cakewalk
A journey of radical self-acceptance.
Set in the conservative heart of Texas, Cakewalk tells the story of Bryan Hicks, an African American father who juggles the demands of his corporate career and his hidden relationship with Nadia, a transgender woman. Bryan’s private life clashes with his family’s expectations—especially his mother’s, who loves to boast about his recent promotion to VP at a major oil and gas company but has no idea who her son is truly in love with. For Bryan, revealing his relationship with Nadia risks his family’s acceptance, particularly his mother’s approval, which has always been central to him.
As a father, Bryan faces another layer of complexity, raising two children with vastly different paths. Lindsey, his athletic and ambitious daughter, stands in contrast to Lance, his creative and openly queer son who finds purpose in theater. Balancing the pressure of his high-stakes career, his role as a father, and his personal authenticity becomes a journey of courage and identity.
Inspired by author Douglas Bell’s own experiences, Cakewalk is told from the perspective of an African American, cisgender man, offering a raw exploration of transphobia, homophobia, and the bravery required to challenge societal norms. Bell’s work brings a human face to the struggles of trans women, inviting readers to reflect on the power of self-trust and the courage it takes to live life on one’s own terms.
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“The writing is brilliant and the depth of feeling is unparalleled. It ranges from sex to friendship to gender, from the big questions to the smaller ones. It’s emotional, dramatic and shows that Bell is a writer with many talents.”
“Cakewalk is a fabulous novel - both deep and light, a page-turner with sexy banter that also engages with racism, transphobia, and workplace politics.”
“Douglas Bell’s CAKEWALK hit me like a gorgeous day when the forecast calls for rain. In its particulars, I’ve never read a story quite like this one—boy meets girl, girl is trans, boy overcomes all sorts of obstacles (societal, familial, interpersonal) and loves girl despite every one of his own self-sabotaging barriers.”
“The novel starts with a heavy weight on the protagonist’s shoulders, and the journey is learning what it means to free himself of the burden to find truth and happiness.”
“Cakewalk is a riveting read that explores the nuances of the human experience and the many ways we all possess blindspots to the trauma we inflict on each other. I can’t sing the praises of this book enough.”
Gianna Ramirez, GOODREads reviewer
Q&A’s
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Seeing interracial relationships of all kinds, depending on where you live in America, is as commonplace as having a smartphone. Given the reality of our contemporary society, there is a pressure placed on those relationships to feel not normal or outside the intraracial normative bubble. Exploring the interracial dynamics of this modern couple gave CAKEWALK an opportunity to touch on white privilege.
CAKEWALK was never meant to ignore black women's beauty - cisgender or transgender- or the dynamics within heterosexual or same-sex black relationships. Bryan, the protagonist, has been lulled into believing the European standards: thin lips, straight hair, smaller noses, and less prominent curves as the epitome of beauty are to be promoted and are signs of an accomplished life. Bryan's mother fights against these beliefs in our society to help Bryan mature.
The novel, while at the same time, acknowledges white privilege cannot vanquish all the problems the trans community faces. The trans community (in general) suffers homelessness, unemployment, depression, and violence. CAKEWALK downplayed these barriers for the transgender characters to focus more on Bryan's evolution to self-acceptance.
Hopefully, CAKEWALK transcends the themes of interracial relationships to expose the conflicting world of trans attracted men and their impact on trans women.
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I started writing CAKEWALK three years ago. In the beginning, I wanted to tell an entertaining story. I truly wanted to share things that I had seen and experienced. During my writing journey, I was accepted into a leadership program called American Leadership Forum (ALF). ALF is built on doing inner work to reveal what is most important to you as a leader. The process uncovered that I unknowingly wanted to tell a story out of a need to champion causes or gaps in our society, which turned out to be the seeds of Allyship for me. CAKEWALK, hopefully, shows through the protagonist's journey from phobic to self-assured person is a story ultimately about Allyship as one theme. As I continued on this journey, Allyship was like an Angel to me. Angels come in many forms: protectors along our journey, nourishers to our spirits to help us find courage, and even assistants to execute the universe's desire in your life. CAKEWALK is the creative actualization of the universe's pull on me to be an Ally. Additionally, the result of CAKEWALK urged me to ask questions: What is Allyship? Why is Allyship important?
Regarding what LGBTQ+ Allyship is, the definition at ReachOut.com resonates the most with me. Someone who is heterosexual and/or cisgender but who tries to make the world a better place for people who identify as LGBTQIA+. I included this definition because maybe there is someone who is new to transgender issues and/or the LGBTQ+ community in general and never realized that simply showing compassion and empathy to those in your community is a great place to start being an ally. Even something as simple as monitoring how you perceive a story in the news with as much compassion as you can muster will make a huge difference in your actions. Our actions are an actualization of what we are thinking.
Regarding why LGBTQ+ Allyship is important, I like the reasons outlined at allyship.org. People in marginalized communities don't have the socio-economic capital to bring about true social equity, human decency, and respect for themselves. If they could, they would have done it by this time. The idea society of equality for all is only possible when we advocate for each other's individual rights and opportunities.
Allyship is never perfect; Allyship does ask that we take risks to stand for something greater than ourselves. Allyship will make mistakes. Still, the angels of Allyship will protect, nourish, or assist you.
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I think this is an important question. I think the quick answer could be: Why not. I identify as a Black, straight, cisgender person and I am married to a cisgender woman. Despite the energy around anti-trans bills targeted at kids and the regular hurtful stuff we do to those with less societal agency than the privileged, you see great documentaries on Netflix such as Disclosure and La Veneno. But, also HBO with Euphoria. POSE. I love POSE. POSE let us into their world. And a group of brown and black trans girls, too; there were so many layers, and I loved it.
Where are the stories from a cisgender perspective that applauds interacting with and loving a transgender character as a fully realized person? Where are the stories that acknowledge the depth and the beauty of the trans community from a cisgender perspective? This story now because there is cisgender unwilling to recognize they have trans people in their lives. This story now because there are already mixed-cis/transgender couples out there meeting, having fun, dating, exploring each other, and in healthy monogamous relationships so why not cheer this reality. Where are the stories that educate us by turning the lens around to look at the same trans person from a privileged cisgender eye?
CAKEWALK was written to tug at the cisgender community to try something new, but more importantly, written for the trans community to say you are loved.
