Victoria Avalor is an American Author, a model, and a full-time Preschool Teacher in Central Pennsylvania. She's inspired by real-life events, fairy tales, and historical people in her writings. Let's get to know her better.
Hi Victoria. Thanks for joining us today.
Thank you so much for interviewing me for your website. I am very honored to be featured. Let's get started by asking about your published or unpublished books. Could you tell us more about it/them?
I have two ebooks published and I just finished the manuscript for my third ebook. Realm of Lore is a collection of 10 short stories and poems. The theme is sci-fi and fantasy. I have two personal favorites in that book; Ebony's Quest and Snow Fall. Ebony's Quest is a story about a fairy who must embark on a mission to save her realm. The entire cast of characters is Black. Snow Fall is a retelling of Snow White with a cast of Hispanic characters. It was important to me as a woman of color to write stories with strong female leads who were also women of color. An Unholy Union is a gothic vampire retelling of the 1836 short story, La Morte Amoureuse with many twists and turns. I tackle many themes including scandals within the Catholic Church. Which of your book characters is your most favorite? From which book and why?
Ramona Molina from An Unholy Union is my favorite character. I don't want to spoil the story but I poured a lot of myself into her in regards to her past. When did you write your first book and how old were you?
I wrote Realm of Lore in 2017. I was in my 30's. Tell me about your publishing and marketing process.
I sought copyright with the United States Copyright Office. Once my work was protected, I self-published it on Amazon as an ebook. I promote my work on social media.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
I am an avid doll collector. Doll collecting is my favorite hobby! I have over 1,000 dolls. I love going to museums. I am passionate about Ancient Egyptian history and love to study it. I earned a certified Egyptology Diploma this past April. I love spending time with my family and my kitten.
Interesting. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
I always wanted to be an actress! That's cute. You could be. What was an early experience where you learned that language had power?
This may sound sad but I think that being a victim of racism and bullying showed me how powerful words can be. It hurts and can destroy your self-worth. However, words can also inspire you, make you feel strong, motivate you, and build you up. Language can be used for kindness and that is a powerful thing. You can take it to the next level and use words to create characters and worlds; powerful stories that can inspire. What was the best money you ever spent as a writer?
I bought a doll I really wanted for my collection with the first payment I received as an author! Which character in your writings most represents you?
Oh my goodness, many of my characters are a reflection of myself particularly in Realm of Lore. There is an unnamed character in my first short story, Clone. A character named Sarah in Angel in the Window. Gabriella in Snow Fall shares some similarities to myself. As I stated before, Ramona in An Unholy Union shares a lot of my past.
Thank you, Victoria for joining us today.
If you're interested to know more about Victoria please check the following links: Ebooks on Amazon: Amazon.com: Victoria Avalor: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle
Twitter and Instagram: @Victoria_Avalor
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/VictoriaAvalor