{"id":3905,"date":"2006-02-01T12:01:10","date_gmt":"2006-02-01T17:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sistahsontheshelf.com\/blog\/?page_id=99"},"modified":"2020-06-05T01:30:21","modified_gmt":"2020-06-05T05:30:21","slug":"yvette-michelle-hall","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.sistahsontheshelf.com\/?page_id=3905","title":{"rendered":"Yvette Michelle Hall"},"content":{"rendered":"

IN YVETTE’S OWN WORDS\u2026<\/strong>New kid on the block, debuting my writings at the ripe ole age of 40.\u00a0 Residing in Chester, PA, I spend my time reinventing and enhancing my life.\u00a0 My passions are the culinary arts, Swarovski Silvercut crystal, seafood and femininity\u2026not necessarily in that order.\u00a0 I\u2019m an old school homebody who only aspires for the simple things in life\u2026Simplicity.<\/p>\n

How long have you been writing and how did you get started?<\/strong>
\nIf I include my childhood journals, I would have to say that I\u2019ve been writing almost all my life.\u00a0 My attitude changed from recreational to professional only a short time ago, however.\u00a0 I entered a poetry contest and won the honor of being published in 2002.\u00a0 The poem was entitled \u201cYou\u201d and is part of a compilation in Walking In Shadows<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Give a brief synopsis of your book, Unconventional Love<\/em>.<\/strong>
\nUnconventional Love<\/em> is an entanglement of three main storylines that intertwine into an unexpected twist.\u00a0 My main characters are Rocky and Coco, are two lesbian lovers that haphazardly meet in a nightclub, have an instant attraction and enter into a whirlwind relationship.\u00a0 Rocky is a master mechanic.\u00a0 She is your classic stereotypical blue jean stud that has aspirations of financial freedom by one day owning her own repair shop.\u00a0 Coco is Rocky\u2019s absolute opposite.\u00a0 She is your stereotypical high maintenance \u201clipstick lesbian\u201d she\u2019s a fulltime college student who aspires to be a psychotherapist.\u00a0 Coco, to Rocky\u2019s displeasure, rounds out her nights working part time as an exotic dancer.\u00a0 Then we have the Constentino’s: Leslie and Max.\u00a0 High school aweethearts, living lies and were forced to drop out of the institution of marriage because of deception, indiscretions and abuse.\u00a0 Those are my two main focuses of my book\u2026.Oh I did say three main storylines, right?\u00a0 Well the third character pops in and out as a confidant, girlfriend and mother figure to Rocky.\u00a0 Her name is Della.\u00a0 She\u2019s an older lesbian looking for love in all the wrong places and gives Unconventional a new meaning.<\/p>\n

How long did it take you to write Unconventional Love, and how has the reception been so far?<\/strong>
\nFrom vision to existence, Unconventional<\/em> took about two years to write.\u00a0 Working a 9 to 5 (which in reality was a 9 to 9) and trying to raise a family took precedence.\u00a0 However with better time management, I buckled down and wrote the bulk of it in four months.\u00a0 Overall, I have been greeted with favorable comments about my book.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been blessed with having some realness and honesty in my friends and acquaintances, so even comments that some may construe as negative has been positively received as constructive.<\/p>\n

Tell us about the main character, Rocky. Is she similar to you in any way?<\/strong>
\nBesides being of the Caucasian persuasion, Rocky is a lot like me.\u00a0 She is a down-to-earth true romantic who only wants the simple things in life\u2026and a beautiful soul to share it with.\u00a0 Rocky and I both share an entrepreneurial spirit as well as an enthusiasm for family whether blood or not (if you\u2019re my friend, your family).\u00a0 We are committed and true to self and family.\u00a0 We both have also found that we have a passion for being in love.
\nBTW:\u00a0 I put a little of myself in all of the main characters.<\/p>\n

Unconventional Love<\/em> is a novel with an unusual storyline: kidnapping, infidelity, rape, etc. Where did you come up with a plot like this?<\/strong>
\nSadly\u2026from life.\u00a0\u00a0 We all know that life isn\u2019t all bad but we are also aware that these inauspicious things have happened, are happening and will sadly continue to happen.\u00a0 Of course I find a way to balance out the Shar Chi with Sheng Chi in Unconventional<\/em>\u2026you can\u2019t have the Yin without the Yang.\u00a0 Also I\u2019ve found that it\u2019s because of these storylines, my readers are compelled to see what happens next.<\/p>\n

Sistahs on the Shelf has to ask: Did anything in the book actually happen to you in real life?<\/strong>
\nBecause Unconventional Love<\/em> is based on my observations, imagination and of course memoirs, I threw a little of my real life in there.\u00a0 One of Rocky\u2019s ex-girlfriends shows up in the book as a stud.\u00a0 She was a femme when they were together but tried to use Rocky to teach her how to be suave.\u00a0 Unfortunately for her, she was a poor scholar in the passionate art of truly loving a female.\u00a0 There\u2019s a major storyline in the works for this character\u2026only because she still tries to be a major part of my life.<\/p>\n

Do you think Rocky and Coco will live happily ever after?<\/strong>
\nWe all dream of happily ever after and I intend on continuing to do so myself.\u00a0 Rocky and Coco will go through their tribulations just as we all do.\u00a0 You know that I have to keep them interesting and I have a captivating storyline for the two of them in the sequel.<\/p>\n

Will there be a sequel to Unconventional Love<\/em>?<\/strong>
\nYep, I am actually working on the sequel as we speak.\u00a0 I realized that Unconventional<\/em> left my readers wanting more and I will not do them a dishonor by leaving them hanging.\u00a0 The sequel promises to have all the same page turning excitement as the original with a lot more meat\u2026unless you\u2019re a vegan or vegetarian, you won\u2019t leave the table hungry.<\/p>\n

What are you working on next?<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m concurrently working on another book titled To Whom It May Concern<\/em>.\u00a0 This is a fictional account of a once neglected and twice abandoned child who grows up and is faced with the harsh realities of his life\u2019s circumstances. He soon realizes that he doesn\u2019t have to be the exception but the rule.\u00a0 This is more of an inspirational and motivational piece loosely based around my imagery.<\/p>\n

What is a typical day like for you?<\/strong>
\nTypical?\u00a0 The only thing typical about my days is coffee in the morning.\u00a0 Because of the multitudes of hats I wear, I can be spending all day in flannel pajamas writing, running around trying to convince people why they need my service (I\u2019m an Independent Associate for Prepaid Legal Services, Inc.), being a mediator to one of my families quarrels or jumping on a plane for business or a personal adventure.\u00a0 Now that I\u2019m working full time again though\u2026a lot of that is now limited to work (I manage a bakery), home and writing.<\/p>\n

What do you do for fun?<\/strong>
\nFor fun you can catch me in one or two places\u2026my computer playing spider or on my Yamaha trying to play anything\u2026I almost got Stevie\u2019s “Ribbon In The Sky” down.<\/p>\n

What are your favorite books? Favorite authors?<\/strong>
\nBecause I\u2019m into enhancement and growth, my favorite books are those of that nature.\u00a0 Think and Grow Rich<\/em> by Napoleon Hill, Rich Dad, Poor Dad<\/em> by Robert T. Kiyosaki and all of Donald Goines.\u00a0 Reading Donald Goines back in the day started my motivation to read.\u00a0 Of course, Donald isn\u2019t one of a motivational stature but he sure kept a sistah interested.<\/p>\n

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?<\/strong>
\nSatisfied.\u00a0 I\u2019m planting and cultivating seeds of happiness and fulfillment in my life\u2019s garden and nourishing them with a positive flow of passion and drive.\u00a0 My hopes are that if I am still around 10 years from now, that I will have matured an impregnable tree of success in whatever branch\u2026be it love, finance, career\u2026whatever!\u00a0 I just see me satisfied.<\/p>\n

What motivates you to write?<\/strong>
\nDrugs\u2026nah, just kidding.\u00a0 Honestly, I have to discipline myself these days.\u00a0 My motivation has always been my family and friends.\u00a0 Now that I\u2019ve somewhat removed from a lot of them, I am now my own motivator.\u00a0 I try to keep myself in line but there are times when I have to pick up a phone and get some long distance inspiration.<\/p>\n

What piece of advice can you share with aspiring writers?<\/strong>
\nThe 3 Rs.\u00a0 \u201cRead, Research and Review.\u201d\u00a0 These are definitely necessary evils when it comes to writing.\u00a0 Time consuming? Yes\u2026but in the long run it is time well spent.\u00a0 I\u2019ve begun to take this advice more seriously for my next projects because it can only develop me to a better writer for my readers.<\/p>\n

Why do you feel it\u2019s important for black lesbian to tell their own stories, like you did with Unconventional Love<\/em>?<\/strong>
\nPrimarily because that\u2019s the story we know best.\u00a0 Who better else to do it?\u00a0 Secondly, I believe in sharing our stories incites a cornucopia of reactions in those who read them.\u00a0 These reactions can range from simply identifying with the author to inspiring an accomplishment of sort.\u00a0 From all the adversity and challenges we face to all the love and blessings that\u2019s been bestowed, if we were to share our stories, the world would truly see how conventional we live our lives.<\/p>\n

Interviewed February 2006<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yvette Michelle Hall’s Reviews<\/strong><\/p>\n