In his second novel, author Eric Peterson dishes up a riotous spectacle of self-absorbed chefs, backstabbing politicians, and devious publishing magnates, set against a backdrop of haute cuisine, presidential politics, and an endless supply of top-shelf liquor and wine.
Fresh from a public humiliation and in search of his true calling, former college football star Jack Marshall enlists as bartender and steward aboard Horace Button's vintage private railroad car, the Pioneer Mother, which is transporting the legendary food writer and social critic across the country in opulent style.
Decked out in a white jacket, mixing perfect cocktails, Jack is immersed in a style of living -- and dining -- he'd assumed was extinct. While striving to appease the eccentric, finicky Horace, and Wanda, the Pioneer Mother's enigmatic chef, Jack falls under the spell of Giselle Lebeau, a gorgeous celebrity chef whose designs on him test his self-control amd his loyalty.
But when tragedy rocks Horace's insulated white-linen world, Jack must take charge of a simmering stew of quirky yet powerful personalities -- all while staying in Wanda's good graces and keeping an eye on their newest passenger.
A story of service, serendipity, and second chances, The Dining Car is.more than a mouthwatering read -- it's a marvelous, exuberant work of fiction.

Eric Peterson is a novelist and playwright. His plays include an adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables, Seven Strangers in a Circle (nominee, Best Play, Washington Theatre Festival) and Afterglow, which has been performed throughout the US and Europe and was made into a short film. He has been a regular contributor to Letters from CAMP Rehoboth and NBC Out, and cohosts The Rewind Project, a podcast about old movies and modern times. For the past two decades, Eric has been an organizational Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practitioner. Loyalty, Love, & Vermouth is his first novel.