Bookpleasures.com welcomes as our guest Carole Bumpus author of A September To Remember, Searching For Family and Traditions at the French Table, Books One & Two, Recipes for Redemption, and A Cup of Redemption

Bee: When did you first know that you wanted to write?

Carole: As a reader, I’ve always appreciated a well-written story, a significant turn of phrase, a description which could carry me into the inner workings of places and characters, or into the kitchen on the whimsy of a tantalizing recipe. But it wasn’t until I retired as a family therapist and began to travel to Europe that I found my own ‘voice’ on the page. And now, my fingers actually tingle with excitement at the idea of creating something from a simple fleeting memory. Writing has filled my life with joy. 

Bee:What is the story behind your ‘Savoring the Olde Ways’ series?

Carole: When I first retired, I began traveling to Europe with my husband. Everywhere we went, I was fascinated with all things familial and ‘local’. I wanted to know their history, traditions, folklore, what it was like to live in their homes, work at their jobs and what special dishes brought their families together at the table. 

I arranged with translators to help me interview more than seventy-five French and forty Italian families about their favorite foods, holidays, and traditions. I asked them about their family stories, the pearls of wisdom handed down through the generations. “What foods brought your family to the table?”

I would ask. “Who taught you how to cook? What special dishes were served at holiday gatherings? What recipes came from your mother or grandmother? And how did your family survive living with war on your doorstep?”

I interviewed vintners, olive growers, fishermen, farmers, iron miners, ceramicists, and weavers of silk cloth. I spoke to carvers of ship mastheads, cheesemakers who used milk from water buffaloes or raw milk from cows to create those marvelous rounds of parmigiana Reggiano. I spoke with balsamic vinegar makers, truffle collectors, bakers, butchers, and chefs. What I found was that no matter the trade of each artisan, everyone took pride in preparing a good meal for their own families. Each instilled in me the importance to ‘savor’ the old ways of Europe. 

Bee: What is the craziest writing idea you ever had?

Carole: Because I was collecting stories and traditional recipes from both France and Italy, I was asked to add recipes to my books. I had no idea how difficult it would be to translate each recipe into English, change measurements from metric to U.S. standards, or convert Celsius to Fahrenheit for oven temperatures in both languages. And who knew the challenge I would face in finding the correct spelling for foreign words, especially in ingredients and regional dishes? Of course, the recipes needed testing and I had two separate deadlines to meet: April 2020 for Book Two (France) and October 2020 for Book Three (Italy).

Just as I was preparing to test the French recipes in Book Two, the pandemic began to sweep over us, and grocery stores started limiting hours as well as ingredients. When we were all in lock-down, I sent out an S.O.S. to the readers of my blogs to join me in a ‘virtual test kitchen’. We began to test the French recipes, and not long afterward, the Italian recipes. 

It turned out to be a joyous event as folks from across the U.S., plus the U.K. and France, joined me in my ‘test kitchen’. Over eighty-five fellow ‘testers’ came to my rescue, and, in short order, I was able to complete the testing on time. The names of all my testers can be found in the Acknowledgement section of both of my books. But better still, I was able to develop a rich relationship with all during a unique time of shutdown.

Bee: What is your most rewarding experience since being published?

Carole: I have received numerous national and international awards and have had two of my books accepted into the American Library in Paris. But, when I receive a review that expresses an exuberance and joy in reading my books and an understanding of why I write, that gives me the greatest pleasure. 

Also, once, while a friend of mine was on a cruise ship in Turkey and reading my book, another passenger strode up to him and announced he was also reading my book. The first person was from Germany and the second from Australia. It thrilled me to no end that my books were reaching readers around the world.

Bee: If someone wrote a biography about you, what would the title/sub-title be?

Carole: Obstacles be damned! She came; she saw; she changed it up and served it for dinner.  [These are always difficult questions for me to answer, although my husband suggested: Nevertheless, She Persisted.]

Bee: What are you working on now?

Carole: I’m continuing to work on several more books in my series and also want to complete a book about the WWII U.S. veterans I traveled with through France (research for my historical novel). 

Follow Here To Read Bee's Review of A September To Remember: Searching for Culinary Pleasures at the Italian Table