Mara Brock Akil’s New Novel About Betrayal, Shame & Redemption with Oprah
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What is Mara Brock Akil's new novel about?
Mara Brock Akil is bringing her gift of storytelling to the world of fiction in her debut novel. I like when you say it. The debut novel, The Revelation of Dion Daphne.
This young woman is... On the train.
How did Mara transition from TV writing to writing a novel?
She's on the train headed outside the city of New York.
Who is the target audience for The Revelation of Dionne Daphne?
Because she's ashamed that she has to take an HIV test.
What themes are explored in the characters and plot of the novel?
Because two nights prior, her ex of five years tells her, I have HIV and you need to go get tested. She has to write down all the names of her lovers. And at the top of the list is her stepfather. Is her stepfather.
I was as shocked as she was, if not more.
How does writing facilitate healing for Mara?
What is so interesting for me, having been a victim of sexual abuse from a very young age, nine years old, many of you... Nine for me, too. Nine years old, being raped at nine and then continuously sexually molested over the years by various boyfriends of my mother's and my cousins, these older men. You know, you just said the story is for everybody, but was the story also for you? Oh, absolutely. So you... have written about it in the books through Dion Daphne. Do you mind sharing what actually happened to you?
What personal experiences influenced Mara's writing?
I would share this.
Hi there, everybody. Thanks for hanging out with us here on the Oprah Podcast today. Television luminary and creator, Mara Brock Akil. She has written, she has produced, she has directed over 400 episodes. Did you even know that yourself?
What misconceptions do we have about trust in relationships?
You know, not until I had to count for the bio. I was like, really?
Over 400 episodes. That's a lot of work of some of the most celebrated shows. Girlfriends, which is having its own resurgence.
I know, 25 years.
What message does Mara have for women who are still silent?
25 years and being on Netflix for five years has just garnered a whole new audience.
That's right.
The 16-year-olds love me, Oprah. It's like Girlfriends is like, you know, the forever of their time, I guess.
Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. So there's Girlfriends and there's Being Mary Jane and there's The Game, y'all, and our latest smash hit series for Netflix, Forever, Forever, Forever, Forever, which now is, we're going to have a season two.
We're going to have a season two. We start rolling cameras tomorrow. Yes.
That is so exciting to hear. Okay, so you were just sharing with me, share with the audience, you're walking down the street, Forever has been up on Netflix now for?
I think it was about day three or day four, and we were number one. And you know, when you think about it, like number one, you're like, oh, wait a minute, we're number one in the world. And there's all these people on the street, you know how New York is. And I was thinking, they don't know it's me. They don't know that me right now. They don't know you. I'm the number one. I'm the number one, yes. And my little girl just was happy. I was so happy. I was walking down the street smiling in New York. And then I think the next day got the call, the official call. That they were picking it up. That they were picking it up for season two.
That's so wonderful.
Yeah, it was wonderful. It was so wonderful. I celebrated so much I broke my toe. You broke your toe. Yeah, I just was dancing around my apartment and just in glee. You know, those private moments that are yours. Nothing like a broken toe memory.
And so now Mara Brock Akil is bringing her gift of storytelling to the world of fiction in her debut novel. I like when you say it. The debut novel, The Revelation of Dion Daphne. Welcome to the Tea House, Mara Brock Akil.
Thank you for having me. I'm so overjoyed to be here.
The fact that you are now diving into this whole new world of writing, or is it a new world of writing going into the novel form?
It's funny, I like to say, as Maya would say, I'm an authoress now. But it's, you know, my process is the same in terms of what I latch on to. And sometimes it comes through visions. It comes through visions. I'll see scenes, I'll see... And those are puzzle pieces. And I just put a puzzle piece here and a puzzle piece here. What was so refreshing about the book was... how much I got to explore the interiority. One of the challenges that I have in screenwriting is how do I not say it, not say exactly what the character or the plot or the theme is in dialogue.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is Mara Brock Akil's new novel about?
0:00–0:15
2
How did Mara transition from TV writing to writing a novel?
0:15–0:18
3
Who is the target audience for The Revelation of Dionne Daphne?
0:18–0:22
4
What themes are explored in the characters and plot of the novel?
0:22–0:40
5
How does writing facilitate healing for Mara?
0:40–1:13
6
What personal experiences influenced Mara's writing?
1:13–1:34
7
What misconceptions do we have about trust in relationships?
1:34–1:47
8
What message does Mara have for women who are still silent?
1:47–45:45
Speakers
3 identifiedMore from The Oprah Podcast
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