Questions answered

(Here are the answers to some recent questions. Feel free to ask more in the comments. Even anonymously, if you feel the need.)


grassfire asks -- why cheese?
It was an accident. I just wanted a job at the hippie worker co-op. The opening just happened to be in cheese. The rest is history.

reveritas asks -- did i miss a bunch of posts about finding an agent and publisher for your book?
No, I made a decision when I started writing the book that I wouldn’t discuss it in my journal. I didn’t discuss it in person unless someone (like my co-workers) had a need to know. I didn’t want to field questions about how it was going, I didn’t want another cheese person to beat me to the “cheese memoir” (a previously untapped genre), and I didn’t want to be the person talking about their “book” that they never actually finished.

I decided to complete the manuscript before trying to sell it, so once I finished everything went pretty quickly. I am incredibly fortunate to have lucked into (15 years ago) a job in something that would become a trendy subject: my ability to create a sellable manuscript was greatly enhanced so it went faster than for most people I know.

tammylc asserts -- Piave is the king of cheeses. Agree or disagree?
I love Piave (at least the aged red label version) but “King of Cheese”? Nah.

It can’t even beat Parmigiano Reggiano for that title in Italy. Piave doesn’t have the history, complexity or size. Other cheeses that claim the title include: Stilton, Beaufort, Roquefort, and Epoisses and probably a bunch of others.

As for Monarchs in general, I think Chumbawamba speaks for me (in this bizarre unofficial video):

( Poacher comes with his poacher's gun -- Out in the woods to shoot someone -- ‘My lord your time has come’ -- Right between the eyes!’ )