Desiree's books are some of the most talked about books in the urban literary world, and in a good way. There isn't a conversation about books on social media where her name or books aren't being mentioned. I'm compelled to believe that readers are fascinated with her quirky characters, myself included. I just dived in to the rabbit hole of Desiree's work and can not wait to read her entire catalog. We reached out to Desiree for an exclusive interview and she gladly obliged. Keep reading to see what she had to say.
1. What inspired you to start writing?
True story, I read a book one day that opened my world up beyond the middle school hallways and said to myself, I could write it better. A few stories later that same year, I learned that I can’t write for shit, but if I had the time to sit at a computer or write in my notebook, I could tell a pretty decent story.
2. What, in your opinion, are the most important elements of good writing?
Most important elements would definitely be having the senses tapped into. I want you to smell, taste, touch, hate, love, cry and laugh while reading. The rest of the story and technicalities will work itself out.
3. What is the most difficult part about writing for you?
Starting a new story is hard for me. Since I don’t outline, I have to pull from tiny snippets and trailers in my head to form the first chapters. It's like building a house. If you’re driving down a road and see a beautiful house for sale, I want you to stop and take a look...Maybe you won’t notice the paint is chipped, floors are cracked, or that weird stain on the carpet in the corner. You might just end up being sold on the possibility of what it would be like to live there. If my foundation and presentation when you first enter is perfect, I can work with the rest. So I apply the most pressure on the first few chapters in every story. Honestly, I hate it, wouldn’t recommend it.
4. How do you handle literary criticism?
My professional answer, I always tell myself with each book I put out in a series, I will always lose readers along the way and pick up a few that are late to the party. My personal answer on dealing with criticism? I don’t really give a damn. Since I’m not writing for everyone and my writing isn’t for everybody, I tend to focus my energy on my characters, and those who love the way I tell their story. As long as it doesn’t get personal, I’ll be alright.
5. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite?
Chile, I don’t know. It’s a lot. I just say, over 20 books. My favorite is one I haven’t written yet but For the Love of ATL is my soft spot.
6. What is the most surprising thing you discovered while writing your books?
I’ll find myself smiling at the computer screen while hearing one of my characters laugh or act a fool in a scene because I already know how it's going to go down afterwards..and all I can think is...the readers are gonna trip when they find out...and then I remember, none of this is real and I’m crazy. This surprisingly, still happens to me when I write, even this deep into the author game.
7. Who is your favorite character from your books?
Tallulah Skye. She is just...I mean, look at her name, with a name like that, you have to be something great.
8. How many plot ideas are just waiting to be written? Can you tell us about just one?
I have three major ones in my head right now. One story I would love to write but may get pushed to the back burner, I would love to write about my neighborhood and the crazy neighbors I have. Of course, I’ll change up their stories with a dash of fiction but whew...I can walk to my mailbox just to check the mail and be inspired.
9. What book or authors have most influenced your own writing?
I love Celeste O’ Norfleet, Tamara Sneed, Angela Winters has this insane 4+ book series about the black upper middle class families and their drama, and readers know that’s my favorite thing to write about. I love soap opera writing. In the beginning, I tried to follow a formula of the Omar Tyree, Coldest Winter Ever, urban fiction dope boys, drug addicts, drama fighting etc etc…That was my outline. Somewhere along that, I finally decided to let part of that go. I stopped trying to write and be like these other authors and venture out into what I can really relate to. I’m influenced these days by so many things...book covers, brands, work ethic. It sounds weird but I love watching how authors carry themselves and this thing we do called writing. A lot of them are killing the game and do it so effortlessly that it makes me get to the computer and get to it. Some of these authors make me say, dang I wanna be like that. I want to get to that point of discipline, professionalism and perfection like Love Belvin or Shantae. Those two come to mind when the sudden urge hits to write a dope a** story. It's hard to explain but it's a feeling I get that makes the fingers move on the keyboard and the characters speak just a little louder in my head.
10. Where can readers find out more about you and your books?
All of my stuff begins here… https://www.atldiaries.com I also have a podcast where I record and document myself writing my current book so you get to hear my struggles and randomness as a full time writer. https://www.atldiaries.com/podcast-1 Called Writing Tapes podcast on Spotify/Apple and the blog. You can usually find me on facebook https://www.facebook.com/desiree.granger.1 I keep to myself and readers in my reading group the Cafeteria Book Club. It's very rare that I venture outside of that group. Hey cafemates! Hey family! I’ll see yall shortly.
