Chapter 1 – Sookie Stackhouse

Narrative by Liz & Mel
Recipes by JoAnn

Sookie Stackhouse is not your average waitress. Blond and buxom with a perky smile, she also happens to be telepathic. Raised by her grandmother Adele after her parents were killed, Sookie was raised to honor her Southern roots and to act like a lady, no matter what – or who – might arise.

“You might be a vampire, but you will respect me and treat me like the lady I am.”

Part of that training includes food in the Southern tradition, learned at Gran’s elbow in her homey kitchen. The delicious smells of pecan pie, cookies, and cornbread mix to create a perfume that soothe Sookie after a long day at Merlotte’s Bar & Grill, serving burgers & slaw while shielding herself from the citizens of Bon Temps’ thoughts. Even after Gran’s death, cleaning the house and cooking a meal make Sookie feel in control, grounded.

Why does she need that reminder of normal life? Because in addition to being privy to the thoughts of almost everyone she meets, Sookie is involved with vampires and werewolves, her brother and her boss are shapeshifters, and she’s part faery. Not to mention the witches and demons she’s encountered. Literally. A girl needs some normalcy in her life with all of that supernatural chaos surrounding her, and sometimes that means cake. We’ve all been there, supernatural boyfriends or not.

The Recipes

Source: Unpublished Manuscript; April 2011