SOMEONE SPECIAL - VICTORIA WELLS

by La-Tessa Montgomery

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I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Victoria at the Romance Slam Jam this year.  She is a great writer, but more imporantly a great lady. I invite you to learn a little more about her.  You can find our review of her debut release A SPECIAL SUMMER Here.

A bit about you:

1.    What are some of your favorite authors, genres, and/or books?

Frances Ray, Brenda Jackson, Beverly Jenkins, Altonya Washington, J. California Cooper, J.D. Mason, Leslie Esdaile Banks, Rochelle Alers, and Mary Monroe. I’ll read any genre as long as the book is good. However, I must say my two favorite genres are African American Romance and autobiographies. Two of my all time favorite romance novels that I’ve read multiple times are SOME ONE TO LOVE ME by Francis Ray and SISTER GOT GAME by Leslie Esdaile Banks. My favorite autobiography is INCIDENTS IN THE LIFE OF A SLAVE GIRL by Harriet Jacobs.

2.    How long have you been writing?  I’ve been writing for years about health care issues pertaining to sickle cell disease.  However, I just started writing creatively about three years ago. Was it always a dream of yours to become a published author?  No, not really because I had always been focused on my career.

3.    What is the first thing you did when you found out that you sold your first manuscript? I screamed so loud my husband thought I had hurt myself! After telling him what all the ruckus was about I called my mom.

4.    We met at the Romance Slam Jam in Chicago this year.  I had a great time, what were some of the highlights for you? Wow, where do I begin with this question? I was so overwhelmed, but in a good way. Meeting some my favorite authors, the readers, and the RIC staff was wonderful. I could not believe how everyone was so nice. Especially the seasoned authors, they were so friendly and down to earth. I have to give props to Beverly Jenkins, LaConnie Taylor-Jones, and J.J. Michaels for sharing so much of their wisdom with me. Having readers approach me telling me they read my book and enjoyed it was a great feeling. And I cannot forget the two lovely women in the room next to mine, Linda and Sandra from Texas. My friend Esther and I had such a good time with them. One night we stayed over in their room until after midnight talking about our favorite romance novels and authors. I’ve adopted them as my aunties.

All about A SPECIAL SUMMER:

1.    What inspired you to write this particular story? I wrote this story because I wanted to portray positive African American characters with real life relationship issues. I didn’t want a “boy meet girl they fall in love and live happily every after” story. I intentionally created flawed characters with some serious issues to let people know that we don’t run out on our responsibilities when things get tough. It was important for me try and demonstrate what happens when someone is devastated by love and how it ultimately may affect future relationships if not dealt with.

2.    As a read-a-holic, I am drawn to books with meaty characters, and Nick, the male lead, fits this bill.  I really enjoyed the discussion we had at the Romance Slam Jam about him.  For those of you who were not in attendance, poor Nick took a beating from the fans, but from what I can tell, he deserved it J.  What are your reactions to the our friendly banter about Nick?  Did you have a heard time developing the character he ended up being? My poor Nick…LOL       La-Tessa, I must admit he deserved it. He was one mean SOB. I don’t mind when readers express their feelings for him. However, I hope they realize that he wasn’t perfect and he had some serious issues with his past. I mean come on, he didn’t exactly have a role model on how to treat a woman from the way his dad treated his mom. And let’s not forget how the woman from years ago he loved played him for a fool, big time. Again, I truly hope that people get that he realized he was jerk and evolved into a better man because of Summer’s love. I had fun developing Nick. I let him act, say and do things I wish I could do!

3.    Do you have any favorite characters or scenes that you wouldn’t mind sharing or providing a little more insight on? I would have to say Kevin and Joan are my favorite characters because they always kept Nick in check. I purposely had Kevin play the role of Nick’s conscious. He told dude when he was wrong and didn’t care about his reaction or if he’d offended him. Just because they were best friends and like brothers, he never condoned Nick’s behavior. I love me some Joan. She didn’t take no mess from Nick.  She got with him whenever he started acting all crazy. Joan also was an older version of what Summer would have become if she stuck to her original decision after Nick left her in the beginning of the book. Joan realized this and wished she had had the courage as a young woman to make the same decision Summer had. Because of this, she was very supportive and became a surrogate mom to her.

4.    As a new author, did you face any particular challenges on your road to becoming a published author? Fortunately I really didn’t.  After submitting my manuscript to three publishing houses, two of them were interested in my story.

All about the Fans:

1.    Do you have any upcoming releases or projects you are working on that you wish to share? Yes, I’m currently working on WHEN LOVE COMES AROUND which is Starr’s story.

2.    Do you have any reader events coming up (book signing, tours, etc.) where your fans can come out and meet you? Yes, you can go to my website at: www.victoria-wells.com to view my upcoming events.

3.    How can your readers stay in touch with you? I have a guestbook on my website, a blog, and they can always feel free to email at: author@victoria-wells.com.

4.     What advice or encouragement do you have for aspiring authors? To never give up on your dreams, join a writer’s group for aspiring authors (I wish someone had told me) and don’t be afraid to take a chance.

Thanks for inviting me to Romance in Color!