by: Stacey Agdern
Series: Friendships and Festivals
Genre: Hanukkah Romance/Multicultural Romance
Release Date: October 21, 2021
Publisher: Tule Publishing
You can’t make a latke without breaking a few eggs…
Batya Averman is ecstatic when a latke fry-off committee chooses her as its web designer—until she learns the event is in Rivertown, New York, the hometown she fled years ago. But she’s no longer the girl with an embarrassing history and an unrequited crush on Abe Neumann. This delicious competition is Batya’s chance to further her career, and this time she won’t run.
Abe Neumann can’t pass up the opportunity to enter the town’s latke contest. He dreams of throwing caution to the wind and leaving his accounting firm, opening a Jewish deli, and choosing his own happiness. The prize money would bring him closer to making his dream a reality, but when Batya comes back to town, Abe remembers that a deli isn’t the only thing he’s wished for.
When the fry-off’s celebrity host has to pull out of the competition, Batya is determined to step up to the challenge. This Hanukkah, can Abe fix the past and convince Batya that dreams, like latkes, are better when they’re shared?
Physical Description: 5’11, brown curly hair, brown eyes, glasses
Occupation: For now, specialized tax accountant; translation: I work with people with large financial profiles. But I dream of opening my own deli, focusing on jewish flavor profiles.
3 likes in no particular order: Winter, hockey, kosher barbecue.
*3 dislikes in no particular order: The way I treated Batya, beer, sour cream.
Drink of choice: Lemonade
Favorite food: Brisket. Smoked just right.
Favorite song: Would it be weird if I admitted how much I liked hanukkah music? It’s quirky and kinda cool, and it’s really just fun. I will admit a certain kind of glee when I hear Zack Weisler’s translation of the Christmas Song**, or the new Six13 or Maccabeats songs.
Choice of transportation: If I’m going to Manhattan, train. If I’m just going around the county or out of state-give me my car. It’s not new, but it’s trustworthy.
Favorite way to spend an evening: Dinner at my best friend Leo’s with his wife Sapna, their adorable kid and Artur, my other best friend. Definitely first major test for someone I’m seeing.
Favorite holiday tradition: Absolutely sharing holiday traditions with Leo, Sapna and Artur and the rest of the quiz group. We’re a big, close group and we all celebrate different holidays. I’ve brought both latkes and soofganiyot and have had so many different tastes of Diwali, and Christmas and got to share my favorite parts of Hanukkah.
Best memory to date: When my friends and my dad told me I wasn’t out of my mind for making barbecue. I wanted to do it, but I felt for a long time that, you know, I was making horrible decisions. I had a good job and a good life, but I wanted more. And making barbecue in my apartment wasn’t enough, and once my friends said it was good, that I was doing good,
If you could have a do-over, what would you do differently? Make sure Batya Averman knew I loved her. I’ve always felt weird and guilty about the fact she left after the senior party. Haven’t talked to her since; she’s been avoiding me.
What’s something you’ve said you would never do, but in fact have done? Move back to Rivertown, into the house I grew up in. But I want different things from the point I said that. I want a different life.
Most romantic gesture (done or received): Nothing yet. Hoping to get the chance to make a good one.
Words to live by: Work towards your dreams. Nothing is ever out of reach.
*The subject received the questionnaire before the time period of Love and Latkes begins.
**Zach Weisler and his song are fictional, the lyrics are available on request, Six 13 and the Maccabeats are real and so much fun.
The following excerpt may have information relevant to a book in the new Last Girls Standing series, the first book of which comes out in June of 2023.
Friday was slow, and as sundown came around, Abe was fighting with dough.
Not a challah dough; that had long been dealt with and was sitting on the cutting board, ready for dinner.
The results of this dough were sinking into the pot instead of floating. He wasn’t getting the proportions right, and the dough had gone to garbage.
Thankfully, hopefully, his dinner guest wouldn’t care too much about whether his matzah balls were fluffy.
“What are you making and why are you cooking already?”
Abe looked up from the stove, only to see Artur standing behind him. “Oh,” he said with a laugh. “It’s you.”
“Shabbat shalom to you too,” his friend said. “And what the heck are you making and why can’t I pour sour cream over it?”
“Why in the world would you want to pour sour cream over matzah balls?”
“That’s something even I wouldn’t condone. Not even matzah balls that don’t seem to float.” He paused. “What did you use? Water?”
Abe nodded. “Can’t get the proportions right.”
“Seltzer,” he said. “My mother used to swear on the rising properties of seltzer, before she decided that cooking was something other people did.”
And as Abe pondered that little bit of information, his friend stared deeper into the pot.
“So, chicken soup?”
Abe nodded. “I got some extra chicken last night from Moshe, so I made soup. You’re welcome.”
“Well of course. I get the benefit of your extra chicken since—wait.” He paused. “Last night?”
“Yeah. Took Batya to see him last night.”
Artur nodded, pulled open a drawer, and started to take out some silverware. “Okay. I’m listening.”
“That assumes I’m telling you this wild story.”
“It does indeed, but of course what would our chatzi Shabbas dinner be without wild stories, hmm?”
Which was true, of course. Nights with Leo meant cooking and humor. Nights with Artur meant food and stories, sometimes hard ones, sometimes easy ones.
And there was some degree of solemnity of a Friday night with challah and wine and candles, of remembrance if not exactly observance. And so, as they sat down to eat not long after, Abe told Artur the story.
“Interesting,” Artur said as he took a drink of his soda. “So you mean to tell me that you brought (Batya) to Moshe and she hasn’t told you whether she’s coming tomorrow morning?”
Abe nodded. “That about sums it up, I think.”
“It’s safe to say she’ll be here tomorrow morning. Or afternoon or sometime tomorrow. I mean, you basically showed her your etchings.”
Abe barely kept from covering Artur with the soup in his mouth. “What do etchings have to do with Moshe the butcher?”
Artur sighed. Which usually meant some kind of pronouncement was coming. “I think what you did is showed her your ace in the hole, the most important thing to your setup. Which is basically etchings to the two of you. The forbidden, the ‘let me show you this’ but what I mean is ‘let me show you myself.’”
“I still don’t get it.”
“You gave her something not very many people know about you. For instance, I don’t know Moshe. I didn’t know he existed.”
“Do you actually go food shopping in Rivertown aside from at my house?”
Artur snickered. “Yes. I know where the kosher butcher place is, next to that way too expensive gourmet store you like, the one that claims it makes blintzes.”
Of course, with Artur, everything came down to blintzes.
“But,” his friend continued. “I don’t know it like you do. I don’t know the guy who gives you his consistently best meat, and unapologetically stans your barbecue, or whatever they’re calling it these days. You’re showing Batya your secrets, and it means something to her, or at least it should.”
Friday was slow, and as sundown came around, Abe was fighting with dough.
Not a challah dough; that had long been dealt with and was sitting on the cutting board, ready for dinner.
The results of this dough were sinking into the pot instead of floating. He wasn’t getting the proportions right, and the dough had gone to garbage.
Thankfully, hopefully, his dinner guest wouldn’t care too much about whether his matzah balls were fluffy.
“What are you making and why are you cooking already?”
Abe looked up from the stove, only to see Artur standing behind him. “Oh,” he said with a laugh. “It’s you.”
“Shabbat shalom to you too,” his friend said. “And what the heck are you making and why can’t I pour sour cream over it?”
“Why in the world would you want to pour sour cream over matzah balls?”
“That’s something even I wouldn’t condone. Not even matzah balls that don’t seem to float.” He paused. “What did you use? Water?”
Abe nodded. “Can’t get the proportions right.”
“Seltzer,” he said. “My mother used to swear on the rising properties of seltzer, before she decided that cooking was something other people did.”
And as Abe pondered that little bit of information, his friend stared deeper into the pot.
“So, chicken soup?”
Abe nodded. “I got some extra chicken last night from Moshe, so I made soup. You’re welcome.”
“Well of course. I get the benefit of your extra chicken since—wait.” He paused. “Last night?”
“Yeah. Took Batya to see him last night.”
Artur nodded, pulled open a drawer, and started to take out some silverware. “Okay. I’m listening.”
“That assumes I’m telling you this wild story.”
“It does indeed, but of course what would our chatzi Shabbas dinner be without wild stories, hmm?”
Which was true, of course. Nights with Leo meant cooking and humor. Nights with Artur meant food and stories, sometimes hard ones, sometimes easy ones.
And there was some degree of solemnity of a Friday night with challah and wine and candles, of remembrance if not exactly observance. And so, as they sat down to eat not long after, Abe told Artur the story.
“Interesting,” Artur said as he took a drink of his soda. “So you mean to tell me that you brought (Batya) to Moshe and she hasn’t told you whether she’s coming tomorrow morning?”
Abe nodded. “That about sums it up, I think.”
“It’s safe to say she’ll be here tomorrow morning. Or afternoon or sometime tomorrow. I mean, you basically showed her your etchings.”
Abe barely kept from covering Artur with the soup in his mouth. “What do etchings have to do with Moshe the butcher?”
Artur sighed. Which usually meant some kind of pronouncement was coming. “I think what you did is showed her your ace in the hole, the most important thing to your setup. Which is basically etchings to the two of you. The forbidden, the ‘let me show you this’ but what I mean is ‘let me show you myself.’”
“I still don’t get it.”
“You gave her something not very many people know about you. For instance, I don’t know Moshe. I didn’t know he existed.”
“Do you actually go food shopping in Rivertown aside from at my house?”
Artur snickered. “Yes. I know where the kosher butcher place is, next to that way too expensive gourmet store you like, the one that claims it makes blintzes.”
Of course, with Artur, everything came down to blintzes.
“But,” his friend continued. “I don’t know it like you do. I don’t know the guy who gives you his consistently best meat, and unapologetically stans your barbecue, or whatever they’re calling it these days. You’re showing Batya your secrets, and it means something to her, or at least it should.”
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The Friendships and Festivals Series:
Stacey Agdern is an award-winning former bookseller who has reviewed romance novels in multiple formats and given talks about various aspects of the romance genre. She incorporates Jewish characters and traditions into her stories so that people who grew up like she did can see themselves take center stage on the page. She’s also a member of both LIRW and RWA NYC. She lives in New York, not far from her favorite hockey team’s practice facility.
Places to find Stacey Agdern:
A Hanukkah Song (1)
Sung to the tune of the Christmas Song
Lyrics by Stacey Agdern (*attributed to Zack Weisler) (2)
Menorahs glowing on the window sill (3)
Snow boots lined up at the door (4)
Chanukah songs being sung by a choir
And kids playing dreidl games (5)
Everybody knows that latkes and some applesauce (6)
Help to make the season bright
Little kids, watching to see the sun set
Will find it hard to wait too long
Cause they know that after we light those lights
They get a special surprise if they listen to mom and dad (7)
And kids of every age will truly try
To see if dreidels really spin on their tops (8)
And so I’m offering this simple phrase
To Kids, from one to 92
And though it’s been said, many times, many ways, happy Hanukkah to you
Cause they know that after we light those lights
They might get a special surprise if they listen to mom and dad
And kids of every age will truly try
To see if dreidels can spin on their tops
And so I’m offering this simple phrase
To kids, from one to 92
And though it’s been said, many times, many ways, happy Hanukkah to you (9)
Footnotes:
(1) So this is an adaptation of ‘The Christmas Song’, and like in ‘The Christmas Song’, the goal is to set a scene. Because Hanukkah is different from Christmas in the way it’s celebrated, the scene is different.
(2) Zack Weisler’s story, Three Stars in the Sky, appears in the Love All Year Anthology. ☺
(3) Truth to tell I’ve been trying to do this for years, but the scene never clicked until I inserted this line instead of what I’d been trying to do, which was ‘latkes frying on an open stove’. The fact that the menorahs are glowing on the window sill means that the candles have been lit at least for one night.
(4) Like the original, we have a winter illusion, but this one is more concrete. It's snowing outside and the family snowboots are lined up at the door after a day of being outside. ☺
(5) The line before didn’t require much change, but this one does. We’re inside now, in the middle of a celebration. The children are at the table, playing dreidl as opposed to being dressed up for the winter weather outside.
(6) Here is where the latke reference is. And it fits much better here. You can, if you want, substitute my apple sauce reference for the sour cream. It does, in fact scan. ☺
(7) So in the original, this is where we start to talk about anticipation. And because Hanukkah is a multi day holiday, anticipation in Hanukkah is different. Especially because when kids are young, they get presents each night. The process goes something like this: sundown happens, the new candle is added to the menorah, all of the candles are blessed, then liit. And THEN if the children behave, they get the night’s present. Which is what these lines are capturing. This line can also be altered to fit family situations, whatever they are ☺ It scans equally well when you say things like ‘their moms’ or ‘their dads’ or ‘the adults’ . All we need is three syllables to fit where ‘on his sleigh’ would go on the original that would describe the individuals in charge of giving presents to the child in question.
(8) So this is where the reindeer show up in the original. And in order to change it, I had to figure out what the reference really meant. What it was really referring to? My answer was the impossibility and the mythology of the holiday. The children are trying to catch lightning in a bottle and every year kids everywhere try to do this. So what’s a universal lightning in the bottle concept for Hanukkah? What do people everywhere in the middle of any Hanukkah celebration try to do? The Hanukkah story is different, but the celebration is similar. And at every single Hanukkah party I have EVER been to over the years of my life, someone will eventually say ‘ I can spin a dreidl on it’s top’. Some will succeed, some will fail, but it will always be FUN to watch them try☺ And that is the closest lighting in a bottle equivalent I can think of, so here it goes ☺
(9)
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I really didn't have a dream career when I was growing up. I wasn't encouraged to do so. I just assumed I would be a housewife and mother.
ReplyDeleteLove and Latkes sounds like an excellent holiday read for me to enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI'm like Janine, didn't really have a dream career, I just assumed I would be a housewife and mother, like my mom! Now, I really wish I could travel and use my photography skills taking nature photos!
Have a magical holiday season!
I always wanted to be a teacher, and I did end up teaching preschool for several years then taking care of infants/toddlers.
ReplyDeleteI always wanted to be either a nurse or actress. Two very different careers.
ReplyDeletenurse or teacher--I am neither
ReplyDeleteI wanted to be a teacher
ReplyDeleteI thought I wanted to be a choreographer but it turns out I can’t dance!
ReplyDelete