A thriller set within the walls of a historically Black college, Jackson’s The Scammer (Quill Tree) centers on an impressionable freshman and her roommates, whose lives enter a downward spiral when a visiting older sibling outstays his welcome.
You stated in a previous interview with PW that you were inspired to write The Scammer after learning about the Sarah Lawrence sex cult scandal. What aspects of that story helped you lay the groundwork for your novel?
When I first read about the scandal in the Cut, I remember thinking to myself, How could this happen? It’s the same question that comes to mind when I write all my books. I started by taking a deep dive into the idea of cults and was surprised to learn that we are in close proximity to them and don’t realize it. And when you think of an HBCU, it’s a subculture that’s very protected—but there’s also a blind spot with a potential for something like that to happen.
How did your own college experience help shape the narrative?
I loved going to Howard University. It was great for being able to reference the culture there, giving that framework of the care and tenderness that you walk into and walk out of. It’s something I wanted to highlight because people don’t really know how that experience guides you and helps you go out into the world. When it came to telling this story, I had to go back to how it felt during my freshman and sophomore years—how vulnerable we were. In some ways, it was a perfect storm of elements for people to prey upon the most vulnerable.
How can The Scammer serve as a conversation starter for today’s teens?
I don’t feel like there are enough books set in college. We need more of these stories as a launching pad for kids to understand the world. If we are serious about preparing our kids for what they are potentially about to experience, or maybe showing them some compassion for things that are happening on their campus, we need to start now. There is no time to hide the truth and conceal evidence of the hardships they may have in college. They need to be able to see the wolf in sheep’s clothing and identify that earlier.
Is this a pivotal time to maintain readers’ interest in books as they head off to school?
Yes and no. If you’re a reader, you’re a reader for life. You may not read as much during your freshman year of college, but I always say, go off and experience the world, but come back home to this safe place. Even as older women, we always come back home.
