I am excited to welcome Max E. Stone back to “Book Bites.” Back in May, Max’s novel The Bleeding kicked off this segment on Not Even Joking. This week, he shares about his latest book, Black Cradle: Origins (A Warren/Bennett/Johnson Novel). This hardcore thriller/suspense novel is being released on Friday.* Incidentally, this is a day after my own mystery novel, Swimming Alone, comes out. Although I have a feeling, based on Max’s description, the two books are very different. However, they do both take place in Rhode Island. Coincidence? Hmmm…. Max also shares recipe (and a story) for something sweet. [*Black Cradle: Origins has a new release date: September 2nd.]
Who is the main character in Black Cradle: Origins? What is he like?
In Black Cradle, the main character is Detective Stephen Bennett, a homicide detective new in Newport, RI who has been assigned by his bosses to keep an eye on a millionaire’s wife after he rescues her from a supposed accident. However, he knows her, very well in fact. Because of that, she wants nothing to do with him and refuses his help when he suspects her bruises are anything but accidental.
What would Bennett choose for his last meal?
Bennett is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, not too complicated, though his circumstances might seem otherwise, so I’d say just that: ham and potatoes.
I know I’ve asked you this before, but tell us again. What would you choose for your last meal?
Since it would absolutely, positively be my last meal, something sweet with bounds and bounds of caffeine and sugar (I’m talking “my head hurts” type of sweet) since I wouldn’t have to worry about a sugar coma or anything like that.
Why should someone bite into Black Cradle?
In 2012, I wrote a very short story called “August to Life,” which started the saga of the Warren, Bennett, and Johnson families. Black Cradle is a much broader story on that and takes place over ten years before the events of The Bleeding. It’s like dessert: the follow-up (maybe not necessarily the ending) to a delicious course.
Do you have a recipe you’d like to share?
OK, so around Christmas time, I decided I would make a two-layer eggnog cake. I got two boxes of cake batter, icing, the works. I followed the directions here: http://www.food.com/recipe/best-eggnog-cake-15102, made both layers with the same directions, iced the first the layer with vanilla icing and everything was cool. Until I flipped the second layer over onto the first. Long story short, it didn’t look so hot. But that didn’t stop me. I tried to fix it with icing, icing, and more icing, which made worse and cracked the top layer.
Max E. Stone's "Earthquake Cake."
So, with that being said, I, and my family, dubbed my creation “The Earthquake Cake.” It was delicious, proving that, in many cases, you cannot judge a book by its cover.
Thank you so much for joining us again! Very true, you cannot judge a book by its cover. Although I will say, the cover to Black Cradle is frightening and intriguing. I imagine the novel is as well.
You can learn more about Max E. Stone and on Facebook and Twitter. And to learn more about Black Cradle: Origins, visit Amazon US or Amazon UK.
