{"id":26624,"date":"2020-01-30T12:58:57","date_gmt":"2020-01-30T17:58:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/?p=26624"},"modified":"2020-01-30T17:44:00","modified_gmt":"2020-01-30T22:44:00","slug":"alexandra-erin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/2020\/01\/30\/alexandra-erin\/","title":{"rendered":"Join Alfie Award-winning writer Alexandra Erin for waffle fries (but no waffling) on Episode 114 of Eating the Fantastic"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Hungry for good food and good conversation? Then join me and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.alexandraerin.com\">Alexandra Erin<\/a> for lunch at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegrillehgratrunways.com\">The Grille at Runways<\/a> in Hagerstown, Maryland on the latest episode of Eating the Fantastic. <\/p>\n<p>Alexandra&#8217;s an always entertaining writer who was presented with an Alfie Award by George R. R. Martin at the Kansas City Worldcon for her often satirical fan writing, which includes such works such as <em>John Scalzi Is Not A Very Popular Author And I Myself Am Quite Popular: How SJWs Always Lie About Our Comparative Popularity Levels<\/em>. <\/p>\n<p>Her ongoing fantasy serial, <em>Tales of MU<\/em>, is up to several million words, though even she&#8217;s uncertain of its current length. Her short stories have been collected in <em>The Land of Passing Through<\/em> (published in 2014) and <em>First Dates, Last Calls<\/em> (2019). <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/AlexandraErin\">Her Twitter feed<\/a> has become extremely popular since 2016 for her incisive political commentary.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26625\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AlexandrarinEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>We discussed the way Mark Twain gave her permission to comment satirically on science fiction, the thoughts which went through her mind the night George R. R. Martin handed her that Alfie Award, her preferred role when playing <em>Dungeons and Dragons<\/em>, how she knew her <em>Tales of MU<\/em> saga was meant to go on for several million words, the way in which she&#8217;s transformed herself into a cyborg, how she knows when an idea is a poem vs. a short story vs. a serial, the one question I felt I could not ask her, advice for how not to get caught up in social media controversies, and much more.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/eatingthefantastic\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-23795\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/PatreonWidget2-300x59.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"59\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/PatreonWidget2-300x59.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/PatreonWidget2.jpg 522w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s how you can eavesdrop on our conversation &#8212; <!--more--><\/p>\n<p>1) Subscribe at <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/eating-the-fantastic\/id1083737796?mt=2\">Apple Podcasts<\/a> \u2014 where I hope you&#8217;ll be tempted to download a few of the 113 previous episodes.<\/p>\n<p>2) Listen using the RSS feed of <a href=\"http:\/\/eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com\/rss\">http:\/\/eatingthefantastic.libsyn.com\/rss<\/a> on the device of your choice.<\/p>\n<p>3) Or check it out via the embed below.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none\" src=\"\/\/html5-player.libsyn.com\/embed\/episode\/id\/12951284\/height\/240\/theme\/legacy\/thumbnail\/yes\/direction\/backward\/\" height=\"240\" width=\"100%\" scrolling=\"no\"  allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s what we ate during our meal at The Grille at Runways &#8212;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Crab Waffle Fries<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>crispy coated waffle fries seasoned with old bay, topped with Gulf Coast crab meat, cheddar and mozzarella. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CrabFriesTheGrillleEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>&#8220;The Thrill of the Grill&#8221;<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>grilled petite filet mignon, chicken breast, and jumbo lump crab cake<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ThrilloftheGrillRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Scottish Salmon<\/strong><br \/>\n<em>pan-seared Scottish salmon with a creamy lobster sauce<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/ScottishSalmonTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Tiramisu<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26631\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/TirimisuTheGrilleatRunwayEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Peach-Blueberry Cobbler<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"aligncenter size-medium wp-image-26632\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-1536x1536.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/CobblerTheGrilleatRunwaysEatingtheFantastic-2048x2048.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you enjoyed this episode and want to support my mission of breaking bread with creators of the fantastic while letting you listen in, there are several ways you can help bring this podcast to the attention of potential new listeners looking for science fiction, fantasy, horror, and comics ear candy \u2014<\/p>\n<p>One is to <a href=\"https:\/\/podcasts.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/eating-the-fantastic\/id1083737796?mt=2\">rate Eating the Fantastic on Apple Podcasts<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/eatingthefantastic\/?fref=ts\">like it on Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Also \u2014 you could tell your friends about the show by sending them a link to your favorite episode and letting them know what I\u2019m doing here.<\/p>\n<p>Finally \u2014 because of Eating the Fantastic\u2019s unique niche \u2014 that is, on-the-road restaurant interviews \u2014 there are expenses beyond the usual ones for studio-based podcasts. I sometimes use ride-sharing services to carry me and my guests from convention centers to restaurants and back, or I gas up to drive them myself \u2014 and then there\u2019s that food I used to entice those guests to wander off and share of themselves with you, food which loosens their tongues, relaxes them, and \u2014 counterintuitively, because we are after all out in public surrounded by other diners \u2014 results a much more intimate environment than if we were alone together in a sterile studio.<\/p>\n<p>So I hope you\u2019ll consider becoming a supporter of the show, and help fund this mission of mine.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>You could make a small recurring monthly donation over at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.patreon.com\/eatingthefantastic\">Patreon<\/a>, where there are various perks involved depending on your level of support, such as access to a patrons-only blog, getting a shout-out on the show, stickers, postcards, and more.<\/p>\n<p>Or if an ongoing level of commitment\u2019s not for you, or if Patreon\u2019s just not your thing, then consider tossing a couple of bucks in the tip jar instead and making a one-time donation of any size via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.me\/eatingthefantastic\">Paypal.me<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Or you could head on over to <a href=\"https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/eatingthefantastic\">https:\/\/ko-fi.com\/eatingthefantastic<\/a> and send me the funds to cover the cost of a cup of coffee.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Thanks for listening!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hungry for good food and good conversation? Then join me and Alexandra Erin for lunch at The Grille at Runways in Hagerstown, Maryland on the latest episode of Eating the Fantastic. Alexandra&#8217;s an always entertaining writer who was presented with an Alfie Award by George R. R. Martin at the Kansas City Worldcon for her [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[893,732,49],"class_list":["post-26624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-alexandra-erin","tag-eating-the-fantastic","tag-food"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26624"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26648,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26624\/revisions\/26648"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scottedelman.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}