JoeyPinkney.com Exclusive Interview
5 Minutes, 5 Questions With…
Odessa Rose, author of Water In A Broken Glass
(La Callie Nous Publishing, Inc.)
Meet Tonya Mimms, a talented sculpter who puts her artwork above and before everything including her thirst for love. One drizzly morning, she bumps into Malcolm Holland – a handsome accountant with a gap between his teeth. Later, Tonya meets Satin Pierce, a beautiful bookstore owner who has one of Tonya’s sculptures in her bedroom.
Soon Tonya becomes the centerpiece of a love triangle, in which she finds herself satisfied by a glass of love that she gulps freely and a glass from which she sips fearfully.
Joey Pinkney: Where did you get the inspiration to write Water In A Broken Glass?
Odessa Rose: I was inspired to write Water In A Broken Glass because of a friend who was afraid to tell me that she was gay for fear I would no longer want to be her friend. In questioning what I did or said that would make her think this would be the case, the story’s main character Tonya Mimms popped in my head.
In writing this book, I learned that my friend’s reluctance to tell me she was gay had little to do with me and everything to do with the fact that she couldn’t tell herself, let alone someone else. It’s that person’s journey to acceptance.
JP: What sets Water In A Broken Glass apart from other books in the same genre?
OR: A number of things set Water In A Broken Glass apart from other books in the same genre. It does not give anyone an out for who they are nor what they do. When it comes to homosexuality, some people need an excuse for why a person is gay. “Well, her mother wasn’t there,” or “her father was not in her life,” or “she was in an abusive relationship with a man. That’s why she’s attracted to women.” Water In A Broken Glass doesn’t feed into that nonsense, which allows for an honest dialogue about what it means to be gay.
JP: As an author, what are the keys to your success that led to Water In A Broken Glass getting out to the public?
OR: Understand that there is no magic bullet that’s going to shoot your book to the top of the bestseller’s list. That’s has been the key to my success. I learned early on that it’s up to the author to go out and promote your book.
Even if you are with a major publishing house, if you want your book out there, you have to constantly push it yourself. That means talking to people about your book, attending book festivals, connecting with other authors, and getting out of your circle.
JP: As an author, what is your writing process? How long did it take you to start and finish Water In A Broken Glass?
OR: My writing process is to just write and read as much as I can. I have a husband and three children and a regular 9 to 5. So my day is pretty full. So on the subway to and from work I read. I write from Midnight to about 2 am. That’s when the house is quiet and I don’t feel guilty because I’m writing instead of spending time with my family.
I try to write every day. It doesn’t always work out that way, but that’s what I try to do. It took me about two years to writer Water In A Broken Glass. This was my first full length novel, and I was reading about how to write while I was writing.
JP: What’s next for Odessa Rose?
OR: Water In A Broken Glass has been turned into a feature film by young, independent filmmaker Jamelle Williams-Thomas. A friend gave the filmmaker my novel while she was in California attending film school, and Jamelle later contacted me about the rights for the screenplay.
After almost 10 years, she began filming September 2016 and finished in October 2016. The film will premiere in 2018. Also, I am re-releasing my second novel entitled In The Mirror in July 2017. And I’m shopping my third novel and writing my 4th.
Thank you so much for giving me this wonderful opportunity to share my work with you and your audience. This type of support is what authors need, so I truly appreciate you doing this for us.