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I also have Celiac - so great to read a story where someone identifies with my life!! Love this series

I have Crohn's, which brought with it a pretty strong gluten intolerance. I don't get sick in a flour aisle, thankfully, but in your first book when Toni let people in her bakery after it had been flour-bombed with wheat, I about fell over in shock because all the flour in the air and coating all the people would have completely contaminated the bakery and should have forced her to close for a while, yet you had her stay open and actually let everyone come in and eat. Then in your third book, you said pretty much the opposite: that Toni's cousin making wheat toast would not only contaminate the toaster (which it would--I haven't eaten toast in a decade) but also permanently contaminate all the dishes (which if true, I'd be a LOT sicker). I love your mysteries, but sometimes the details make me say, "HUH?" :} Ah well. Thanks for the character development, though!

Hi Erin,
First- so sorry for your Crohn's. It's terrible disease. (((hugs))) Gluten intolerance is also bad- so glad you discovered it.
Second thanks for the great discussion here!
As for your notice:
The flour bombing happened on the sidewalk outside the bakery in book one. At least that's the way I originally wrote it. I hope an editor didn't change that. And yes- Celiac friends have to get rid of all their dishes, pots and pans and start fresh because you can't wash it off to the extent necessary for some. It's crazy. It really depends on your level of intolerance. I try to show the stronger level. They actually have test strips now that let you test the levels of gluten in things - because sometimes even gluten free foods can cause a reaction depending on the individual's need for lower PPM than the government says is acceptable.
Crazy, right? Thanks for reading and I really appreciate your excellent comments! Take care~
Cheers~ Nancy

Wow! Thanks for the explanation, Nancy! I'm doubly thankful to not be quite so sensitive, then.

I don't think your editor changed the location of the flour bombing--it happened outside the entrance. You do specifically mention how coated in flour some key characters are, though, and they are inside the bakery at that time. :}

But that leads to my next question: if Toni is so sensitive as to have to separate out all the dishes Mindy used, then why on earth did she eat the takeout French fries? That's just begging to get sick. :( I learned that one the hard way long ago. Or was that just a plot device to ensure Toni was home when the police showed up? She did admit that she knew better....

Thanks so much for satisfying my curiosity! I'm grateful to find main characters who are GF since so many people still don't understand what it's like to have to avoid gluten like the plague or live in fear of contamination. (I allow my daughter to eat foods with gluten sometimes, but then I can't touch her until she's been cleaned up. And it's easy for any of my extended family to accidentally stick a knife back in a jar and contaminate the contents so that I am afraid to eat things in my own kitchen after they've visited.)

I should check in to the test strips. That could really be useful. Thanks!
:)
Erin

Hi Erin,

Boy do I understand about not touching family until they are cleaned up.
The scene where Toni eats french fries came from my life at that moment. lol. I had given into the smell of fries and thought I would eat them and worry about being sick later- then while I was home sick and shaking my head at myself I wrote the scene. It's so hard for me to be good all the time and yet I pay the price. So I thought I'd share that.
Boy do I understand what you go through. hugs and seriously thanks for the great conversation. Hopefully others will read this and not feel alone in their food allergy struggles. Cheers~