HANK:
Why is a raven like a writing desk? The
famous riddle, of course, that the Mad Hatter asks Alice.
Today
another riddle. An easier one.
First, do
you know Debra Goldstein? She’s terrific, and hilarious, and retired from the
judge’s bench to be an author.
Hey. She’s brave –that was quite the life choice,
right? And smart, and terrific.
And
her essay gave me the answer to this riddle:
Why is a book like a cake?
THERE
WILL BE CAKE
by Debra H. Goldstein
Celebrate!
You can bet if I’m celebrating anything,
there will be cake.
Birthdays,
weddings, anniversaries, nice weather, rain, and TGIF are all good excuses for
cake.
Some of my favorite “just for the sake of it” desserts include P.F.
Chang’s Great Wall of chocolate (chocolate with raspberry sauce) and Cheesecake
Factory’s Linda’s Fudge Cake.
For a quick “invited to dinner at last minute and
the hostess requested dessert rather than wine,” my local Publix offers a
moist, well-decorated white cake available with a variety of fillings and
icings.
If in doubt, I know I can never go wrong bringing an ice cream cake.
Of
course, there are the specialty bakers whose products combine flavor with
artistic decoration.
The tasting process for my daughter’s wedding cake was
quite extensive before a final decision was made. Nothing matches that cake,
but other ones also have meant a lot to me – my thirtieth birthday surprise
road to life sheet cake, the twin cakes my twins smashed on their first
birthday, the one my office staff and I shared the day I left the bench, and the
cakes I associate with writing.
When
my first book, Maze in Blue, was
published, I was the keynote speaker for an evening where funds were raised to reopen
the library in my old high school.
In a decision that was a travesty for
students, the school system had eliminated all school libraries and art programs
to resolve a financial crisis. Community outrage resulted in a wide-spread grass
roots campaign to reverse the decision. Volunteers created invitations, flyers,
radio and TV spots advertising what time the school band would play, when
barbecue would be served, and my talk.
Every media announcement highlighted “And,
there will be cake.”
No
matter how I tried, I couldn’t figure out the significance of the cake
reference. True, a sweet treat is always a nice way to end an evening, but in
this case everyone was receiving a copy of my book. How could there be anything
sweeter than that?
As I
worked on my remarks on writing, I tried to think of a way to tie them to “And,
there will be cake.” There were obvious similarities:
1. Cakes are
usually made by combining flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil, a leavening agent
and liquid. A written work requires mixing ideas, words, punctuation, grammar,
and editing.
2. Bakers often add flavorings, candies, coconut, or nuts
to enhance texture and taste. Dialects, local expressions, expanded descriptive
settings, and extra adjectives do the same for writings.
3. Cakes can be made in all shapes and sizes. A story can
be told in as few words as Hemingway’s “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.” to
the multi-volume, and still expanding, saga of J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter
series.
4. Rather than make a cake from scratch, one can, as a
matter of convenience, use a box mix. Writers often agonize over creating an
original work, like the structural twist used in Gone Girl, but they can always rely on the tried and true three act
formula.
5. Writers often embellish characters by adding
personality quirks or clothing oddities. In a mystery, clues may be hidden or
obscured by red herrings. Bakers do the same thing with frosting. Not only can
icing cover imperfections, but balloons, flowers, and other decorations offer
personalization of the final product.
6. Cake varieties are endless. Sponge, gooey butter, chocolate,
layered, and flourless are only a few that exist. Mystery, historical,
biography, and literary barely scrape the surface of available writing genres.
I was
ready with my comparisons until I saw the cake. At that moment, I understood
why they had advertised “And, there will be cake.” Although I viewed the signing
as an evening with a mission, the community was celebrating coming together to work
for a common goal. They hoped their actions, like the words of a good book,
would combine well.
When
a prominent wedding cake maker offered to provide the evening’s dessert, it was
accepted because her presence added to the credibility of their efforts.
Although
it meant a lot to me that with all the things she could have put on the cake, she
chose to commemorate my book, what was more important was the unifying impact
her cake had on the volunteers. Because everyone knew the quality of her work
and the value of what she was giving, “And, there will be cake,” spoke volumes.
Recently,
my second book, Should Have Played
Poker: a Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery was released. I take
joy from the positive reviews it has received, but a box of cookies sent to me
for the book’s launch and a cake my friends made for a special Mah jongg game
playing/signing party captured my ongoing celebration.
The
written word is meant to be celebrated. Whether the book being read or
displayed is mine or one written by someone else, the words the author strings
together create a reason for cake.
What do you think? Is there a cake or book
you particularly enjoyed? For a chance to win a randomly awarded copy of Should Have Played Poker, leave a
comment!
HANK:
We need cake today! I am having cataract surgery…so I am celebrating Debra’s
wonderful attitude. I am celebrating my coming ability to see—crossing fingers.
And darling Debra’s continued success!
(And does this mean a cupcake is like a short story?)
(And
the answer to why is a raven like a writing desk? I have one idea…although I
guess Lewis Carroll meant there to be no answer.)
**********************
Judge Debra H. Goldstein is the author of Should Have Played Poker: a
Carrie Martin and the Mah Jongg Players Mystery (Five Star Publishing -
April 2016) and the 2012 IPPY Award winning Maze in Blue, a mystery set
on the University of Michigan’s campus. She also writes short stories and
non-fiction. Debra serves on the national Sisters in Crime, Guppy Chapter and
Alabama Writers Conclave boards and is a MWA member. She lives in Birmingham,
Alabama with her husband, Joel, whose blood runs crimson.
