Judith Fertig and Amy E. Reichert on the meaning of cake

Judith Fertig and Amy E. Reichert have something in common, other than being authors: They both have books out this summer that feature cake — Judith's The Cake Therapist and Amy's The Coincidence of Coconut Cake. Who doesn't love cake? We asked them to have discuss their new books and the meaning of cake.

Both books feature beautiful cakes on the cover. What makes these gorgeous images so comforting and inviting?

Judith: A really delicious cake signals a celebration, large or small — a birthday, a new baby, making it through a tough week, maybe starting a new chapter in life. A cake reminds us that there can be a "happy ever after," even if it's just until the end of the novel.

Amy: First, I adore the cover of The Cake Therapist — all those vivid colors! That cake was made with love. For mine, it's the gorgeous chalkboard font! It softens the black cover and feels like you're sitting down at a table in your favorite restaurant. And that cake! My coconut cakes never turn out that delectable.

Why did you choose to write about main characters in the food business?

Judith: I've been a food writer and cookbook author for a long time. My first high school job was in a bakery. I went to cooking school in London and Paris. It has all fed my fascination with how flavor and food can help tell a story.

Amy: The Coincidence of Coconut Cake was the first novel I had ever written, and I wanted my characters in an industry I knew something about. I spent more than eight years in different restaurants working various jobs, from dishwashing to waiting tables to an occasional line cook (that last is a funny story for another time). In my experience, restaurants are full of colorful people with colorful pasts, and the intense working conditions quickly create a family atmosphere (or a war zone — I've worked in those kitchens, too). Anything can happen in a kitchen, so to me, it was the perfect place to set a book.

In both books, food is at the heart of the story, helping romance to bloom, relationships to build and secrets to be revealed. How can food bring us together?

Amy: Food is the great common denominator. Through the foods we cook and serve, we share a part of our history and ourselves. When I cook for guests, I'm preparing something special to me, be it Cuban pork or a coconut cake. It's a great conversation starter. People always share personal stories about the foods they love, so we end the meal a little closer than when we started it.

Judith: Some dishes (like five-way chili) establish our sense of family and hometown. Other dishes (like strawberry cake with rosewater) have flavors that can transport us to another time. Sharing food invites intimate conversation and personal revelation, so we can get to know each other better — in real life and in fiction.

Why did you each set your novel in your hometown?

Amy: I love books where setting is so well developed it's another character. I wanted my book to be just as much a love story with the city as it is with the characters. I wanted to explore that home isn't just a place, but a mind-set, too. Home is where you feel most yourself, and it's not always where you grew up. Once you've found that place, it will always be there for you. Just like my characters, Milwaukee is my home and I had to share it with the world.

Judith: My former blue-collar hometown in Ohio really has re-invented itself as a bridal district, and it makes me proud that it has found a new way to thrive. I was just back home on book tour and was so thrilled to see my childhood next-door neighbor, my best high school friends, cousins and new readers. Plus, I couldn't have asked for a more perfect setting — a convent on a hill, a mom-and-pop business district, all the layers of the past still visible that lend themselves to flashbacks, and people who still dress up porch geese. The stories! The characters! Neely will be tasting their flavors for a long time to come.

What's next for each of you?

Amy: I'm revising book two, which I hope will be out next summer. This one features a custardy lemon pie.

Judith: The Memory of Lemon, the second Cake Therapist novel, will be out in June 2016. The flashbacks — prompted by two haunting flavors — will take us to the Kentucky wilderness in the time of John James Audubon, with a surprising connection to Neely and her family in the present day. And this novel features pie. Lots of pie that readers can enjoy with no guilt, whatsoever.

What is your favorite type of cake?

Amy: I hope it doesn't shock anyone, but caramel cake is my absolute favorite. It's a slightly more dense, less sweet yellow cake with a heavy frosting made of caramelized sugar, butter and more sugar. I don't make it often because when I do, I eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Judith: My favorite cake right now is devil's food with a mocha frosting, that strong shoulder to lean on during a busy time!

About The Cake Therapist by Judith Fertig (courtesy of Berkley):

Claire "Neely" O'Neil is a pastry chef of extraordinary talent. Every great chef can taste shimmering, elusive flavors that most of us miss, but Neely can "taste" feelings—cinnamon makes you remember; plum is pleased with itself; orange is a wake-up call. When flavor and feeling give Neely a glimpse of someone's inner self, she can customize her creations to help that person celebrate love, overcome fear, even mourn a devastating loss.

Maybe that's why she feels the need to go home to Millcreek Valley at a time when her life seems about to fall apart. The bakery she opens in her hometown is perfect, intimate, just what she's always dreamed of—and yet, as she meets her new customers, Neely has a sense of secrets, some dark, some perhaps with tempting possibilities. A recurring flavor of alarming intensity signals to her perfect palate a long-ago story that must be told.

Neely has always been able to help everyone else. Getting to the end of this story may be just what she needs to help herself.

About The Coincidence of Coconut Cake by Amy E. Reichert (courtesy of Gallery Books):

In downtown Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Lou works tirelessly to build her beloved yet struggling French restaurant, Luella's, into a success. She cheerfully balances her demanding business and even more demanding fiancé…until the morning she discovers him in the buff—with an intern.

Witty yet gruff British transplant Al is keeping himself employed and entertained by writing scathing reviews of local restaurants in the Milwaukee newspaper under a pseudonym. When an anonymous tip sends him to Luella's, little does he know he's arrived on the worst day of the chef's life. The review practically writes itself: underdone fish, scorched sauce, distracted service—he unleashes his worst.

The day that Al's mean-spirited review of Luella's runs, the two cross paths in a pub: Lou drowning her sorrows, and Al celebrating his latest publication. As they chat, Al playfully challenges Lou to show him the best of Milwaukee and she's game—but only if they never discuss work, which Al readily agrees to. As they explore the city's local delicacies and their mutual attraction, Lou's restaurant faces closure, while Al's column gains popularity. It's only a matter of time before the two fall in love…but when the truth comes out, can Lou overlook the past to chase her future?

Set in the lovely, quirky heart of Wisconsin, The Coincidence of Coconut Cake is a charming love story of misunderstandings, mistaken identity, and the power of food to bring two people together.

Find out more about Judith and Amy at their websites, www.judithfertig.com and amyereichert.com.