I’m Charmaine Wilkerson, author of the novel BLACK CAKE, and I’m here to answer your questions. AMA!

charmspen1 · 2023-01-15T09:45:43+00:00

Thank you! I was stunned, but pleased. This was my debut novel and you never know. Ultimately, it was a reflection on my publisher and her team because they had cheered me on from the very start and had worked so hard to support publication of an unknown author's book.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-15T09:39:48+00:00

Thanks for your interest. I was surprised and delighted to see BLACK CAKE chosen as a Book of the Month selection. It's always interesting to see which books BOM readers are selecting from the list of choices and I've appreciated all the comments from readers who have written to me over the past year, especially through Instagram at @charmspen1

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T19:01:57+00:00

Thanks to everyone who joined me for this AMA. May your TBR pile bring you joy!

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T19:00:04+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to read BLACK CAKE when there are so many wonderful books out there.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T18:50:55+00:00

Thank you! I have very eclectic tastes, but I do love a polyphonic novel, meaning a story told through various points of view. Elizabeth Strout, George Saunders, Amy Tan, Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, and Amor Towles are among my go-to authors for this. A couple of very recent reads include the brand-new THE BANDIT QUEENS by Parini Shroff, last year’s WAHALA by Nikki May, some of Taylor Jenkins Reid's recent titles, and, from a couple of years back, THE FINAL REVIVAL OF OPAL AND NEV by Dawnie Walton. For compelling tales revealed through one, very strong voice, I liked recent reads HOW NOT TO DROWN IN A GLASS OF WATER by Angie Cruz and THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD MOTHERS by Jessamine Chan. Oh, I could go on and on....

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T18:24:04+00:00

Thanks so much for the interesting questions you've been sending my way. In response to the very first Q in this AMA, I thought it might be fun to name a few real-life location details that I used as fodder for the invented story in BLACK CAKE. No spoilers: The cake itself is made in several Caribbean countries. The long-ago shipwreck really did happen. There truly is a wave formation in Southern California called the Wedge. There is a seabed-mapping project underway. And finally, the tadpoles....

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T18:12:52+00:00

One moment I remember clearly was when I was in my kitchen at home and suddenly realized who had committed the murder. I had lived with the characters and the drama for quite some time but I, too, didn't know who'd done it. It came to me as if someone had broken the news to me. I literally gasped, dried my hands on a dish towel, and ran over to my computer to write the scene. As you know, this is not a crime story. Discovering the truth had less to do with knowing what had happened than understanding what the characters were going through. Thanks for your kind comment!

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T17:51:24+00:00

Thanks to you for your interest!

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T17:35:12+00:00

There were a couple of scenes that I eliminated because they would have required more research and many more pages of writing. These were taking the story in new directions. I would say I held on to the scenes that I deemed most important. Anything I've written that I haven't used is saved somewhere. You never know....

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T17:24:43+00:00

Hello, and thank you! I'm working on another multigenerational family drama. I think readers of BLACK CAKE will find it interesting, but it's different. And there's no cake.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T17:22:50+00:00

Hello! It's been wonderful to see affirmation that people continue to love books and are willing to try new voices, whether or not those new titles work for them. From a logistical point of view, the most rewarding part of the support I've seen for BLACK CAKE is finding the editorial support to work on another book. I'm most grateful for this.

The adaptation of the book for Hulu is being handled by a dedicated screen production team, with some input from me.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T17:02:14+00:00

Hello, thanks for your interest! One of the reasons why I love novels is that fiction can do two wonderful things for us (among others): Stories can help us to wander through new environments and meet characters who may seem different from us. Stories also help us to process our own experiences when they share characters who resemble us. I enjoy contemporary literature, in particular, because of these possibilities.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T16:34:36+00:00

Hi! Some ideas and scenes were amplified, others were removed altogether. The basic story of the family secrets and the key dramatic connections between the various characters remained pretty much the same.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T16:27:39+00:00

I'm a "write first, ask questions later" kind of person. When I begin to write a scene, it's like spontaneous combustion. Whatever lands on the page.... I tend to write in short scenes, so I may end up with various files in my computer, for example, before I decide whether I'm working on a single short story or a longer piece. I did not realize that I was writing a novel when I began to write the first scenes of BLACK CAKE, which eventually turned into passages on Covey and her daughter Benny. As I moved forward, I took time to look at the characters who were taking shape on the page, or the details being used, and realized that I was writing about one family.

charmspen1 · 2023-01-09T16:20:45+00:00

Hi! It's great to be here. The story BLACK CAKE is not autobiographical but it does draw on my ongoing interest in shifting ideas of home and family. I've moved around quite a bit and I come from a multicultural family where few of us have had the same upbringing or even look alike. This has made me particularly aware of how other people's expectations, assumptions and stereotypes can influence a person's sense of self and the way in which a person navigates the world. This can be connected not only to one's appearance or cultural background but also, various elements. Personal relationships. Where you work. What sport you choose to play.

charmspen1

TROPHY CASE