Shelley Halima is the much praised author of Azucar Moreno. Shelly's debut Strebor Books novel has won her many fans and she won't disappoint this fall when she releases the sequel to Azucar Moreno, Los Morenos. Shelley is a writer, poet and she is also a song lyricist.

Hey everybody--I asked for a picture but Shelley is only sharing her book covers for now. Talking with her was very pleasant. We had been trying to do this interview for several weeks and we finally had a chance to talk on March 10th. Shelley is also a song writer and this is only Part 1 of our interview. Part 2 will be posted next week. You can visit Shelley on the web at her official website http://www.shelleyhalima.com.

Where are you from?
Shelley Halima-I was born in Charlotte, North Carolina but raised in Detroit.

So how long have you been writing?
Shelley Halima-I started writing around late 2000, early 2001. Around that time I started writing poetry. From there short stories and from there full length novels.

How did you go about writing Azucar Moreno? Was it something that just came to you or did it spawn from a short story? How did it come to play?
Shelley Halima-- I was inspired by certain people who touched my life. Friends who've been black, white, Hispanic,biracial, gay, straight, and you know, bisexual people who have been friends in my life. I kinda wanted this to be a tribute to all of these people from different backgrounds who I have known and to bring them all together in one story. In particular the black and Hispanic culture, I really wanted to make a point of bringing them together.

Is there a particular reason that was especially close to you? Are you biracial?
Shelley Halima-No. Other than having a love for my African roots, I have a love and appreciation for the Latino culture as well.

Okay, so you wrote the book. How did you go about getting a deal for the book?
Shelley Halima--Well my boyfriend he purchased the Writers Market for me. I started from there. I learned how to do the query letter. I learned how to submit that to different publishers who were looking for work in my genre. Also, from looking at people who I like, like Eric Jerome Dickey and E. Lynn Harris and see who was publishing them and try to send the query letter to their company. I just happened to come across Zane's site Strebor Books. At that time they were accepting submissions. So I went ahead and sent her the first three chapters and she sent me a letter a few months later requesting the full manuscript and then a few months after that she offered me a deal at Strebor.

Okay, let's see your book is out now. Have you done any touring behind your book?
Shelley Halima--I'm about to start that now. Right now I have been going to different book clubs and book stores in my area in Michigan. Starting in May, I'm going to be hitting Texas, Georgia, my birth town of Charlotte, and probably by the summer I will be going out to San Francisco. Just a little mini tour because I have a mini budget.

I notice that you already have a sequel in the works for your book. Where does the sequel pick up at?
Shelley Halima- The title is Los Morenos. Well it's out in California. Nikki is just starting her acting career, it's finally taking off. It's two years later. During that time, Rosie's situation hasn't changed. In Azucar Moreno she was going to send off her pictures to pose in a mens magazine. Circumstances put that on hold. So she has decided to pick that up again. So now she is coming out to LA because she has been accepted to pose in Silk and Velvet Magazine. So that kinda brings them back together. Odell makes a brief appearance but Chico and the other people they really don't come into play in this one. Crystal a little bit and Alejandro

The character in the book Rosie, was she a lesbian or bisexual?
Shelley Halima-She was actually bisexual.

How is the book being received by the gay and lesbian community?
Shelley Halima-So far I have had a pretty good response from people. No one has slammed in. In particular I really wanted to make a point with Odell, one of the things I have noticed by having gay friends. There seems to be this tension between the masculine gay men and the flamboyant type. They put down the ones that are more feminine. He is who he is and he is not going to let other people, not even other gay people tell him how he should be. That was just the main issue I wanted to bring up with Odell.

So are you still doing poetry?
Shelley Halima--I do poetry from time to time. Now I am really focused on full length stories. I submitted for several short story anthologies that are coming up.

I think your book has cinema appeal. Have you started adapting it into a screenplay or has anyone approached you about that?
Shelley Halima- Thanks. Actually, I submitted a couple of queries to production companies. I haven't heard anything yet. I did that last week. A lot of people have told me that it's pretty visual. As far as doing the screenplay, I admire anyone who can do a screenplay. For me it hasn't been easy. I've been trying my hand at it though.

What was the hardest part about finishing your book? The first book.
Shelley Halima--Probably letting go. Letting go of the characters. To me they are real characters in my head. It's like saying good-bye to them in a way. Of course I got over that when I said, "I want to do a sequel." I wanted to wrap up the whole story line with Rosie and her mother. In this one you get to know a little bit more about Rosie. The first one was told strictly from Nikki's point of view. But this one goes back and forth from Rosie and Nikki, so you get in Rosie's head a little bit.

What do you enjoy most about being a writer?
Shelley Halima--Just an outlet for creativity.

Stay tuned for Part Two of our interview with Shelley Halima where she discusses song writing, what she doesn't like about being a writer, how her family and friends responded to Azucar Moreno and much more.

Books from Shelley Halima

Now Available http://www.shelleyhalima.com.

Coming November 2005

Interview copyright Dorrie Williams-Wheeler, thabiz.com 2005.