New novel is inspired by a famous movie scene. Almost every American is familiar with Ike and Tina Turners unforgettable scene portrayed in, Whats Love Got To Do With It. Its the part of the movie that was supposed to be Tinas wake up call. Yes, the scene with the damn cake. Ever since the movie was released in 1993, people tend to remember that moment, and it is actually the pun of many a joke. But what about women actually named, Anna Mae? Or, in this case, Ana May.
What is life like, because of that scene? Does one become frustrated with Ike and Tina, or, when life hands you lemons, make some Damn Cake! This Ana May chooses to make it, eat it, and sell it. They call her, Miss SaDitty Priss, and a dead ringer for "Jill Scott." Meet, Ana May Charles, a 45 year old, heavy set, African American, single woman, who has just lost her job of 12 years.
Soon after, her apartment burns down, and she is forced to move into a homeless shelter with her ex-boyfriend, Jerry Love Jones, from high school, who has been a drunken bum for the last two decades. When, the brand new car that she just paid off is totaled, she is forced to walk and ride the bus. With no luck at finding employment due to the recession, lack of skills and constant changes in technology, she is pushed to enroll back into school at Milwaukee Area Technical College.
Just when she gets excited about the new opportunities ahead, a foe she had crossed forces her to drop her courses. Having been stripped of loving life as a mouthy, well off, queen diva, Ana May is faced with the humility of the homeless shelter. Can a chance opportunity in an eco-friendly Earth camp that is sent to her shelter to pick up homeless people as their choice of new recruits for the summer season be the change she needs? Will her prize recipe for her famous, Southern style, caramel custard, bubbly, crunchy, 'DAMN CAKE' help to change the world? Will Ana open her heart and ever fall in love?
Author, Butler says, Although my other titles are available from stores like Alibris, Borders and Barnes and Noble, the people keep complaining to their favorite bookstore about getting it since its May 15th release. Thats why they are ordering it from smaller stores like Woodland Pattern Bookstore, or from Text 4M Publishing directly as a means to get it anyway. You cant tell an American that they cant buy something they really want. In fact, two people mistakenly forwarded a different press release about this book to me, just so I know how to get it!
When asked why the artist chose to make the book look like it does, she replied, There were some concerns about this project at first about possibly getting sued by some cake giant because the product actually mimics a cake box. I mean, look at the poor guy who Hershey came after for simply designing a cake pan. They said it looked too much like their chocolate bar. But, we dared to put it out there anyway because its an awesome cast of characters, something ultimately fresh in urban AA fiction about the importance of going green and being eco-friendly. Plus, there is even a sneak peek to the actual recipe for Ana Mays "Damn Cake"- the ultimate Carmel cake.
http://www.text4mpublishing.com.
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