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The Importance of Pie in My Fiction (and a Free Book!)

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Hi there! I’m so excited to be here as a new member of the Inspy Romance authors! I wanted to take this first post to introduce myself, tell you about my books, and talk about pie.

Yes, you read that right. Pie.

I’ll get to that important topic in a moment. First, I should tell you a little bit about me. I live in a small college town in Appalachian Ohio. I’ve been writing fiction for ten years, and my first book came out in 2015. Before that, I worked in journalism and corporate communications, then spent many years as a stay-at-home mom. My husband and I have two grown children, a son who works in Seattle and a daughter who’s away at college. When I’m not writing, I enjoy crossword puzzles, Bible studies, BBC television, kayaking, the beach, and—of course—reading!

Now, about that pie. My books are set in the little fictional town of Abundance, Missouri. They are heartwarming contemporary Christian romance, all featuring members of the Hamlin family. There are five books in the series so far:

  • Love, Lies, and Homemade Pie (a prequel)
  • Love at Sunset Lake, Book 1
  • Love and Harmony, Book 2
  • Love and Roses, Book 3
  • Christmas in Abundance

When I was creating the series, I was told that it helps the setting of a story to feel more real if the characters have a special meeting place, celebrations, and food—all things I love! That’s why you’ll find family picnics and other get-togethers in my stories and why each book features Cassidy’s Diner. In my books, Cassidy’s, which is located right in downtown Abundance, has been in operation for more than thirty years and has always been known for its homemade pie.

Why pie? Because nothing feels more homey to me. When I was growing up, my mom made one cake a year—an angel food from a box mix with a lemon glaze for my birthday. (I’m an only child, if you’re wondering.) It was good, simply because it was a rarity and came with presents. But her pies were phenomenal! And much more common than once a year! So, to me, that warm, cozy feeling of family that I want readers to experience when they visit Abundance could only come from pie.

In almost every book, pie from Cassidy’s Diner makes an appearance—so much so that I’m running out of flavors! So far, in my books, I’ve used the following:

  • Apple
  • Apple Sour Cream Crumb
  • Strawberry-Rhubarb
  • Glazed Fresh Strawberry
  • Blackberry
  • Peach
  • Gooseberry
  • Lemon Meringue
  • Key Lime
  • Chocolate Cream
  • Coconut Cream
  • Peanut Butter Cream
  • Banana Cream
  • and Pumpkin

I need at least six more great pie flavors—three for Book 4 of the series, which I’m currently writing, and three for Book 5, which I’ve got planned, but not written.

I’m hoping in the comments that you all can help me with ideas for what other types of pie an old-fashioned diner might serve, pie that you could imagine sitting down to enjoy with family and friends.

I also wanted to let you know that Book 1 of my series, Love at Sunset Lake, which is normally $3.99, is FREE for Kindle today and tomorrow, April 25 and 26. I hope you’ll download a copy and enjoy! I’m sure you’ll notice that you only get as far as Chapter Two before one of the main characters is at the diner, ordering pie!

And, if you’d like to learn more about the Hamlin family and about my books, I have a Hamlin family tree and an Insider’s Guide to the Abundance Series available for free to subscribers of my newsletter at http://bit.ly/NewsfromSally.

Now, what kind of pie do you suggest that Cassidy’s Diner start serving? Please help me out with some ideas in the comments below. Your suggestion just might end up in my next book!

 

Sally Bayless (24 Posts)

Sally Bayless writes contemporary Christian romance that features compelling characters, real-world problems, and uplifting endings filled with the power of love. She lives in the beautiful hills of Appalachian Ohio and has two grown children. When not working on her next book, she enjoys reading, watching BBC television with her husband, doing Bible studies, kayaking, and shopping for cute shoes. For updates on her writing and a free insider’s guide to her books, subscribe to her newsletter by clicking the newsletter icon below or visiting http://bit.ly/NewsfromSally.


Comments

  1. Hi Sally, welcome to inspyromance:) Here in Australia, Apricot pie is pretty popular- we make it with a crust on the bottom, apricot filling (fresh apricots) and then a crumble topping, baked in the oven and served warm with custard- yummy!
    When we have lots of raspberries, we also make a raspberry pie, but with a traditional pie crust on the bottom and top instead of the crumble.
    Blessings:)

  2. You could add boysenberry, cranberry, or plum pies. After reading this I am going to want to make a pie!

  3. Hi Sally and welcome to Inspy Romance! In July Michigan produces blueberries and cherries. Two Midwestern two crust pies. Northern Indiana, as maybe part of Ohio, is Amish country. The best pies are available at the Dutchman Essenhaus. The restaurant and bakery have 25 varieties of pie on their menu and website. My favorite at Essenhaus is Raspberry Creme a single crust pie. Wow! Love having pie for breakfast. Best wishes.

  5. My favorites are Dutch Apple and Lemon Meringue but you’ve more or less used those. So being a Kentucky girl, I’ll suggest Derby Pie. Mmm mmm!

  7. Hi Wemble!

    Thanks for the welcome! I’m so excited to be here!!

    Apricot pie sounds AMAZING and so does raspberry! I’ve never had either kind. I think I’m going to be hunting for apricots and raspberries at the farmer’s market this summer so I can try out both ideas. (My husband will love you!)

    Thanks for the great suggestions!!

  8. Hi Lori,

    Wow! Three more pies I’ve never eaten, and I thought I had made friends with every pie around. I’ve never eaten a boysenberry in any form. Clearly I need to learn more about pie! (I’m willing–oh so willing!)

    Cranberry sounds perfect for a book set around Thanksgiving. The prequel to my series, “Love, Lies, and Homemade Pie,” is set at Thanksgiving and features the traditional pumpkin. I’ve been thinking about ending the series with another Thanksgiving story, sort of like book ends. Wouldn’t it be nice to put cranberry pie in that story?

    Wonderful ideas! Thank you!

  9. Hi Sally, my suggestions of things you could use to make a pie would be apricot, walnut, pear, fig,.. and strawberry without the rhubarb. But I guess you also have to see what you have available in the area of the story, or how it was imported from somewhere else.
    I’m curious to see what flavor you’ll choose.
    Good luck!

  10. Hi Sally, You could add Cherry Pie, Rhubarb Pie, and Tangy Hawaiian Pie which is a mix of lemon with crushed pineapple.
    Blessings!

  11. My mother always made cream pies for Easter desserts. The favorite was chocolate cream, but butterscotch cream pie was a close second. She made vanilla cream pie as well.

  12. Hi Renate,

    Thanks for the welcome! I just love being here!

    Oh, blueberry and cherry! Now those I have eaten and loved! I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of them.

    And I have been to Amish country in Ohio, but not in Indiana. I see a road trip in my future. Raspberry Creme? Yum!!

    Thank you so much for the ideas!

  14. Hi Sherri,

    Oooh! That’s a good one! I have a dear friend from Tennessee who makes that. Unfortunately she moved back to Tennessee so I haven’t had it in a while. I think I need to visit her!

    Thank you for a great idea!

  15. Hi Elizabeth!

    Thanks for the welcome! I’m so glad to be here!

    French Silk–yum!! And Pecan is another classic I somehow missed. Perfect for Thanksgiving. Or, well, anytime. I could eat a slice right now!

    Thanks so much for the suggestions!

  16. Hi Laura,

    You’ve got some great suggestions there–including a couple pies I’ve never had–and something I have to keep in mind. Local availability of ingredients is important, as is seasonality.

    I think I’ll be looking up fig pie recipes online this afternoon. That sounds so interesting!

    Thank you!

  18. Hi Roxanne,

    How did I forget butterscotch cream?? That’s one of my favorites! I’ve never had vanilla cream pie, though. I bet it’s absolutely delicious!

    Great ideas! Thank you so much!!

  19. Hello! Nice to meet you! I’m going to say mulberry pie, raspberry pie, chocolate pie. The chocolate pie must have a graham cracker crust, though! Peanut butter pie is great with an oreo crust!!

  20. Hi Trudy,

    Nice to meet you too! And what good ideas!

    I have never had mulberry pie. (Actually, I have to admit that didn’t know you could eat mulberries.) I’m feeling like I’ve had a very sheltered pie life–and never even knew it!

    I totally agree about the Oreo crust–I love those! I never considered it for peanut butter pie and it would be fabulous!! YUM!!!

    Thanks for the delicious ideas!!

  25. Welcome, Sally! I love how you incorporate pies into your writing. As someone known for chocolate, chocolate pecan pie!

    I grabbed a copy of your book, can’t wait to read it!

  26. Welcome to Inspy Romance, Sally! I notice someone already reminded you of blueberry pie. Around here (British Columbia or in the US’s Pacific Northwest) you’d go with huckleberry pie instead. Huckleberries are a wild relative of blueberries. They carry a lot more flavor and zing than the more bland blueberries. It’s our favorite forage in summer and worth the millions of mosquito bites!

    Rhubarb pie is also a staple around here. My rhubarb is about 8″ tall and I’m eyeing the stalks. #patience

  27. I’m not reading through all the comments, but I don’t see blueberry our in your list. My mom has a great recipe we call double blueberry our because it contains both fresh and cooked berries!

  28. Mmmmm! I’m thinking pecan pie!
    Now I’m going to grab up your book.
    Your stories sound lovely! I’m going to “taste and see.” Thank you so much!!

  30. Hi! We share some similarities. I am an only child. I got angel food cake on my birthday and I grew up with a lot of pie too! My dad got German chocolate on his birthday but otherwise we had pie for everything. My grandpa was a cook in the CCC camps and he often made custard pie after he retired and shared it with the neighbors. It was so good and I don’t see that one on your list. I love pecan pie but recently found a recipe for maple pecan pie that I want to try. My brother in law made a delicious chocolate pecan pie for Thanksgiving one year. . .so many variations on even the regular pies. I enjoyed your post. Thanks for sharing!

  32. Welcome to Inspy!

    Thank you SOOOO much for the free book! I grabbed mine! AS for pie – who doesn’t love pie??? LOL

    You listed my favorites already – Chocolate Cream, I make a great one, btw, hahaha!

    But here a few other favorite pies: Cherry, Blueberry, Pecan (I do pretty good pecan pie too, lol), and of course, coconut custard, but that’s like your cream one.

  34. Welcome. Thank you for the book. What a yummy post. My mom always asked us five kids what kind of cake we wanted for our birthdays. I always went for Cherry Carnival Cake. Made with sour cherries in the cake and the hot sauce over the top uses the juice from the cherries. After I got married, my husband and then my husband and kids kept up the tradition. I did the same with my little immediate family. I have always loved berry pies and custard pies. But these two are also fantastic. Bumbleberry pie which has apples, blackberries, raspberries, rhubarb. And Chocolate Peppermint is a favorite at Christmas time. Its a chocolate cream with a peppermint cream topping. Oh my, I need to go and make a pie now. LOL

  35. Rhubarb custard remains my favorite that I helped my mom make every year as a child – and still have to make once a year. The Norske Nook restaurants here in WI have some amazing flavors – including a number of sour cream variations that I like to try every so often (raspberry, lingonberry, etc.).

  37. Hi Valerie,

    Thank you so much for the welcome!

    My son moved to Seattle about a year ago. We plan to visit this summer and maybe I can send him out to find some huckleberries for me to bake with.

    And I love rhubarb pie–especially with ice cream!

  40. Hi Susan,

    That looks like an excellent recipe–almost like a baked chocolate custard. I bet it’s super rich and creamy. It seems like a perfect pie for my fictional diner! (And my real live husband, lol!)

    Thank you!

  41. Hi Monica,

    We do have a lot in common! How cool is that??

    You make some fabulous pie suggestions. That maple pecan sounds especially interesting! And yummy!

    Thank you!

  42. Hi Mary,

    I’ve never had a caramel cream pie–and I love caramel. I’m going to be searching allrecipes.com very soon!

    Thank you for the great idea!

  43. Hi Paula Marie,

    I hope you enjoy the book!

    Thank you for the warm welcome and great pie suggestions!

    And I’ve never met anyone who didn’t like pie. I guess they could be out there somewhere… Maybe they’ve just never had any!

  45. Hi Lori,

    Your family birthday cake sounds delicious and those pie suggestions…you’ve got my mouth watering! Bumbleberry and Chocolate Peppermint–so original and they both sound fabulous!

    Thank you and hope you enjoy the book!

  46. Hi Amy,

    Rhubarb custard sounds delicious–and like it would just taste like spring! And those sour cream varieties sound really yummy as well.

    Thank you for the wonderful ideas!!

  47. Hi Sally,
    I so enjoyed reading about your ‘Pie history ‘. The only pie I have a connection with is Butterscotch Pie. My mother in law used to make them from scratch!
    I encourage everyone to read Sally’s books. They are touching and heart warming with wonderful romances!!
    Cheers,
    Sue

  48. Hi Sally! I’ve been reading through the comments and no one has suggested Sugar Cream Pie from my home state Indiana.

  50. Welcome, Sally! I see several people have suggested the ones I was going to mention: custard pie and boysenberry pie. If I remember correctly, the boysenberry was developed here in California, by the people who built Knotts Berry Farm amusement park down in the Anaheim area. Some friends who live down there got to go to Boysenberry Pie Day at Knotts Berry Farm. They posted pictures on Facebook of getting to sample all sorts of different kinds of boysenberry pie!

    My uncle used to grow boysenberries in his backyard, and the birds would pick and eat them in my parents’ yard (next door). We had a cage for ducks, and the birds sat on the cage and dropped boysenberry seeds down around the edge. So for years we’ve had volunteer boysenberries around that cage (in which we no longer have ducks, but raise blueberries!)

  51. Hi Sally. I already have that book. I really enjoyed it.
    When it comes to pies, I’m thinking, Chess Pie, Buttermilk Pie, Rhubarb Pie or maybe a Pecan Pie. For a change up perhaps a savory pie like Shepherd’s Pie?

  52. Blueberry pie and cherry pie are the only 2 I could think of right off that weren’t on your list.

    Thanks for the free book!

  53. My dad’s favorite pies are raisin cream and sweet potato. Impossible pie is an old one.

  54. I too am an Aussie but not a huge pie eater. Mum use to make pies with a pastry that was yummy. (I loved it raw). She would make apple, Apricot, Lemon,.
    She would make pie crusts and them fill them. My favourite was Pineapple pie which had a pineapple filling and cream on top.
    She also made a current pie. It was made with currents in a syrup and the top and bottom. She sometimes used passionfruit butter (it is like lemon butter which I think is like a curd) this would be the filling and have cream on top although you could use meringue

  55. Hi Sue,

    I’m glad you enjoyed my ‘pie history’!

    Thank you so much for your kind words about my books!!

    And Butterscotch Pie sounds delicious!

  56. Hi Teresa,

    I live right next door in Ohio and I’ve never heard of Sugar Cream Pie! I’m definitely going to have to look this one up! And yes, probably have to make one, just to see what it tastes like. I’ll call that book research!

    Thank you so much for the pie suggestion!

  57. Hi Mary,

    I’ve never had mulberry pie–and never even eaten a mulberry! I’ve clearly been missing out!

    I just love the fact that so many people have a favorite pie that isn’t a standard.

    Thank you for the great suggestion!

  58. Hi Margaret,

    I’ve been to Knotts Berry Farm! What great place! How fun it would be to visit on Boysenberry Pie Day!

    And what a treat to have boysenberries and blueberries growing in your own back yard!

    Thank you so much for stopping by to chat!

  59. Hi Nina,

    Great to see you here, and I’m so glad you enjoyed Love at Sunset Lake!

    Ooh–I don’t think has mentioned Chess Pie! I’ll have to do some research on that one. I think I’ve only eaten it once, and I’m not sure if it’s the same or different from a custard pie.

    I do love a good Shepherd’s Pie. That just might be a good diner special of the day for a book set in the winter. Shepherd’s Pie is so warm and cozy!

    Thanks for your great ideas!

  60. Hi Lisa,

    I’ll tell you a secret about cherry pie–I think I might have a mental block that made me forget to put it in my books because my husband doesn’t like it. I like it, though, and the good people of the town of Abundance should not be deprived of cherry pie! :)

    Hope you enjoy the book and thanks for the ideas!

  61. Hi Lucy,

    Three pies I’ve never had–and I’ve never even heard of Impossible Pie. I’ll have to do some research on these. I have a feeling my family is going to be very happy I wrote this blog post and learned about all these new pies! There will be taste testing!

    Thank you so much for the wonderful ideas!

  62. What unique ideas! They all sound delicious, but I’m particularly intrigued with the idea of a pineapple pie with cream on top. YUM!! And anything with passionfruit would be amazing!

    Thank you so much for your great suggestions!!

  63. Hello, old friend. You have hit on my favorite dessert! So much so, that my birthday “cake” was usually a cherry pie. I finally worked up the courage to make my own pie crust a few years ago and will never go back. My family loves chocolate with lots of whipped cream, apple cranberry (Thanksgiving special) and mixed berry flavors probably the best, but I could go on and on describing my loves (somebody did mention strawberry rhubarb, right??). Keep up the good work! ? ?

  64. Hi Suzan!

    So great to see you here!

    Oh, my goodness, you’ve named some great pies! Apple cranberry is definitely a new one to me and it sounds delicious. I can just taste it with vanilla ice cream!

    And I never knew you were a birthday pie girl!

  65. The pies I have recipes for are :
    Cornbread Pie
    Gooseberry Pie
    Japanese Fruit Pie
    Jefferson Davis Pie
    Pineapple Coconut Custard Pie
    Praline Pie
    Surprise Pie
    Last but not least :
    Oatmeal Pie
    If I weren’t so full from a very late lunch the pie suggestions would sound good.

  66. My favourite has always been my mums Apple and Cinnamon Shortcake Pie, instead of the traditional pie crust you use shortcake and roll it out and put in a pie tin. Another favourite is Apple and Rhubarb Pie. Also my mum makes the best Christmas Mince Pies (sweet mince made of dried fruit, soaked etc kind of like a fruit cake), in a shortcake base again.

  67. Welcome Sally! What about Blueberry, Dutch Apple, or for something a little different, Tollhouse pie? One of the most unusual pies that I’ve ever heard of was a grape pie that my mom’s cousin made a long time ago.

  68. You’ve got several there, Janet, that are new to me! I will have to look them up. Pineapple Coconut Custard Pie sounds particularly interesting–YUM!

    Thank you for a whole list of ideas!

  69. Carolyn,

    I think your favorite could easily become one of mine! I love shortcake! All of the pies you mention are new to me and sound yummy! Such original ideas!

    Thank you!!

  70. Hi Jessica,

    Those all sound wonderful! I think I’d like a slice of Tollhouse Pie right now, lol! That seems like an especially good one to add to my books because I’m sure the diner in my stories needs pie flavors that can be used when there is not a lot of fresh fruit. So many of the pies you really can only make in the summer.

    I’ve never had grape pie or even seen it. I bet it would be amazing, especially with the seedless Concord grapes I get at the farmer’s market here every fall.

    Thanks for the ideas!

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