Interview with Shanora Williams

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HEA Novel Thoughts is excited to have romance Author, Shanora Williams, stop by and chat about her writing and her thoughts on Black History month.

What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t wearing your author hat?
I love to bake, binge watch something new on Netflix, and play with my kids.

What is the most recent book to make you cry?
I actually haven’t cried from a book. I’ve cried during movies though, for sure.

What would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? Why?
A lioness. They’re fierce. Loyal. Independent. They are also very protective of their family and their cubs, which I most definitely am.

What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
Oh, man. Well, I’d say it’s just trying to get in their heads. Sometimes men do things that women will never understand, and it’s hard to justify the man’s thoughts when you’re a woman. But normally if I’m stuck, I’ll ask my guy.

How do you select the names of your characters?
Lots and lots and lots and lots of Google searches/note making. It can take me a whole day to find the perfect name. I’m anal about names too. Haha.

Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Quite a few. 😉

How long on average does it take you to write a book?
It takes me about a month or two, depending on how deep the story is and also how long it is.

What does Black History Month Mean to you?
I think it’s a sign of progress the country has made. Several hundred years ago, people would have laughed or mocked the idea of there being a Black History Month or a “Black” anything. I appreciate it and loved (and still love) celebrating it when I was in school and I was glad to see many people of other races taking pride in it and actually enjoying what they were learning.

What are you currently reading?
American Prince by Sierra Simone! It is AMAZING!

If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
Be patient and write your ass off. Your time will come. Oh, and prepare for the taxes you’ll owe as a self-employed author. They aren’t kind numbers. O_o

Do you have any tips or hacks that help you stay organized in life, writing or social media?Not much, however I do make use of Google Docs and Word to organize my writing/release schedule, as well as the plots of each story. For social media, I kind of just post there when I can. If I have a sale, release, etc, I’ll share it on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram with a nice graphic. But outside of that, my time on social media is a bit limited. I’d rather focus on writing.

Do you relate more to one of your characters than the others?
Hmm… I think I can relate most to Ace Crow from Beware and Beware 2. He was a very misunderstood character. He had a good heart but he felt he had to cover it up because he’d been hurt so much in his life by people he loved, and people who were supposed to love him. Also his trust is very slim and it takes a while to gain it, and I can relate to that. Ace learned the hard way that he couldn’t trust everyone he met.

Plus, I have a Crow that symbolizes Ace Crow tattooed on my right shoulder blade, so yeah. He really touched me in some kind of way and I’ll never forget it.

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