remember exactly when she left my brother and me alone or how often it happened, but those moments inspired the children's book I published at the end of 2022.

In the meantime, I took a children's literature class at Drake University sometime between 2005 and 2009.

During that semester we were asked to think about childhood memories and turn those memories into a story.

I did that, which is 'Lunchtime Smorgasbord,' and I actually wrote another book about a duck named after my toddler niece (who is now 15!), a cookbook and a pretty incredible poem about my then baby nephew (who is now 14!).

'Lunchtime Smorgasbord,' did not get an A+ from the beginning, but it did make a big impression on me when I stumbled upon the story again a few years ago.

This is pretty good, I thought, I'm going to publish this.

So I made that my New Year's Resolution in 2022 and after a LOT of research (but not nearly enough...), so much time editing the book and emailing my amazing illustrator and a handful of Sundays spent glued to my computer in November, I have a real life book that is for sale.

I would LOVE if you bought a copy and told me what your kids think of it!

You can meet me this Saturday, January 21 from noon until 3 p.m. at Halo Bakeshop in Loves Park or buy a copy online at LunchtimeSmorgasbord.com.

While you wait for your copy, please enjoy these questions from Addison (and my answers in bold!) a very invested reader!

The kids love Lunchtime Smorgasbord! We read it everyday (twice a day on weekends), and they are running around quoting it now.

Addison has questions: Hi Addison! Thank you so much for loving Lunchtime Smorgasbord!

What is the the grandpa-butter method about? So my grandpa, Tony Fioretti, was the best toast butter-er on the planet! When I was a little girl and we visited my grandparents, we always had the best toast and if we didn't use enough butter then he would tell us to add more and so we learned to butter the toast as much as we possibly could!

What is your oldest brother’s name (I couldn’t remember)? My oldest brother's name is Tommy! And my sister's name is Marilee. 

How did the lunchtime smorgasbord start? I'm still working on remembering this story, I'll get back to you as soon as I remember!

Did you also fight on weekends? WE FOUGHT ALL THE TIME... except Thursdays :)

Why 15 minutes and 15 seconds? Because it sounds good, right?