Scene 1; Act 7: Guest Author Ya Ya Badasu & Reflections: Thoughts, Passions, and Truths

In our continuing program to feature new and exciting authors, I present this week's special guest as part of my contribution to the Virtual Book Tour;

Author Ya Ya Badasu.

Hi, my name is Ya Ya Badasu, my book is called, Reflections: Thoughts, Passions, and Truths, and I write poetry.

I love being a poet because it gives me an opportunity to pack a lot of powerful meaning into a short poem. Traditionally, poems are shorter than novels. This makes me have to choose my words a bit more carefully. I still include detail, but I get straight to the juice. I think that this is good for my readers too. They can never say that they don't know what I'm thinking because I tell them.

My writing process is easy and difficult. It's easy to write down the things that I feel, but it's very difficult to share such private details with my readers. I have very intimate poems, including a few sex poems, and it took so much for me to gather up the courage so that I could share this with my readers. I kept noting back. My readers know how I think, what I like, and what I hate.

As hard as it is to open up about these things, it makes my writing process easier because I do not have to keep anything in or beat around the bush. I have different writing quirks. I always have to listen to music when I write. I love Jazz, so I'm almost always playing Ella Fitzgerald when I begin a new poem. I sit down with a list of notes and thoughts that I have written down, and before I know it, I'm writing the final parts of my poems.

Writer's block is a pretty big issue, especially when I have a goal of how many poems I want done by a certain time. Almost all of my poems have started out as just a few words that I jotted down and put aside for a day or two. I then pick back up from where I started, and I finish the poem. If I don't make any progress with a poem, I copy and paste what I have into another word document, and I start on it at a later date. I try not to let writer's block prevent me from writing, even if all I can write are a few sentences.

Writing is a journey, but getting published is another story. My publisher is Passionate Writer Publishing, and they are wonderful. They're so helpful, but I was very nervous about sending in my poems to them. I have a sorority sister, Omegia Keeys, who is published under the same company, and when I heard that her publishing company was looking for new authors, I submitted a few of my poems, and the company asked me to send in some more. The worst part was waiting for a response. They work quickly, but I remember checking my e-mail after every class just to see if there was anything there. One day seemed like forever, but they responded and accepted my poems. They were the first publishing company that I'd tried, but I heard positive things about them. They've been so helpful with sending promotional material and they keep in touch with newsletters and Facebook updates. I'm very happy with my publisher. The process was easier than I expected, but they're still keeping on my toes with tours. They're helping me to obtain my dreams, and I'm so thankful for this. It feels good to see my book on amazon.com or to see students at school reading my book. I finally feel like a writer.