I. Love. Cupcakes.
I mean, who doesn’t? (If you don’t like cupcakes… I’m sorry. This analogy might fall flat. Feel free to insert something else in its place…. like spinach… but I mean really, are you SURE you don’t like cupcakes?!?)
Anyway, back to those sweet mounds of deliciousness.
The thing about cupcakes is — I tend to be kinda picky. I’m not a huge, huge fan of those cupcakes that are like, here is your ginormous mount of frosting that is about to crush this itty-bitty chunk of cake. I mean, they are pretty and all and I ohhh and ahh over them and I WILL eat them, but they aren’t my favorite.
The other day, I went into a cupcake shop (I really don’t go often — although my waistline tells a different story!) Anyway, I went into the shop and they had– wait for it — CHEESECAKE cupcakes. I stood there drooling for a few minutes. Now, I wouldn’t want something that rich and decadent all the time, but a once in a while treat sounded AMAZING!!
My FAVORITE cupcake, though, is a little bit of a mix. I want a TON of cake because I love the moist fluffy stuff. It is my favorite part of a cupcake! But a delicious frosting is a MUST (just not so much that it threatens to topple the whole cake!) What would make it one step even better, though? A surprise filling in the middle — ohhhh, maybe even a bit of that cheesecake baked inside! #swoon
Okay, now that you all hate me for making you crave cupcakes today….
How does this relate to books?
I was thinking the other day about the different kind of books and how we each have different tastes–kinda like we have different tastes in cupcakes, ya know? I was at a book festival and was talking to some young college students and they asked me to describe my writing.
For some reason, I thought about a cupcake.
My books are like that last cupcake. They are moist and fluffy on the outside (HUMOR!) but they aren’t all fluff. They have a rich, deep, creamy center that steps it up a notch. My characters have been former foster care children, former abused women, a woman who has insane fears due to being abducted as a child (this one is unpublished… maybe someday…), and men who deal with work-a-hol-ism, a man who has trend away from God as a teen after his sister died… just to name a few. They struggle with deep issues–(aka cheesecake…) But they are the center of the story… the filling… and are nestled around that fun outer layer.
And of course they all have a romantic frosting that isn’t too much but isn’t too little, just the right amount!
So see? My book as a cupcake!
(the college students ate up my cupcake analogy…. see what I did there?!?)
I thought it’d be fun today to share YOUR cupcake books. If the book you are currently reading were a cupcake, what kind would it be and why? And what kind are your FAVORITE book-cupcakes?
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Krista Phillips writes inspirational romance with a dash of smiles. She believes a sprinkle of laughter (and a wee bit of chocolate) makes everything a little better! She blogs regularly about life as a wife, mother, follower of Jesus, and mother of a child with a rare congenital heart defect at www.kristaphillips.com. She is represented by Sarah Freese of WordServe Literary.
Fun analogy. My mum used to make cupcakes with cream cheese and jam surprises in the middle- YUM! I like books with a bit of suspense thrown in. I don’t really enjoy books that are just all ‘fluff’, there needs to be depth to the story- hence why your cupcake analogy works so well for me!!
Hi Krista! What a scrumptious analogy. At Mimi’s Cupcakes on the shores of Lake Michigan my favorite is Lucious Lemon cupcake with lemon buttercream frosting. Another flavor that might fit the analogy better is Carrot Cake cupcake covered with a cream cheese frosting, because carrot cake covers all food groups – veggies, nuts, and dairy. Also a good romance has a good plot (the cake) with something that is a little nuts and hopefully a sweet ending.
My favorite romance that fits a carrot cake cupcake analogy is Paper Love by Aubrey Wynne. With the help of a stray homing pigeon and an old origami legend, Ben sets an unwavering course of romance to win Joss Palmateer’s love. Making 1000 cranes and talking to a stray pigeon may seem a little nuts, but the ending is sweet. Paper Love with its Chicago setting, I appreciated the historical details about the Buckingham Fountain woven into this inspirational romance.
Happy writing.
What a fun analogy! For my own books, my outsides are probably the dense cakes that you get at a cupcake shop (vs the fluffy cake at home from a cake mix of by scratch). But I still aim for not overwhelming and with that rich center and sweet frosting.
And yes. I’m going to be craving cupcakes all day now. Thanks :)
I am not much of a cupcake girl, that being said I do adore turtle brownies which could fit your analogy, we have the brownie which takes place of your cake the indulgent rich goodness, the nuts take the place of your more dense center, the hard part’s of life. And the swirls of caramel that balances the hard part’s and makes the overall brownie worth the calories. :)
I was simply going to read this post, and then I saw in the comments ” Lucious Lemon cupcake with lemon buttercream frosting.” I am now ruined for the day. HA!
I love the analogy.
My books are carrot cake cupcakes. A bit of nutrition without shoving it in your face, topped with cream cheese frosting for a satisfying HEA.
A lovely and tasty post, Krista.
I think the book i just finished was a sweet with icing. A bit of fluff, but it was what i wanted at the moment. The book before it was a dense cake with a lot of layers! I think i need to sample some to decide my favorite?!
I’m not sure what kind of cupcakes my books are, but I do write books with lots of angst for my characters. I like a mix of books, but I like the emotional ones best–the ones that make me grab for a tissue.
Yup, that creamy middle makes a book extra delicious!!!
Very cool analogies!!! Thanks for sharing!!
Ohhh, you’re like my mother-in-law! She makes pound -cakes… moist but very thick. I prefer the fluff with the thick middle, personally, LOL (both in books AND cupcakes!!) To each their own!!
Brownies…. you had me at brownies!!! And caramel… I don’t like nuts but I can deal with them to enjoy the other two! #brownielover #evenmorethancupcakes
LOL! And the lemon cupcakes are nutritious too right?!? Lemons are a fruit!!!!!!!
Yes, we can’t discount just eating straight fluffy cake once in a while! Nuthin’ wrong with that!!! (or even just the cake batter… not that I have EVER done that… *ahem*)
Angst…. emotional…. makes people cry…. I’d say a Jalapeno cupcake!!!!
Oh gosh, now I’m craving a cupcake, Krista!
Like my books, sometimes I like my cupcake with lots of layers, but sometimes I get need to chill out with something light and fluffy.
Cute post!
Fun post, Krista. Do they have an “everything” cupcake like they do bagels? I guess that doesn’t sound very appetizing. What I mean is that I like a book with a little bit of everything–the sweet, the not so sweet, the humorous, the adventurous, a touch of sadness, some angst…but always with at least one “takeaway” spiritual truth and a happily-ever-after. I don’t know if we have a store dedicated to cupcakes here in our area (that’s probably a good thing, actually), but I’ve often looked at one in Florida when visiting the in-laws. Make that drooled over. One of these days, I WILL enter the doors. And hopefully come out again. :) Blessings!
I love chocolate cupcakes with mounds of frothy icing. Chocolate icing made with real butter. Unfortunately I can’t buy them like that so, sigh, I have to make them myself. But I can’t say what my current book would be like if it was a cupcake. Because I only have one favourite cupcake!
I’m not sure what my answer is to your question. But I do know that I love to read good books and I love eating chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting!! Enjoy your Thanksgiving Day desserts!!
Sorry so late in commenting, I’m tying to get caught up on the blogs I follow…lol!
I’m currently reading a Love Inspired Suspense, so I’m not sure what kind of cupcake category that would fall under. I’m also like you in the fact that I don’t like too much frosting on a cake (or cupcake)! I thought I was weird for that or the only one…lol! I think a cake should be a good balance of moist cake and a little bit of sweet frosting on top…not so overpowering that you can’t taste the cake below! I like my food tastes balanced :-)
Whenever I make a cake–and I do totally homemade–I cut the frosting recipe in half, which for me, makes the perfect amount. In fact, we just had a missionary couple from South Africa visit our church last night (ones we support financially monthly), and we had a potato bar with all the fixings and desserts. I made a homemade pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting!! Everybody raved about it…my husband took the leftover pieces of cake to work with him (maybe about a dozen slices). I’m sure that made the staff happy :-)
Now you got me craving cupcakes….well done Krista….haha!