A Slice of Cake With... Mark Roman & Corben Duke

This week I am delighted to have a slice of cake with Mark Roman and Corben Duke.

What a coincidence this blog is called ‘A Slice of Cake’, for it was a humble cake that kick-started Mark Roman and Corben Duke’s writing partnership.

One Spring day, Mark was strolling down Penge High Street, tucking into a tasty Bakewell Tart, when he reached the glacé cherry at the centre. Not being a fan, he plucked it off and flicked it towards the gutter. But as it bounced along the pavement, Corben, hurrying in the opposite direction, stepped on it and went into an uncontrolled slide that resulted in the splits. Not a trained gymnast, Corben ended up in hospital. Soon afterwards, their writing exchanges started – Corben emailing a compensation claim for a serious cake-related injury.

Initially emails between Roman & Duke were quite simple, along the lines of ‘It was your fault’ and ‘No it wasn’t’. After a few months, they calmed down and began discussing other subjects, such as a particularly nasty rash Mark was suffering from at the time. Anyway, the emails didn’t stop and it’s fair to say they became an addiction. Even after therapy the problem didn’t go away so they decided to focus their writing into producing a novel. They discussed a suitable genre and, if ‘Cake Fiction’ had been a legitimate literary genre, they would probably have written a book about a sad pastry chef who found love through the power of his Eccles cakes – or something similar. But, since cake fiction wasn’t fashionable, they opted for Science Fiction Comedy instead.

Can you describe your writing why?

Roman & Duke have different motives for writing. For Mark, writing is a cry for help (which has mostly gone unheeded – although he did once get a letter from a retired psychotherapist from Idaho. She told him she sensed his pain through his poetry and offered him a discount membership of her cult. Which is rather odd since Mark hasn’t written any poems).

Corben writes for one reason only: to raise enough money to open a sanctuary for orphaned baby squirrels. He dreams of owning a massive mansion house and country estate where his babies can run free, wind blowing through their cute fluffy tails as they scamper after bountiful nuts. So far, Duke has raised enough money for a small bag of peanuts, and nowhere near enough for the mansion house, or the estate. He’s hoping Roman & Duke’s next book might do the trick but needs your help. He hopes that you, dear reader, will think of those tiny squirrels all alone in the world with their sad little faces … so sad.

Tell us about your latest project

The Worst Man on Mars was born at one of Mark and Corben’s regular cake afternoons as they discussed what they might write, should they ever get around to starting. Mark, who felt it impolite to be the first to take a cake, suggested, “Try a Mars Cake Bar,” his eye on a plate of his particular favourites.

“A Mars caper?” asked Corben, his ear wax making it difficult not to mishear just about everything anyone said. “What a splendid idea. I can see it now. Britain’s first crewed mission to Mars. A heroic captain. Glamorous crew members. A base built by super-efficient robots. A historic mission. An epic story. And plenty of Battenberg cake!”

And so, they started writing. Sadly, Corben’s initial vision succumbed to the necessities of making the story of a British space mission sound realistic. Instead of a heroic captain, it got thuggish, pie-eating, reality-show winner Flint Dugdale. Instead of a glamorous crew, it got the ineffectual Willie Warner and roguish Zak Johnston, plus a group of oddball colonists. Instead of highly efficient builder robots, it got a ramshackle bunch of incompetent mechanoids who couldn’t even get the dimensions of the base right.

Still, at least the Battenberg cake made it in.

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

Lieutenant Willie Warner had found it a struggle to adjust to life back on Earth. Craving the celebrity highlife, he had been attracted to the reality TV circuit. Unfortunately, his first engagement on The Great British Bake Off had also been his last; Willie’s Showstopper Bake had been an exquisite, intricately-wrought brandy snap crown enrobed in dark, velvety ganache studded with fondant jewels. In a mock coronation he had proudly crowned judge Bessie Sherry on live television. Everyone had been laughing and joining in with the joke, until the heat within the baking tent caused the gooey coronet to melt and run down the side of Bessie’s face. Why Willie had decided to step forward and lick the chocolate off her cheek, no-one will ever know. But the British public did not take kindly to the Queen of Puddings being licked on screen before the 9pm watershed. And neither did judge Phil ‘Rock Cakes’ Hardman, who promptly punched Willie, sending him skimming across the top of a floured work surface.

What is your favourite cake?

Corben’s favourite cake is a lovely nutty banana and walnut cake. He likes to share cake crumbs with the baby squirrels.

Mark reckons you can’t beat a slice of Victoria sponge. He loves to suck out the fresh cream and jam from the middle, and then work on the sponge with his gums. His teeth fell out 25 years ago, ironically from eating too much cake, so nowadays he can only manage the softer varieties.

Good luck with feeding the squirrels! You can keep up to date with Mark on Twitter and Facebook, and with Corben on Twitter. The book is available to buy on Amazon.

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

You can also support my writing endeavours and buy me tea & cake - it's what makes the world go round!

Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.