All right, so let's try some Boston Baked Beans.
At least, that's what I was thinking last night when I got home from my folks'. (Thanks a lot, Tipsy Me.) So I pulled out a bag of pintos and put them in a pot to soak. This morning, though, when I accessed this recipe, I realized I'd already goofed ... I'm supposed to be using Great Northern Beans, or some other big white bean, not pintos. Oh well. A good cook's all about improv, right?
So they're boiling right now, and I'm thinking that they're making my house smell like an industrial kitchen - not the good kind - and second-guessing my choice. Boston Baked? Mexican? Cuban? Portuguese? What am I DOING???
I'm also thinking about my manuscript - specifically, about my protagonist, and the two people to whom he is sexually attracted. Is it narratively feasible to give him the hots for a man and a woman? Will anyone believe it? I mean, he's a pretty screwed up kid anyway, what with the nicotine and pot and booze (though, arguably, considering what his family is like, you can't be too hard on him). How believable is it to have a perfectly 50/50 bisexual man as a main character?
I've also got, knocking around in my head, another fic idea, based on a Belgariad fanfic I wrote about a kazillion years ago, and that guy's definitely bisexual. Is this something that can be readily accepted these days? Between the fabulous George Takei and the same-sex marriage kerfuffle, I'm fairly certain the Geek Community would welcome a bisexual character with open arms (look at Torchwood, for pete's sake). But would a publishing company consider it marketable? That seems to be what they go for.
And another thing. Why do I constantly write stories with a man as a main character?
Urgh. Off to stir the beans.
3 comments:
Pinto beans work just fine for baked beans. Navy beans are a blank slate. Pintos are earthier and beanier and I like them better. You could step up the onions and the garlic and the other flavorings, or just embrace their beaniness. And if your character is bisexual, don't sweat it. He could be a heterosexual or homosexual with two love interests. My take on Alex is that he's just very sensual in general - artist, wine connoiseur (I just forgot how to spell that. Horrors! French is the devil to spell.). And he has such divided feelings about his family and humanity in general. He wouldn't put so much energy into thumbing his nose at them if he didn't also want them to approve of him. I've been thinking I'd like to have some more senses brought into his POV more often - taste, touch, smell, etc. And now I want to cook a pot of beans. They'd perfume the whole house.
And would a publisher buy a book with him as a main character? Why not? People are more open about their flavor of sexuality now than they have been in the history of this country.
Two words - Captain Jack.
I agree now about the beans ... they were indeed much "beanier." Navies are good for things like cassoulet (French again! Oh, the horror!).
And yes, Captain Jack ... though I'm ashamed to admit my mind went immediately to Jack Daniels.
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