We chat with debut author Rebecca Carvalho about Salt and Sugar, along with writing, book recommendations, and more!
Hi, Rebecca! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m a Brazilian author based in Berkeley, California. I love writing stories that explore all the social dynamics in close-knit neighborhoods. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me gaming and taking photos of my food.
When did you first discover your love for writing?
When I was in first grade, I loved coming up with different plots for Turma da Mônica, because those were my favorite comic books and I read them way too fast. I wasn’t patient enough to wait to buy a new one the next month, so I guess I was writing fan fiction.
I think the moment I really knew I wanted to be a writer was when my school used one of my stories as the reading comprehension portion of our Portuguese test. I didn’t know they were going to do that and I was so surprised. My teacher read it out loud and my classmates had a big reaction to my main character—a bug named Silvia who fell in love with a grasshopper who wanted nothing to do with her.
People laughed so much. I was speechless. But the best part happened during recess when I girl I didn’t know threatened me. She said her name was Silvia and apparently her classmates had made fun of her because she shared my character’s name. She thought I had done that on purpose, and she didn’t care when I said I didn’t know her. She vowed to write a story of her own and name her character after me. So, that’s when I knew I had to keep writing for the rest of my life.
Quick lightning round! Tell us the first book you ever remember reading, the one that made you want to become an author, and one that you can’t stop thinking about!
The first book I ever remember reading was Marcelo, Marmelo, Martelo by Ruth Rocha.
The book that made me want to become an author was Terror na Festa by Janaina Amado.
The book that I can’t stop thinking about is My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante.
Your debut novel, Salt and Sugar, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Brazilian. Foodie. Community. Bakers-to-lovers. Telenovela-esque.
What can readers expect?
A lot of delicious Brazilian food and cultural elements from the Brazilian northeast and local festivities. Be prepared to make pit stops at your favorite bakery, because Salt and Sugar will definitely inspire you to try savory and sweet treats as you read. There’s grief, there are stubborn parents, and a ton of rumors going around and crowds that pick sides in family fights, but there’s also a lot of healing, and cooking together, and characters who are finally breaking vicious cycles and creating something new together. There’s a lot of love for tight-knit neighborhoods and small, family-owned businesses. There’s street food. There’s a ton of rain. There’s a slow burn romance. There’s food flying everywhere. There’s a bake-off and a cooking contest!
Where did the inspiration for Salt and Sugar come from?
I wrote Salt and Sugar when I was in mourning. My mom passed away in 2015, and I just couldn’t write anymore. I had been working on different things back then, but it was hard to go back to those stories, so I took a long break until I picked up the pen again. When I was ready to write, I just knew I had to write about home. I needed to reconnect with my mom somehow. I needed to revisit childhood memories. I was really homesick. I was thinking about bakeries being such a strong element in my childhood growing up in Brazil, so this ‘what if’ question popped up in my mind: “what if there were rival bakeries and their kids fell for each other?” The rest is history.
Can you tell us a bit about the challenges you faced while writing and how you were able to overcome them?
There are always so many challenges when you write without the promise of publication. I didn’t have an agent when I wrote Salt and Sugar. It was a matter of believing in my story, but being realistic and knowing that my stuff in the past didn’t do so well when I queried. Salt and Sugar was a very personal story, so I also didn’t know if anyone else would connect with it. But my dream agent, Thao Le, loved it as much as I did and I couldn’t believe when she emailed me asking for that first phone call.
Was there any essential food research conducted for this book?
Yes, absolutely! I ate a lot. I’m kidding. I read Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat to understand flavor. I tried cooking and baking so many Brazilian dishes, you have no idea. I studied recipes. Most of the fried dishes were a big fail. I just don’t know how to get coxinhas to fry properly. They always explode. But I made many batches of pão de queijo, just getting a feeling for what challenges my super clumsy main character would experience when baking for the first time. I also read many books on kitchen dynamics, like Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. I also was pretty addicted to his shows. I loved the way he talked about food. Food shows were always my favorite, because as an immigrant I like the way cooking helps me connect with my culture. I’m always looking for home when I find Brazilian restaurants in the Bay Area, like they’re mini embassies.
Were there any favourite moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I really enjoyed writing all the cooking club scenes. I loved the way Lari finally let herself make friends in that kitchen environment, something so familiar and magical to her that really helped her lower her guard. I also loved adding real life places to the book. I love that readers can actually go visit Rua do Amparo, a street in Olinda, Brazil, and literally feel like they’re in the Salt and Sugar neighborhood.
What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
It was bumpy and hilly. It was hard. It took me 11 years to get published. Many of those years in the query trenches. I’m really lucky that I persisted, and that I met amazing people along the way who supported me and didn’t let me give this dream up.
What’s next for you?
I hope I’ll get to publish more Brazilian stories in the future. I’m still working on a book proposal for a story set in Recife, my hometown, and only my agent knows about it, so I can’t share a lot yet, but fingers crossed?
Lastly, what have been some of your favourite 2022 reads? Any 2023 releases our readers should look out for?
I recommend anything by Ashley Schumacher. She released Full Flight this year and her writing always blows my mind. She has a book coming out next year, too, so make sure to add The Renaissance of Gwen Hathaway to your TBR! I’m looking forward to reading Drizzle, Dreams, and Lovestruck Things by Maya Prasad, and All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir, which came out this year, too. I also can’t wait to read The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim, which is basically my most anticipated 2023 book.
Salt and Sugar Synopsis
Trust neither thin-bottomed frying pans nor Molinas.
Lari Ramires has always known this to be true. In Olinda, Brazil, her family’s bakery, Salt, has been at war with the Molinas’ bakery across the street, Sugar, for generations. But Lari’s world turns upside down when her beloved grandmother passes away. On top of that, a big supermarket chain has moved to town, forcing many of the small businesses to close.
Determined to protect her home, Lari does the unthinkable—she works together with Pedro Molina to save both of their bakeries. Lari realizes she might not know Pedro as well as she thought—and she maybe even likes what she learns—but the question remains: Can a Ramires and a Molina truly trust one another?
