Ever heard of a “blog hop?” Neither had I , when my good friend Sandra Gutierrez asked me to participate in one, I said, of course. The blog hop is simple: I, and a group of other authors answer a series of questions about our upcoming projects. You, my virtual friends, can “hop” from blog to blog, checking out what is in the hopper for this group of prolific and talented people.

It’s also like a game of tag, and the authors that I list below will then bring some other writers on board, and on and on.

You see, the thing with writers is, we are usually sequestered in our test kitchens, working obsessively on books and articles that will not see the light of day for months or even years. It’s wonderful. steaming up the windows and typing, and working with a team to make a book. So this blog hop is all about letting you all have a peek at the projects that are simmering away on the back burner.

What is the title of your upcoming book?

Actually, I can’t say for certain. My book on Juicing will probably get a more clever title, closer to publication. It’s been my experience that other books will come out with titles so similar to the working title that it will have to change before release. I was working on my most recent book, Sweet and Easy Vegan, under the title Sweet Vegan, when another booked called Sweet Vegan was published. So we changed it.

Oh, and I am also in process with a gluten-free book. Title TBA.

Who is publishing your book and what is the expected release date?

My juicing book will be published in Spring of 2014, by Chronicle Books. They published my other four books, and I love working with them.

My gluten-free book will be published in Fall of 2014, and it’s with Running Press. This is a new experience for me, working with a different publisher, and it’s exciting.

How long did it take you to research and write this book?

That’s always an open ended question, because I usually write about things I have been researching for years and years, both personally and professionally. I’ve juiced, on and off, since the late 80’s when I bought an ancient Champion juicer. Writing the book was a few months, we wanted to get it out while juicing is so popular.

With gluten-free, I;ve been working on gluten free cooking and baking since my Mom was diagnosed with gluten allergies in the early 90’s. I write lots of articles and teach lots of classes on GF, and so it was a natural fit to do a book. I had about a year to write the manuscript.

What inspired you to write this book?

I’m always inspired by the idea of helping people who have special dietary needs eat well. I’ve always specialized in allergy diets in my personal chef work, and I enjoy making sure that health-giving food tastes as good as any other food. I love juicing, and it was great to work on something that I think everyone, from vegans to meat eaters, can get on board with.

What is your favorite aspect of writing a cookbook?

I suppose I am a “creative” with an impulse to make things. I like focusing in on a larger project, and really delving into it. I also write articles, where I can look at a smaller piece, which is fun, too.

What is the hardest aspect of writing a cookbook?

Well, there are always recipes that you think are going to work that don’t, and you have to make them over and over until they do. By the end days, I am usually down to a group of recipes that have confounded me in some way, making them and eating them over and over. My husband is a good sport about it, but sometimes he gets “tester fatigue.”

What interesting things would we find in your refrigerator right now if we were to open it?

There are always recipe test leftovers in my fridge. Right now several sauces that I have been working on, and a fresh quart of green juice that I made to energize me through my day. I’ve always got kim chee, miso, sriracha, walnut and pumpkinseed oils, almond butter, and lots of veggies.

What is your favorite sound in the kitchen?

Can I say the dishwasher? It’s a quiet model and the sound means a meal has concluded. No, I love the sound of my chef knife crunching through a veggie and making that thump as it hits my big wooden board.

So, do you have an agent?

I love my agent, her name is Jennifer Griffin.

Which actors would you chose to place your main characters in the rendition of this book?

I love this question, even though cookbooks are rarely made into movies. Of course the problem is that all the actresses working in film are far more beautiful and thin than regular people, so you end up sounding vain. Or you get something like the recent announcement that Gwyneth Paltrow is going to star in Blood Bones and Butter. When I was younger, and we were discussing who would play us in the movie made about our wacky restaurant kitchen, I always wanted Susan Sarandon to play me. Somebody who can act, who could make me seem way more interesting than I really am!

As to the other characters, the veggies play themselves.

Jill Nussinow, the Veggie Queen!

Robin Robertson, The Most Prolific Vegan Author I know!

Victoria Moran, Author of Main Street Vegan and several other great books.

JL Fields, Vegan Lifestyle Coach, blogger, and soon to be author!

 Nava Atlas, prolific author and author of the amazing blog Veg Kitchen

Sandra Gutierrez, author of The New Southern Table

Tara Mataraza Desmond is the fabulous author of the equally fabulous  Almost Meatless

Ivy Manning is an amazing food writer from Portland, Oregon and author of From Farm to Table

Charmian Christie is a talented Canadian food writer and blogger about to publish her first book.

Holly Herrick is the author of five cookbooks, including Tart Love .