Black Women Deserve Beach Reads with Kristina Forest

[00:00:00] What's good, family? I'm Nikesha Elise Williams, the host of Black & Published Podcast, and the author of the novel The Seven Daughters of Dupree. This historical fiction novel is about the secrets kept between mothers and daughters over the course of seven generations, and is told backwards in time from 1995 to 1860. The Seven Daughters of Dupree was published January 27, 2026, and is available everywhere books are sold.

[00:00:28] So if you can, please consider getting a copy of The Seven Daughters of Dupree today. This is the Mahogany Books Podcast Network. I know, I know, I know. It is not September, so this is not technically season seven. But it's not not season seven?

[00:00:51] Okay, here's the deal. I read books all the time, in addition to writing books like The Seven Daughters of Dupree, on sale now wherever books are sold, and working a full-time job. I'm trying to figure out how to keep consistent with the podcast like the weekly episodes you get when I'm in season without taking too long of a hiatus.

[00:01:13] So, for the next few weeks, you'll be getting new episodes, and if it rolls all the way into the official start of season seven, I'll keep it going as long as I can. Also, I'm going to flirt with video. Not this week, but soon. And we'll see how that goes. Anyway, that's my update. Let's get to the episode.

[00:01:37] The stakes don't always have to be life or death, but they have to be meaningful. And I think that's what keeps readers interested in contemporary romance, typically. What's good? I'm Nikesha Elise Williams, and this is Black & Published on the Mahogany Books Podcast Network, bringing you the journeys of writers, poets, playwrights, and storytellers of all kinds. We have a returning guest to the podcast today, Christina Forrest, author of the novel The Summer Girlfriend.

[00:02:07] It's officially summer, and we just celebrated Juneteenth, the opening of the Obama Center, and Black Yacht Weekend in Chicago. So why not talk about Black love on the beach? Which is exactly what Christina has done for us in this novel she pitched to her editor when she was supposed to be working on something completely different. I'm just going on and on and on. And then I finish it, and my editor's like, I love it. And so I'm like, yay! And then I'm like, oh, I have to write it.

[00:02:36] It's like, I haven't done any prep work for people. That part! She's like, when can you get me sample pages, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, oh, in a couple weeks, you know? In our conversation, Christina explains the real-life revenge plot that sparked the idea for this book. Plus, the plotting tools she uses to create meaningful stakes. And how she navigates through popular romance conventions such as the third act breakup or the dark night of the soul moment

[00:03:05] to create a book that is believable and proves that love conquers all. That and more is next when Black and Published continues. Christina, when did The Seeds of the Summer Girlfriend come to you?

[00:03:34] I was actually in the beginning stages of writing something else. It was romance, of course, but it was different. It was speculative, had alternate timelines. Like, I can't, I don't even want to get into it because I still want to write that book. And I was in the process of working out that synopsis with my editor. And this is two years ago. It was June. And a bunch of my nieces and nephews have birthdays in June.

[00:03:59] And so I'm all, I get kids' books. I'm like, I don't know what kind of toys kids are into. I buy books for kids. And so I always go to the bookstore and get them a bunch of books. And so I was walking through the bookstore to the children's section. And I walked by a table of beach reads. There was a sign that said beach reads. And I'm like, I love to read at the beach. I'm from New Jersey. We go to the beach all the time.

[00:04:23] And it's how that's always been my whole life. And so I stop at the table and I'm looking and I'm like, there are no books by Black people. And not even just Black people, people of color, period. Wow. On this table, just white authors. And I was like, that's interesting. You would think that only white people go to the beach. And I was so pissed off about that table. And so I kept walking. I went and bought my children's books for my nieces and nephews.

[00:04:51] I went to all the birthday parties that day and everything. But that anger stuck with me. And on the other end, like when I get an idea for, or just like a concept, I'll like write a couple sentences in my notes app and leave it. Because, you know, when you're contracted, you have to write whatever's next to your contract. You don't have time to focus on the other thing. At least you're supposed to. Right, you're supposed to. You're supposed to.

[00:05:17] Right. And so I had, you know, a whole notes app page of just ideas. And in this notes app, I had an idea about a woman who gets paid to fake date people or to be a date for people. And one guy hires her to be a terrible girlfriend around his family so that they never pressure him to date again. And so I was looking through that. And I saw that again. And it just like sort of came together.

[00:05:45] What if this woman is like, at first it was for a wedding. She was going to be a date to his family wedding and like a tropical destination. And her job was to be so insufferable. But then they secretly start liking each other or whatever. And then my anger over that beach reads team. Turning it coming together. Yeah. It turned the idea into something else. I was like, no, what if this is a whole summer? And this is in New Jersey. And, you know, I know the New Jersey beach as well.

[00:06:13] And it's about a black family who has this beautiful beach house. And it'll be about like black generational wealth. And I was also thinking about Bruce Beach, which is part of Manhattan Beach in California. Yeah. And how this land was taken away from this black family. And it was just given back like what, three years ago or something? Two, three years ago? The government gave it back. And then the family basically sold it back to the state.

[00:06:40] Just because in the time that it was not in their possession, they could not do anything with it. So then to like give it back to this family and then make them the proprietors of this land. And trust them to develop it and do all these things. It's like you cut our legs out from under us. So like, yes, thank you for like acknowledging that this is our land and whatever. But continue to maintain it because we don't have the means to do so. Because you took it from us and whatever we would have made from this piece of property. Yeah.

[00:07:10] Exactly. And I was thinking, well, what if that never happened to them? What if they were able to keep that land? And these black families who vacationed here were able to keep their vacation homes and go to the beach. And so that's sort of where the idea of Park Beach was born. And then it just kind of went from there. But the idea, it did come out of spite. I never thought of that. And like romance, I said this, I was at an event last night.

[00:07:36] Like romance is like currently my favorite genre just because the world is just so, ugh. It's a mess. And I'm still like a literary fiction girly, but like when I just want to have fun, escape, and be in people's business, like romance does it for me. And so it's the fact that this is why this book exists is that you didn't see black romances on the beach read table. It's wild.

[00:08:03] Because I know like it's a whole thing in publishing, like come May, June, July, August, it's like, well, it's all about the beach reads. And so like the big books with the name brand authors come out in like late August, September. So like if you don't get that book out before like Mother's Day or something, it's got to be a beach read because we're not reading serious things in the middle of the summer. And that there was such a lack of representation. I don't know why it baffles me, but it still baffles me.

[00:08:33] Yeah. Yeah. Then the title of The Summer Girlfriend came to me. And I was, so later, cut to, I'm on the phone with my editors and my agent. Nobody knows that I have come up with this idea. Again, I'm supposed to be writing this speculative romance, right? And so the four of us are on the phone talking, like brainstorming this idea. And then all of a sudden I was like, I have a new idea actually, right? I haven't even worn my agent.

[00:09:02] And I just pitch it off the fly. I'm like, it's called The Summer Girlfriend. It's about this woman who's fake dating this wealthy man. It's about Black generational wealth. It's about this Black beach town. And, you know, there's a hole in the market right now for Black beach read books, romances. I really think that there's a space for this book to be in. And I'm just going on and on and on. And then I finish it and my editor's like, I love it. And so I'm like, yay. And then I'm like, oh, I have to write it. Like, I haven't done any prep work. That part.

[00:09:32] She's like, when can you get me sample pages, blah, blah, blah. And I'm like, oh, in a couple of weeks, you know? It's like, yeah. You know, all of a sudden everything changed. And I know my agent was probably on the phone like, well, this is new. Like, we did not talk about this. We did not talk about this. But, you know, it all worked out. But yeah, it was, you know, I was thinking, I was obviously thinking about the idea, but I was also thinking about the market and what I wanted to see.

[00:10:02] And I just pushed for it. All right. So our characters are Noel Lewis and Jeremiah Smith II. And Jeremiah is from this Black family of confectioners, I guess. I don't know. Is that the right word? Like, they own, they have the baked goods store, pastries and all of that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I guess I don't know what to call them. But yeah, let's call them confectioners. Let's call them like confectioners. Is that a thing? Maybe it's a thing. We'll make it a thing. Yeah.

[00:10:29] So he's from this family and his grandfather and his grandmother started it. And so like you have the novel starting with their love story. And then we come to present day. And Noel is like, she is like some of your original ideas still there because she is a fake bridesmaid. And it reminds me of 27 dresses. Yeah. For way back when she's a fake bridesmaid.

[00:10:53] And then she meets this man outside this secondhand bookstore and take us into their meet cube. Noel is like, as you said, she's a fake bridesmaid. And she also works at a secondhand bookstore. And she also has a ton of other side jobs because she is saving up to go back to college. She dropped out during her junior year, at the end of her junior year, because of the situation that happened with her ex-boyfriend. And for years, she has been saving up to get back into college and finish her degree because she wants to be a librarian.

[00:11:23] And for her to go on and get her master's, she has to first get her bachelor's degree. And so she's working on these different odd jobs. And on the day that she meets Jeremiah, she's just found out that she's being let go from her job at the secondhand bookstore because they're not doing well. And Jeremiah, on the other hand, does not have money problems. He comes from a wealthy family and his issue is that his grandfather passed away a couple of years prior.

[00:11:50] And before his grandfather died, they had a pretty tense argument about Jeremiah's direction in life. And then his grandfather died and he wasn't able to really reconcile that conversation. And he has a lot of guilt about it. And so he doesn't feel very comfortable with returning to Heartbeach, which is where that conversation happened. But he also doesn't want to tell his family about it because he feels so much guilt over it. And so he's come up with this lie that he has a girlfriend. He's so busy with this girlfriend all the time. And the mom's finally like, you can't keep avoiding your family.

[00:12:18] Bring the damn girl down to the beach. And so now he's in this position where he needs a fake girlfriend. And so this is where they meet outside of the bookstore because Noel is having this weird altercation with a guy who's in a wedding that she's working. And Jeremiah sort of comes in and saves her. And he's very handsome. And she's like, oh, he's like very smooth. Unlike a lot of men that she spends time around. But he's at the bookstore because he's getting a book for his sister.

[00:12:47] And they're walking around and they're vibing. I think what was important for me in that scene in particular was to illustrate that it's, I don't write insta love. But I did want to write that they had an instant connection because it had to be plausible that he would then ask her like, hey, do you want to be my fake girlfriend for the summer? And she would have to like him enough to say, yeah. Because otherwise that's just weird. You know? It is. Like, you do it well.

[00:13:16] Like, there were so many questions. I was like, they like each other. Like, for real. So, and he's still paying her. So, are we going to talk about whether or not this is prostitution or not? Because I was like, we're getting around the transactional nature that started this relationship. Even though they do click, they do vibe. I'm just like, it's a little murky. It is. It gets tricky.

[00:13:41] And I think that what I leaned into with that aspect of it is like, she's getting paid. But she's also finally getting a break for the first time in a really long time. And so, she's sort of in her soft girl era, which is what I was leaning into. She's had to work so many odd jobs. And she's had all this pressure and all this guilt that she's had for dropping out of college. And then this really nice guy who has, you know, he has his own problems. But he doesn't have problems with her.

[00:14:11] He creates this space for her to just like, come to my beach house and have fun. So, that's the way that I, and of course, the transactional aspect of it is one of the reasons why they feel they can't be together for real. Because what kind of relationship starts on those grounds? But he's providing this space that she hasn't had in a really long time. And so, I leaned into that helmet of, you know, she's in her soft girl era, like Ari Lennox. What's the importance of giving Black girls their soft girl era?

[00:14:39] That was like what the driving force of it was. Because I feel like a lot of the times, like I personally think in the Black community, it's a matriarchy. Black women, mothers, grandmothers are the ones who lead families a lot of the time. And I was thinking about both of my grandmothers. When my one grandmom, my grandfather died when my dad was 11. And he was the oldest of eight kids. And she was a school teacher. So, she's spending all day with other people's kids and then has to come home to her eight kids, you know?

[00:15:08] I think she had my dad when she was like 19. You know, they got married really young at that time. And she thinks about my mom and how she works at her office job. And then she would work at Kmart on during the holidays, you know? And so, and then even me. I've had a billion jobs. I feel like we talked about this in your last podcast, like how I was in grad school and I had all these different jobs and publishing and all that stuff. And I was thinking, what could I do to magically pay off these student loans? That's what I was thinking about.

[00:15:35] But I don't want to have to work even more than I'm already working now. And, you know, God bless my husband. He does very well. But he's not going to pay off my $100,000 student loan debt, you know? And so, I was like, what would be the ideal scenario for somebody like that? And she meets somebody who's like, I'll handle this for you. And I feel like that's something that I, and it doesn't take away from her drive or her work ethic or her goals. But just for somebody to come in and say, like, I've got this part.

[00:16:04] Like, you can sit back and relax. I think that every Black woman deserves that because a lot of times we don't always get it. And so, that's what I wanted to illustrate. I love that. And, like, not that we don't always get it. We don't even always know that we can trust it. Exactly. And before, or you start to trust it and then in real life you're waiting for them to show their behind. Right. And to throw it back in your face and to do something malicious because they can.

[00:16:32] Because now they feel like, well, I'm doing all these things. I'm paying for all this stuff. You don't do anything. Like, you owe them. Yeah, yeah, yeah. And so, like, in real life you're always, like, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And in this novel that never happens. Yeah. Yeah. So then, let's talk about these stupid lies that they tell this man's family. Because, I'm like, she wants to impress them.

[00:16:59] So, instead of talking about, like, she's embarrassed of her situation of, like, you know, not having a job, having all these, like, losing her job at the bookstore, having all these odd jobs, not being in school in this very affluent family. So, she blurts out and says, I'm a librarian. And it's like, what happened? Like, why are we lying? And then it's like, oh, and I don't like sweets. Like, girl, you was devouring a box of cookies the other day. Like, it's your nightly treat.

[00:17:27] Why give them these, like, little monkey wrenches to overcome within the family? Because now it's not just about their love story. It's also about whether or not his family is going to fall in love with her or not. Because they have this whole scheme of, and then we're going to break up after this one weekend. Well, yeah, that's, I mean, that's just, like, plot development, you know. Because if everything was fine, the book would be, like, 10 pages. And so, you write, like, you're saying you have to keep throwing these monkey wrenches in their way.

[00:17:57] The lie about the librarian, that's just really just the thick in the pot. And now she's like, ugh, not only are we lying in general about this relationship, like, I just lied about my whole career. But I do think it's genuine that she is around these people who are very, like, his family immediately is like, hi. They're all so nice to her. They're like, we love you. She's got a lot of guilt over that. And she also, I think, is looking at them and how accomplished they are. And she feels insecurity.

[00:18:26] She doesn't want them to think, oh, well, why is she with Jeremiah? Like, she doesn't have anything going on. Like, does she want him for his money? She genuinely cares specifically what his mother thinks. I think that she really admires Celeste and how she's this, you know, formidable businesswoman who runs this whole empire. And she cares that Celeste's opinion of her is good, even if it's just initially for the weekend. She doesn't want to walk away from that situation feeling like Celeste doesn't like her.

[00:18:57] Which I think if I were put in that situation and I met someone like Celeste, I would also want her to think the best of me, even if we were only going to meet very briefly. And when it came to the lie about the sleep, that was for humor because I liked the idea of them. She's literally in a house surrounded by sleep, but she can't get caught eating them. And it was also because his family immediately takes a liking to her. And that's not what they want.

[00:19:23] They don't want his family to become attached to her because then that's going to make it harder for them to accept the breakup. And then she's like, okay, this is like everybody loves me too much. I like them too much. I'm just going to like turn down all the sweets. Maybe that will help because they're of course a family who is built literally off of people loving their sweets and buying their sweets.

[00:19:44] So let's talk about that, like the plot point in development, because I feel like romance gets a rap as a genre as maybe perhaps lacking in craft. And that's not true because like this is still a big book. A lot is happening and it takes time to develop and to get it together. So when you think about writing your novels and censoring your heroine and giving them whatever story points that you want them to have,

[00:20:13] how do you plot that out and craft that as a writer so that you keep your reader engaged in turning pages? But while also, I won't say not leading into tropes because I know tropes are there for a reason, but like just making everything believable so that they want to immerse themselves into the story and fall all the way down into it. I think that the most important thing in romance, especially because when you're writing contemporary romance, I will say, or historical,

[00:20:39] I think that stakes are really important to establish and they have to be believable. And it has to be believable that these two people really like each other or that they have reasons to like each other. And the reason that they can't be together has to be well established. Those are the stakes. What will they lose if they decide to be together? How important are those bosses?

[00:21:05] And so I think that's like the real foundation of what keeps the pages turning, what keeps a reader interested. I find that if I'm reading romance and I don't think that the stakes are weighty enough, that's when I start to lose interest. And I don't even mean like the world's ending, literally like a meteor is coming. It could be they both work at the same company and, you know, employees are not supposed to date. And so if they get caught by HR, they're both fired.

[00:21:34] But she needs this job because, you know, she's paying for her mother's medical bills or he needs this job because he has pressure from his family to be this like great lawyer or whatever. You know, the stakes don't always have to be life or death, but they have to be meaningful. And I think that's what keeps readers interested in contemporary romance specifically. But for craft or plotting, I use two things. I use Freytag's Plot Pyramid, which is like this little plot pyramid.

[00:22:02] And I do my plot points on it before I start a draft just to see if I can get from beginning, middle to end. And then I also use a craft book, which is somewhere on my bookshelf. It's called Romancing the Beat. And that is just a romance craft book that I literally read every time I'm about to start a new book because it just reminds me of, again, stakes, characters' wounds, which is the reason they feel that they can't find love or they don't deserve love or they don't want

[00:22:29] it, to flesh those out because that's another reason that keeps readers invested and wanting to root for the character. So I do a lot of prep work before I jump into writing. I think what, like in talking about stakes, I think what you're really talking about from the reader perspective is subtlety because they have to be there and the reader has to recognize them. But they can't be like super overwhelming where they're unbelievable. The world doesn't have to be ending. It's subtle enough to be plausible.

[00:22:59] And I think it looks effortless on the page, but that's not necessarily easy. Yeah, no, no, not at all. That's why I always think it's so funny when we get a bad rap sometimes, like industry-wide, because romance writers are doing the character work, plot, like the amount of balls that romance writers are juggling as they go through a draft. I mean, it's just, it's a lot. Or genre writers in general, thriller writers, sci-fi, like having to think about making sure

[00:23:28] that the story is enjoyable and that it's hitting all of those familiar beats or it's hitting the beats in a way that's subverting maybe the familiar beats while also not doing things that are too far left. The readers are like, what the hell is this? This is not a romance. You know what I mean? It's a lie. And I think that everybody should be reading romance. I really do. I say that all the time, especially for character work. It's great examples there. So for me, like the thing that I hate, even though as much as I will read a romance, the

[00:23:58] thing I hate is the third act breakup. And I always know it's coming. There's always going to be some miscommunication. It's always something. And I brace myself for like, oh, if they would just like talk it out. But I'm like, people don't talk it out in real life. So like this is- Exactly. It's subtle. It's plausible. It works my nerves so much. But at this point, I'm like, I like to see how the writers are going to handle the third act breakup.

[00:24:24] Like what is it going to be that pulls them apart or makes them stay away or adds more tension to the relationship and makes the characters question whether or not they can really be together. And for this one, for you, it wasn't necessarily a break up. It was just a break and like time to be introspective and really giving Noelle time to think about what it is that she wanted and whether or not she could have it or even whether or not she deserved it.

[00:24:53] And I think that's a conversation that is not always had a lot about romance, about what do Black women deserve in love? Yeah. Were you intentional about that? Yes. Or yes. Yes. I mean, yes for all the books, for all my books. Obviously, I'm a Black woman who writes about Black women. But I think writing each book, I'm thinking about that particular character. What is it that she needs to learn during this? And what we call it the dark night of the soul. And this is-

[00:25:23] And regardless of if it's a third act breakup or if it's a third act event, which sometimes I love to read. Sometimes I write that where something happens, their characters don't break up, but it forces them to either come together or it forces them to rethink things. You know, they have to overcome something. Yeah. And so I am thinking that all has to do with what the stakes are. The stakes are always coming back into play. Like, what was at stake at the beginning? How does that change at the end?

[00:25:54] How are they feeling those things? And so with Noelle, what was at stake for her? It was her future. She spent so much time saving up to go back to school. She finally has it in her grasp. She's almost there. And now she's afraid that she's going to make the same mistake of getting caught up with a man, which is what was her problem before. And so she has to come to terms with that. And so I was thinking particularly, what is Noelle afraid of?

[00:26:22] How is she going to overcome this fear? Because that's the whole point of romance is to prove that love conquers all. And so what does that mean for her? And so like, what it means for her might not be the same as what it means for like Lily or Violet or, you know, the other characters. So like, generally speaking, yes, I'm always thinking about that for Black women, but like I'm thinking about it for these particular Black women that I'm writing in these stories. All right. So then can you read a little bit from The Summer Girlfriend and we can get more into it on the other side.

[00:26:51] The Summer Girlfriend by Christina Forrest is the Black beach read you've been waiting for. Noelle, a hardworking 20-something trying to save money to go back to college, meets Jeremiah Smith II, heir to the Smith Sweets confectionery family. He needs a girlfriend to show his family and she needs a job to pay her tuition. What can go wrong? Or right? Here's Christina. I'm glad you referenced the scene where they meet outside of the bookstore because that's

[00:27:20] what I'm going to read right now. And so just to give listeners backstory, Noelle was having this really annoying altercation conversation with a man who is involved in one of the weddings that she's working. He keeps hitting on her. She doesn't like him. And Jeremiah happens to pull up and he sees her having this situation and he pretends to know her in order for the guy to walk away and lead the conversation. And he hugs her and she allows him to hug her. The hug seemed to last for an eternity.

[00:27:50] Noelle's lips brushed against his shirt. The fabric felt crisp and smooth, expensive. What kind of cotton was this shirt made out of? She had no idea what had come over her, but she almost didn't want to let go of this man. Instead of pulling away, she leaned in closer. His chest rose and fell as he breathed and she could hear the steady pounding of his heart. She peeked her head around the man's arm and saw that Brian had finally walked away. Thank goodness. Brian glanced over his shoulder one last time and puckered his lips in a sour frown.

[00:28:20] Across the street, Tati was staring out the salon window at Noelle, mouth agape. Noelle could practically see the question marks floating above Tati's head. But she didn't have any answers because she wasn't entirely sure what was happening either. Reluctantly, she pulled away from the handsome stranger who claimed to know her. He looked down at her and smiled. Again, she was struck by a sense of familiarity, but she still couldn't place him. Maybe she actually had seen him in a cologne ad before. I'm sorry, she said.

[00:28:49] But I don't think I actually remember you. He chuckled and shook his head. That's because we've never met. He pointed his thumb in the direction in which Brian had disappeared. You seemed uncomfortable with that dude and it looked like he needed an out. Noelle smiled, relieved that she hadn't somehow forgotten meeting Jeremiah before. Maybe she'd seen him on the path once and that was why he looked familiar. Thank you, she said. You saved him from getting punched, so he should be thanking you too. We don't need you catching any charges, he said laughing.

[00:29:18] My name really is Jeremiah though. What's yours? Noelle. Noelle, he repeated. He smiled slowly this time, like he was savoring the sound of her name. Nice to meet you, Noelle. He held his hand and goosebumps spread across Noelle's skin as their palms pressed together. His hand was much larger than hers, and other than the calluses on the inside of his palm, his skin was smooth. It's nice to meet you too, she said, gazing down his long fingers. He had X or something?

[00:29:46] Noelle tore her attention away from their clasped hands and looked up at Jeremiah's face. No, God no. He's just some guy I met at my other job. Ah, Jeremiah smirked and a dimple appeared on his left cheek. So you were going to punch him? Let me find out you have a mean right hook. You a boxer? He began examining her knuckles, and Noelle shook her head and laughed as he turned her hands this way and back, peeing at her skin. He glanced up and looked at her through his lashes, and he flashed a disarmingly charming smile.

[00:30:15] And Noelle could do nothing but smile back as the flight of butterflies began a feverish swarm in her stomach. I, um, she started then stopped. She, um, what? She had no idea how to finish her sentence. The butterflies had traveled upstream and were currently discombobulating her brain. Jeremiah politely ignored her sudden inability to form a complete thought. Thank you. All right. So the book, I believe, let me go to it, is dedicated, yes, for all the Jersey girls.

[00:30:45] You talked about, you know, growing up in Jersey. You talked about this the last time we spoke as well. You know, being there and being home. Why was the Jersey Shore specifically like where you wanted to set this book and like delve into that lifestyle? Because that's what I know. Growing up specifically, I'm from South Jersey, Camden County. So the, basically the commuter area outside of Philadelphia. And so we all went to Wildwood mostly.

[00:31:14] Some people went to Ocean City, but a lot of people from my town went to Wildwood. That's where we went on during the summer. That's where everybody went after prom. That was the place to be. And I love Wildwood. It's just, it has such nostalgia for me. The boardwalk and the long beach and the funnel cake and a big pizza that's the size of your face. I think I put that in the book. And the rides on the boardwalk, it's such a big part of my summer.

[00:31:41] And I wanted to capture that for readers, what that meant for me and for my friends growing up. And I also, in a way, wanted to reclaim some, I just remember senior year of high school. We went, you know, majority of the schools, a lot of schools go to Disney World for senior trips. And, you know, my high school was there, all of our friends and stuff. And we would meet other kids from other high schools in different states.

[00:32:12] And whenever some of these kids would see us, they would be like, Jersey. And they would go like this, like the fist bump, like on the Jersey Shore TV show. And we would be like, no. You know, we were so like offended by that. Like that, the people on the Jersey Shore TV show are all from Staten Island, number one. Like majority of them are not from New Jersey. And I was like that, that's not what the Jersey Shore is. You know, it was just, that's just up on TV.

[00:32:41] And so I felt the need to reclaim that. Like that's not just what the Jersey Shore is. And I also, of course, wanted to put black people there. Because, you know, and now majority, I live right outside New York City now. And so where we go, it's like Asbury Park, Long Branch. And whenever I go to the beach, I see other black people there. And so I'm like, I want to write a story about black people at the beach.

[00:33:07] So that was kind of just, I kept kind of trying to reclaim some space. No, because like my only conception of the Jersey Shore is from that show. I forget that Jersey and New York and like the entire East Coast has beaches like the rest of the East Coast. It's like, it's the same ocean. It's just a little further up. Yeah. And like, sometimes I do forget that. So I was like, I love to see that. I love that it was set in Jersey.

[00:33:35] Because I think now when you think black people and you think beach in summer, most people think Martha's Vineyard in August, especially after the show Forever, which was adapted from the Judy Blume novel. But even still going back to like that issue of representation, not seeing a book by an author of color on the beach reads table. The assumption that black people don't go to the beach. I mean, there is some truth to the stereotype that we don't swim. There's a lot of truth there.

[00:34:04] But we will go to the beach. Yes. We cannot swim. Yes. You will go to the beach. You look cute. You'll still understand and listen to music. Like, it's a lot else that could happen. Yes. We will go to the beach. We will get on a boat. We may not get off the boat, but we will get on the boat. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. And do all the things. I love that.

[00:34:28] But like in showing this family that started this company, built this house, renovated and has made a life and is a part of the community of Heart Beach. Was that aspirational for you or was that based on any real people that you know or things that you've seen or what were you doing there? So it was a mix of a few things. Some of it was based on the research that I was doing about Bruce Beach and what it used to be before the land was taken away.

[00:34:57] And then my sister-in-law told me about Chicken Bone Beach, which is in New Jersey next to Atlantic City, which was a black beach. I had never heard of because, of course, by the time I was a kid, it wasn't really a black beach anymore. And I did some research into that as well. Some of it was inspired by my hometown in New Jersey is one of the first black municipalities established north of the Mason-Dixon line.

[00:35:26] And so it was a lot of black businesses. And especially when my mom was a kid, because my mom and her family moved from Philly to my hometown. And there were just a lot more black businesses at that time in the town. But then some of it was aspirational and saying, if I could build this beach town with all these black people, what would it be like? How would that experience feel?

[00:35:53] And so it was a mix of real life and a little bit of imagination and building from there. What do you want readers to take from this novel? I would say what I want readers to take away from this book, whatever I always want readers to take away from my books, is to have hope in love and to believe in love. And that it can change people. I think what else I want people to take away from this book is that there are black families with generational wealth.

[00:36:21] You know, black people who work really hard to pass that down and to keep these legacies within their family and to protect them. You know, with the Smith family, I was trying to paint a picture of black affluence and how seriously the Smith family takes their legacy and what their grandfather built. But also just like black people have fun beach reads too. And that's enough. Like, that's enough.

[00:36:51] Black people have fun beach reads too. Yeah. Period. Seriously. Yeah. I know you talked about, like, you're supposed to be working on the speculative novel. But I couldn't help but notice that there is potential for, like, this to be, like, at least a duology with Jeremiah's sister. So is that next or are we going speculative next? So the next book is about Amara. Okay. That's due to come out next summer. It's due imminently to draft. Cross your fingers for me.

[00:37:21] And so that will be next. That book. Big thank you to Christina Forrest for being here today on Black & Published. You can follow Christina on the socials at ChristinaForrest underscore on Instagram and threads. And make sure you check out The Summer Girlfriend. It's out now from Berkeley. You can get a copy of the novel from Mahogany Books and get 10% off your first purchase using code BLACKPUB at checkout. That's B-L-K-P-U-B.

[00:37:50] That's our show for the week. If you like this episode and want more Black & Published, head to our Instagram page. It's at Black & Published. And that's B-L-K & Published. There, I've posted a bonus clip from my interview with Christina about how she's working as a full-time writer and scheduling her time to make sure she gets the work done. Make sure you check it out and let me know what you think in the comments.

[00:38:18] I'll highlight y'all next week when our guest will be Regina Black, author of the novel August Lane. I've lived in the South all my life. And so much of this stuff has just always been part of my life. And just putting that in the correct frame, the correct narrative and being like, no, this isn't just theirs. We own these things. We are ruled Black Southerners. This is our culture. That's next week on Black & Published. I'll talk to you then. Peace. Peace.

[00:39:00] What's going on, family? This is Derek Young. And Ramonda Young. Owners of both Mahogany Books and the Mahogany Books Podcast Network. We really want to thank each and every one of you for listening to this episode. And if you enjoyed what you just heard, drop us a review and rate us on whatever platform you download podcasts on. We truly appreciate each and every one of you for supporting us and making us your go-to for Black books. And we look forward to connecting with you all sometime in the future. Thank you again, fam. And always remember, Black books matter.