Meet Author Victoria Wells

I run what I believe it the best online book club in the world, The Black Romance Online Book Club. We talk books day and night, but have an “official” book discussion once a month. I love the group because we don’t just read titles by popular or traditionally published authors. My previous guest, Iris Bolling and my guest today, Victoria Wells, are two authors I was introduced to by the book club. Oh, for those of you who don’t know, besides being an author, I’m also a read-a-holic. Okay, okay, enough about my issues, let’s get  on to Victoria.

Tell us a little about yourself.
I’m a wife, mother and nurse practitioner. Other than my family, being a nurse working with sickle cell patients is my love. I thank God for blessing me with a creative spirit. I love writing, knitting and crocheting. Reading is my favorite pastime. 🙂

Tell us something few know about you.
Well… let’s see. I can be very spontaneous. Not just average spontaneity. I once decided to go kayaking with my best friend despite the fact I can barely swim. Once we were paddling along in water deep enough to see dolphins at a distance, the tour guide just had to announce the body of water was about sixty to eighty feet deep.

I love playing practical jokes on family and friends. One Christmas I convinced my husband to go along with me in filling our children’s stockings with charcoal instead of the cute little stocking stuffers they were accustomed to waking up to on Christmas morning. My goodness! One would have thought there were absolutely no toys and other goodies under the tree! After calming down my offspring from all their squawking like injured little birds, I did what any loving momma bird would do. I gave them their beloved stockings.

The first vehicle I ever drove was a tractor! LOL I went to an Agriculture High School and one of the requirements was that the students had to learn how to drive a tractor. How cool is that?

What genre(s) do you like to read?
I enjoy reading African American/multicultural romance and biographies.

What is your favorite novel and why?
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacob. This is my all time favorite novel because it gives an amazing detailed account of a young girl’s life as a slave and her escape to freedom. For me it is a testament of how resilient we as African American women have always been. Can you imagine living in a crawl space for three years to escape the confines of slavery? Looking at your children through a crack in a wall? Wanting to hold them, kiss them, love them and you can’t? I make it a point to re-read this book every few years. This book reminds me of the price all those before me paid for the very freedom I enjoy today.

What was the last novel you read that you enjoyed and why?
Indigo by Beverly Jenkins. As with all of Ms. Jenkins’s historical romance books I love the history. I especially enjoyed how vast the hero’s and heroine’s backgrounds were, yet they were connected by a common bond. This story touched on so many different layers and levels of love.

When did you begin writing?
My earliest writings were during childhood when I would make up stories about farm animals, which was quite strange since I grew up in the city. I suppose I was drawn to these stories because my mother grew up on a farm and would tell me stories about farm life.

What genre(s) do you write?
African American/multicultural romance

Where do your concepts for your novels come from?
I usually get inspired by watching a movie, overhearing a conversation while on the subway, a particular song can spark something, and real life circumstances I may have experienced or someone I know.

How long does it typically take you to write a book?
If my life isn’t crazy with family and work issues I can write a book (rough draft) in about eight to ten weeks.

Tell us about your latest book.
Key To My Heart is the third book in my Love Conquers All Series. It’s the story of Ava Peretti, an elementary school nurse who is taunted by nightmares. The root of the nightmares is a result of a well guarded secret. Ava is forced to confront a former lover in order to deal with the sins of her past. What Ava doesn’t know is that she’s in for the shock of her life when she finds out her ex-lover has been keeping a secret of his own.

Where can readers purchase your latest book?
Amazon, Barnes and Noble

What other titles have you written?
A Special Summer and When Love Comes Around

If you could change one thing about your writing career thus far, what would it be?
The one thing I would change is that I would have learned a lot more about the business end of being an author before I started writing. I just sort of learned things as I went along.

What do you find to be the best and worst part of being a writer?
The best part of being a writer is when I get an email from a reader telling me they were able to emotionally connect with the characters. Whether they loved or hated the characters, it’s all good. Because if my writing was able to evoke those emotions than I’ve done my job of telling a good story.

The lack of time I would say is the worst part of being a writer. Having a family, working fulltime, and doing volunteer work don’t leave a whole lot of time for writing. I find that when my writing schedule (when I try to have one) is interrupted, it takes me a minute to get back on track.

What do you have on the burner for the next year?
I recently had the rights of my books returned to me. Yay! So, I’m currently having them formatted to sell as ebooks on Kindle and Nook. I’m also working really hard to get the fourth book of my Love Conquers All series released by summer.

How can readers reach you?
Readers can email me at author@victoria-wells.com. They can also visit my website: http://www.victoria-wells.com/ where they can join my Facebook and Yahoo groups.

Lastly, I’d like to thank Dee for reaching out to me and offering to do this interview with me. I truly appreciate it!  🙂

Victoria, thank you for the fantastic novels. Our mutual author buddy Gwyneth Bolton introduced me to your and Iris Bollings work and I can’t thank her enough. Keep ‘em coming and feel free visit here anytime.

Readers, if you haven’t read Victoria’s work, you are in for a treat.
Happy Reading.