Featured Interview With Yodassa Williams
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio. My family was the only Jamaican family in the neighborhood, and one of just a few black families. So even among the minority, I was a minority! This time taught me the importance of advocating for myself. I realized no one would understand how I experienced or viewed life unless I shared it myself.
I currently live in the Bay Area in California and do not have any pets, but hope to get a miniature pig one day.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have had a love affair with books since the very start. I can remember being too young to read, but being fascinated with the covers of books, and wanting so badly to figure out the story that was going on between the pages. I was so excited to learn how to read, and to be able to unlock the secrets to any book I could touch.
I started writing when I was around seven, and my parents divorced. I felt very scared and sad about the changes in my family; my sisters going to college, my mother and father separating. I remember this is when I realized there was something special about being able to write out my feelings and not keep them bottled inside me.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I have always leaned towards science fiction and fantasy books and films. I love being absorbed into a world that is different but still relatable to this one.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
The Goddess Twins is a black girl magic fantasy. This is the type of story I have been wanting to read for my whole life, and in writing this novel, I thought a lot about my inner child, and what she needed to hear to feel inspired and powerful.
This book centers on two sisters, Arden and Aurora, who discover they are goddesses when their mother goes missing. Each chapter is told in an alternating twin’s voice, so readers are able to follow along on this adventure that shapes and matures the twins into powerful women.
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