Tia Williams on Black Love, Harlem Glamour, and 'A Love Song for Ricki Wilde'

Ricki Wilde has long dreamed of leaving her family’s business in Atlanta and opening her own flower shop. So when a fairy godmother-like figure appears to help her, she seizes the opportunity and soon has her own store in Harlem. It’s there that she meets and is immediately drawn to Ezra Walker — but while the attraction is mutual, there’s something that pulls him away. A secondary timeline, set during the Harlem Renaissance, offers clues about Ezra’s past. We asked Williams a few questions. Here’s what she had to say…

Q: Over the past few years, there’s been a rise in Black romance novels. Why was it important to you to write about Black love?

Williams: Growing up, I was obsessed with historical romance and "glamour" romance, like Judith Krantz and Jackie Collins. But Black people were never in those stories, so in my mind, I’d recast the characters with Black actors and actresses. I knew, even then, that I wanted to grow up and write books starring us — because we’re not the Black versions of anything. We should exist loudly and proudly in stories amplifying our love.

Q: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde has been called "a love letter to Harlem," which is pretty impressive for someone who lives in Brooklyn. Why did you choose it as the backdrop for the story?

Williams: I’ve lived in Brooklyn my entire adult life, and all my novels have been set there. I wanted a new challenge. And modern Harlem has such a cool, chic vibe. But I’m also a huge fan of the Harlem Renaissance. I love the fashion, literature, it girls and boys, all that 1920s glamour. I knew I wanted to weave in the Renaissance, somehow. So, I came up with a Jazz Age-era scandal that has modern-day consequences for Ricki and Ezra.

Q: I imagine you’ve since gotten to know Harlem pretty well. What’s the one place you’d say everyone must visit?

Williams: Tsion Café — it’s the best Ethiopian food I’ve had in ages.

Q: You’re hosting your dream book club: Who’s invited, what are you reading, and what are you eating?

Williams: We’re reading Flowers in the Attic. I’m inviting all my Gen X girlfriends who inhaled this book as inappropriate tweens — and we’re eating Stouffer’s microwave pizza. A night of 1987-era nostalgia.