A blog post by novelist Yvette Geer
As a kid who moved to a new state (or country) every few years, I became accustomed to saying goodbye. Goodbye to family and friends, and somewhere along the way, I discovered my love of books. In my early adolescent years, I ran through stacks of mystery novels within weeks and quickly realized I wanted to write my own stories. After years of crafting manuscripts, poetry and short stories, I stumbled across a romance book called, The Grunt, by Latrivia Nelson. Her story captured my attention for two reasons: the couple came from two different cultures and the backdrop was a military base. I was born on a military base and grew up in a military household. The Grunt reflected who I’d become, a strong woman, capable of loving someone outside the cultural norm. I found other authors with similar novels and decided to switch my genre from mystery to romance. Over a decade has passed since that fateful day I came across her book. Since then, I’ve continued to write stories that encompass the truth and passion of two lovers on a journey unlike what society typically expects. Latrivia Nelson still writes to this day (her most recent books are dated 2019), but I’ll always remember how her writing inspired and pushed me to evolve into the writer I am today.
