Character Interview: Diane Marie Brown interviews Willow Montrose of Black Candle Women

Character Interview: Diane Marie Brown interviews Willow Montrose of Black Candle Women

About BLACK CANDLE WOMEN

“Propulsive and poignant, Black Candle Women concocts an intoxicating potion of warmth, wisdom, and wonder.” —Ava DuVernay

A warm and wry family drama with a magical twist about four generations of Black women, a family curse, and one very complicated year of heartache, miscommunication, and learning to let go.

Generations of Montrose women—Augusta, Victoria, Willow—have lived together in their quaint two-story bungalow in California for years. They keep to themselves, never venture far from home, and their collection of tinctures and spells is an unspoken bond between them.

But when seventeen-year-old Nickie Montrose brings home a boy for the first time, their quiet lives are thrown into disarray. For the other women have been withholding a secret from Nickie that will end her relationship before it’s even begun: the decades-old family curse that any person they fall in love with dies.

Their surprise guest forces each woman to reckon with her own past choices and mistakes. And as new truths about the curse emerge, the family is set on a collision course dating back to a Voodoo shop in 1950s New Orleans’s French Quarter—where a hidden story in a mysterious book may just hold the answers they seek in life and in love…

“Richly imagined and elegantly told, with plenty of satisfying secrets, heartaches, and twists.”
—Sadeqa Johnson, international bestselling author of Yellow Wife and The House of Eve

Diane Marie Brown interviews Willow Montrose of Black Candle Women

Diane Marie Brown: Hi, Willow. So glad you have a chance to talk with me today.

Willow Montrose – sister, aunt, granddaughter to Victoria, Nickie, and Augusta, respectively of the Montrose family: I’m glad, too. When you first reached out, I thought it was by mistake. Usually, people want to talk to my sister, Victoria–the therapist. The person everyone goes to see for help. But she doesn’t run her practice alone, you know.

DMB: I do know, which was why I was curious to hear from you.

WM: Well, I can tell you’re a bright woman.

DMB: Thank you. Now, I know you’re employed as your sister’s receptionist.

WM: I’m much more than that. I see myself as an executive. A vice president of sorts. I do her books. I file insurance claims. I schedule all of her clients. I purchase snacks and tea, all the types of sugar our clients prefer to use. I run our social marketing. Victoria doesn’t know anything about Instagram or Twitter. Shoot, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that she still checks her MySpace account, over there still hanging with Tom.

DMB: I see. It’s evident that you do a lot for the practice. Probably due to your past experience. Didn’t you use to run some sort of Voodoo shop over in the French Quarter years ago?

WM: The shop? How do you…wait a minute. Who you working for?

DMB: Ms. Willow, I work for myself. I’m a writer. I am curious about tricks and spells. Those are some of the things you used to do over at that shop, right? From what I heard, you were quite inventive.

WM: Hmm. Is that what you heard? Would be curious to know who said that.

DMB: I can’t really say. But from what it sounds like, you were helpful. I think my source used the word “magical.” 

WM: Magical? Hmm. That’s one way to put it. The way I see it, I was bringing justice to people who couldn’t get it on their own. Especially women.

DMB: That sounds amazing. And noble. It seems you were pretty masterful with this craft of yours. 

WM: I sure was. Still am. But that kind of work isn’t looked upon favorably by some folks. Not these days. They prefer getting help from people with letters behind their names and degrees. Hence, me being employed as my sister’s “vice president.”

DMB: Well, I’d be curious to see how you could help me.

WM: I mean, maybe there’s something I could do for you. Let me guess. Someone broke your heart. Owes you money? Your neighbor’s dog won’t stop barking in the middle of the night, keeping you from a good night’s sleep. 

DMB: You can solve those kinds of problems?

WM: Of course. I could assemble a gris-gris bag with a bit of leg hair from the person who broke your heart, along with some cocoa nibs, a pair of red dice, a sprinkle of fresh pollen, and the fuzzy bits from a three-inch piece of yarn. Would that be useful to you?

DMB: No. I haven’t had my heart broken recently. No issues with my neighbor’s dog or anyone owing me money.

WM: So what’s the problem? I could prepare a hotfoot powder to keep angry folks out of your house. Or mix a tincture of orange oil, lemongrass, Guinea pepper, cigar ash, and bitters for a salve–smear it on the doorknobs of any colleagues of yours who try to take credit for your ideas. Once they touch it, they’ll only be able to say beautiful words about you and all you do. 

DMB: That’s not a problem either.

WM: So spit it out. You can’t remember people’s names? Been accused of murder? Can’t get anywhere on time? Warts on your knuckles? Can’t get a loan? Hair growing from odd places? Singing out of tune?

DMB: No, Willow. Those aren’t concerns I have right now. But it’s good to know that I can reach out to you if ever do.

WM: Alright, fine. Just tell me. What’s something I can help you with? Keep in mind I require discretion with my work. 

DMB: Well, I’m really hoping to finish writing my second book in the next few weeks and get a publishing deal.

WM: [Long sigh.] You know, I’ll leave that one to the professional. There’s only so much I can do. My sister has an 8:00 a.m. on Friday. You available?

DMB: Sure. Thanks.

BUY HERE

Diane Marie Brown is a professor at Orange Coast College and a public health professional for the Long Beach Health Department. She has a BA and MPH from UCLA and a degree in fiction from USC’s Master of Professional Writing Program. She grew up in Stockton and now lives in Long Beach, California, with her husband, their four daughters, and their dog, Brownie. Black Candle Women is her debut novel.

Tags: featured, women writers

Category: Interviews, On Writing