Free Ebook, Food Scene, and Recipe from Author J.A. Webb

Free Ebook, Food Scene, and Recipe from Author J.A. Webb
Tuesday, September 30, 2025 by Sally Jo Pitts

Categories: Books & Food / Recommended Books

Investigating Food Used in Novels

This month’s food scene and recipe comes from J.A. Webb’s Fugitive: The Seekers Series Begins.

This food scene offers an intriguing backdrop to a story of deception, faith and the fight for truth.

Here’s the scene:

Tomatoey goodness bubbled in the copper kettle nearly to the brim. Butterman lifted the steaming ladle toward his lips and blew, then waved it beneath his nose, allowing the bouquet to waft to his nostrils.

Good, very good. Just the right balance. The floral notes of celery and carrot danced a counterpoint to the onion and the seasoned whitefish, now floating in flaky chunks.

He put the edge of the spoon to his lips and sucked. The soup flowed onto his tongue. Hmm . . . Still missing something. Perhaps a bit of garlic? Yes, but more than that. The lower register lacked the husky, woodsy note of black pepper. And thank heavens such was possible, the product again landing on the docks on rare occasions, if ruinously expensive. But unlike the cut-rate competition, he paid the price. If a thing’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right, Father had always said. And what would bouillabaisse be without pepper? Unthinkable!

He fished the key chain from his apron pocket and unlatched the metal lockbox mounted high on the wall. Thick fingers retrieved a tin. Cradling it as if it contained gold dust, he measured out the exact amount, then as an afterthought, added another pinch. Then one more. Flavor over frugality—what was the point, otherwise?

Precious spice once again safely stowed, he slid the kettle to the side burner, there to let the whole of it simmer overnight. He’d once again, as always, be ready to offer the finest bouillabaisse in the territory, tomorrow dinner.

Not that his ragged guests had palates refined to appreciate the culinary experience. The lot that roomed here was more likely to roar for beef and beans. And more ale. He let loose an aggrieved sigh, his talents wasted. He was born to be a celebrated chef, not play innkeeper to muddy-booted wastrels.

Of course, far be it from him to complain. As a young man during the Great Collapse, he hadn’t two coins to rub together or a dry place to lay his pillow. During the Bad Times, he hadn’t even the pillow. In the lead-up to the collapse, this, his father’s inn, had been absconded by creditors and had spent more years than he’d like to remember boarded up, rented out as a warehouse by men of questionable repute and even sketchier livelihood. In those days, he’d have happily eaten from the trash heap now moldering in the back alley of this, his inn . . .

Author J.A. Webb shares this recipe for the stew his character is preparing in this food scene.

Bouillabaisse Fish Stew

For the recipe click here.

For more recipes featured by authors, click here:

More about Fugitive :The Seekers Series Begins:

They murdered his family-

Stole his childhood, and even his innocence.

But when they came for his soul . . .

The year is 2158. Civilization has collapsed, but from the ashes, the Order has emerged, not as a savior, but as the unseen power that has ruled all along. Once a subtle force lurking in the background of human history, the cataclysm has unveiled the Order’s dominion in full—an unchallenged, one-world religion that bends all to its will. Truth is a relic. Dissent is a death sentence.

When Professor Reuel arrives unannounced and in obvious distress, his old friend Butterman offers help.

But his assistance may very well come at the price of his home and his livelihood, possibly even his life- unless a new visitor intervenes.

Find out if Butterman or Reuel can survive the tyranny of the Order, and start the adventure with a sneak peek behind the scenes of the exciting new epic, The Seekers Series.

About the Author:

J. A. Webb, Genesis-award-winning author, military veteran, and former atheist rejected the validity of the Bible at age eight and turned his back on God. Thankfully, God didn’t turn his back on J. A. Webb! After several decades "wasted" searching for truth and meaning in all the wrong places, he grudgingly picked up a Bible. And there God was---waiting for him.

Sometime later, the lack of thrilling Christian fiction options, especially that written for men, frustrated him. He cried out, “Where are the modern-day Tolkiens, the Christian Brandon Sandersons or George R. R. Martins?”

And a still quiet voice whispered . . . “For this thing have I shaped you.”

So having spent decades in darkness, J. A. Webb now writes evocative tales about light overcoming darkness, to thrill the believer and awaken the seeker. And all those seemingly wasted decades have been revealed not as a waste, but as a time of preparation.

This recipe for fish stew uses a variety of fish and seafood. I’m curious, have you ever eaten squid? What is your favorite seafood to prepare? Let me hear from you in comments below.

For a free download of Fugitive: The Seekers Series Begins CLICK HERE.