The smell of egg burritos, complete with tangy salsa, wafted through the cafeteria. Apple juice drizzled into the glasses of students who were already ahead of us. If it wasn’t for the Health Scan tomorrow and already being late to the first meeting, this day would almost be normal.
~ Jenna Nickleson (Distant Horizon)
The mystery of breakfast burritos in Distant Horizon…
Okay, so it’s not that much of a mystery, but back when Isaac and I were undergrads in college, we would often meet for breakfast after class in that time when the cafeteria was serving both breakfast and lunch.
And when we did, a common favorite for both of us was the breakfast burrito.
The way the cafeteria was structured, there were different stations you could choose from:
The pizza/pasta station – Their tortellini was tasty in alfredo sauce, but the pizza was generally best avoided. Too floppy. You never knew if the dough was undercooked or if it was extra cheesy.
The stir fry area – On gyro day, this was the place to go to. They made absolutely delicious gyros.
The salad area – Tasty if you were looking for fruits and veggies, or some of the vegetarian options.
The sandwich area – Sandwiches, including paninis, when the panini-maker wasn’t broken, and wraps (a crucial ingredient to our burrito plans).
The grill – Served hamburgers and such at lunch, and things like scrambled eggs and pancakes at breakfast. The guy that usually worked there was awesome and, after the school stopped offering toppings for the pancakes, would still sprinkle chocolate chips onto my pancakes if I snuck them in.
Anyway, if I wasn’t going for pancakes, Isaac and I would go to the grill to get scrambled eggs, and then we’d order a wrap from the sandwich area. We’d add cheese (I think pepper jack or provolone), ham, black olives, and in my case, mayo. They’d toast the wrap, and then once we got to our table, we’d add the scrambled eggs (and Isaac added salsa to his).
Voila! Breakfast burritos!
And my drink of choice was apple juice.
Now, in Distant Horizon’s Community, their burritos would be pretty plain.
Eggs, maybe cheese and salsa.
The mystery is whether or not we got the idea that this would be a favorite of Jenna’s from our experiments in the university cafeteria, or from our favorite breakfast food from our McDonald’s runs when we’d travel, or if the school actually occasionally served small egg burritos.
It’s a mystery we’ll likely never know…
Though now I’m craving breakfast burritos again.
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Still, I like including real-world details in my stories.
Relatable details helps make stories feel more grounded, especially when there’s a lot of fantastical elements happening. Hence breakfast burritos in Distant Horizon, or the extra details about the cookie store and the glossy red bags in my recently released book, Fae. And it’s a nice way to nod to specific memories.
I feel like I first really noticed this technique when reading the paranormal romance series, Beyond the Eyes, by Rebekkah Ford. That’s actually where I first learned about the idea of using your brights to signal to a semi that they have clearance to pull into the lane in front of you.
(Disclaimer: I did the original covers for the Beyond the Eyes books, which is how I ended up with print copies that I read on my breaks at work).
Oh, and I recently found out that Rebekkah Ford just released a new book, The Last O’Clery Witch! I haven’t read it yet (nor did I do the cover for that one), but you should check it out if you’re interested in Urban Fantasy. 🐺
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Jenna’s favorite food is breakfast burritos. It’s a minor detail, but minor details help make a fantasy world feel more realistic:
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Happy reading and writing!
Stephanie Flint - Author and Artist 