You Ate It - Jamie Baker

nYou Ate It is a 4th wall, 5 course, 100 song story about big ideas, boy geniuses, girls of every persuasion, vineyards, pot farms, magical restaurants, sex and death, and coming to terms with one's gullibility. It will make your mind swirl, your heart hurt and your belly wanting more.n nTaking place in the Santa Ynez Valley, a haven and heaven to so many, an eccentric group of friends, artists and chefs come together to create the experience of building dreams. n nn nThe story is about Michael, who at the age of 15 has an idea that changes the world.

This revelation leads him to a corner office in Silicon Valley, a bank account near a billion, and being considered a very lucky man. But, at the age of 27, sitting in his office, he sees on his computer screen a school shooting where his pregnant wife is being murdered. Some years later, finished with the tech world and big ideas, Michael reinvents himself as a chef and falls in love with an incredible woman.

Along with his daughter, they move to the Central Coast of California where they form a new family and open a restaurant called The Pretentious Boar & Ale House.n nn nThe novel addresses gender identity, mass school shootings, evangelical vigilantism and the epidemic of drug addiction. It is funny, filthy and horrific. It asks if guns, God and drugs are really all the same coping mechanism when our fears get the best of us.

Toss in high tech high jinks, binary beauties, red/blue state politics, and a level of realism that makes people believe this place actually exists.n nn nMagical themes and deep heartfelt experiences of tragedy, tied together with humor and love. n