Chat with an Author

Shelda Sauls

Q & A on Novel GASP

I am pleased you have joined She Reads Fire Chat with an Author, a discussion about books, what-ifs, and what's next?

The raw, uncut version

Shelda Sauls is our first author. She is a new author and currently has one book out. Gasp is her novel, which is available on Amazon as well as Kindle Unlimited.

Thank you for joining us, Shelda!

1. Let me start by asking you to introduce yourself to the readers. Would you mind telling them a little about yourself?

Shelda: My name is Shelda Sauls, and I’m a new author with a love of Black romance and mystery. I grew up in Arkansas then moved after High School to Saint Louis. I graduated from an HBCU, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff where I met my husband. We live in the suburbs of Chicago with our daughter. I’ve always had a love for romance novels since about age seventeen. I’ve read tons of novels in my spare time. It has been a dream of mine to write my own stories and have them published. As you know, life gets hectic, and you put things off. But during this pandemic, I’ve lost a lot of friends and family. It weighed on me a lot that I hadn’t fulfilled my dreams. I’d like to leave this world knowing I have impacted others in a wonderful way through storytelling and doing what I love.

2. You have written your first novel, Gasp, which is a newly released novel, so for the lovers of literary works, be sure to put it on your TBR list. Can you tell us about your book? What is it about? What is the genre of this novel?

Shelda:GASP is a Black and African American Romance. It is definitely for the 18 and overcrowds. The novel is about two best friends since childhood who have never crossed that line. Julian became a professional basketball player with this huge fame and fortune, and Monica is a hairstylist. Even with his celebrity and all that comes with it, he hasn’t settled down because she is the one he wants. So, obviously no woman would ever be good enough for him! But when her engagement to this other dude is broken off, Julian sees his chance to shoot his shot. He just did it in an unconventional way by basically tricking her into marrying him. But when they were forced to see each other in a different light, they discovered a love that was always there beneath the surface and things really started to heat up. However, she discovers his secret, and that changes things for them.

3. Monica is a female boss who owns her own hair salon in this book. As a great hairstylist, she's making good money and is looking to expand. I like the fact that you highlighted she's a woman with a career who makes boss moves. She has a male best friend named Julian who plays basketball professionally. A lot of care and protection is shown by him towards Monica. In developing both characters, was there any inspiration? Is it possible for you to share a visual of your character? (The character inspiration photos are pictures of how each character looks, to show the readers how they look.)

Shelda: With Julian being a professional basketballer, I obviously had to make him fit. So, he was going to have abs and broad shoulders. I also chose to give him a lot of height as well. You’re right, he is very much a protector towards Monica; therefore, I wanted to build him up to be someone of strength. With Monica, I wanted to break the stereotype of people thinking black women can’t have naturally long hair. This is why I gave her long, healthy, flowing hair. Also, giving her a shapely figure with thick thighs makes her more recognizable to the readers.

4. Monica's relationship with Edmond is shown in the beginning, and he surprises her by asking her to marry him. Right off the back I knew his character wasn’t gone be shit lol! It was obvious to me. I was able to tell his ways from his actions. Why do you think Monica accepted his marriage proposal? As she mentioned in the story, he cheated on her and he was unaware of her needs and wants. I couldn't understand why she would just say yes.

Shelda: Monica is no different from a lot of women who accept behaviors from a man because they want to be loved or think they can change him. They had been together for years, and as some women that’s what you hold onto is the time you have spent with that person, rather than seeing the relationship for what it’s worth. Almost every woman can look back at their past and say to themselves, Why did I do that? I knew better. But it’s a part of growing and learning life lessons.

5. There is nothing more raw and unfiltered than a hair salon, so it is no surprise that Monica was told exactly what they thought about her engagement to Edmond. It was clear I wasn't the only one not a fan of his. Val was so against it and made sure it was known. Val clowned Monica about the engagement ring, why do you think?

Shelda: Val is the friend to have. He won’t always tell you what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. I think the clowning of the ring was more of a way to get her to see that Edmond was up to no good. He wasn’t a broke dude, so for Val the effort just wasn’t there when it came to the ring.

6. In the moment of truth, I felt like Monica held back on announcing her engagement to Julian because she didn't want to lose Julian as a friend. How do you explain her reticence?

Shelda: I think she knew it wouldn’t last with Edmond. She hadn’t made the best choice in accepting his proposal, and she knew how Julian would react because that’s her best friend. He couldn’t stand Edmond. She was afraid Julian would walk out of her life, so she hid the engagement. Sometimes you withhold the truth to those you love because you already know what they’re going to say. And she didn’t want to hear it.

7. Would you be able to suggest a different approach to Julian and Monica's marriage? In my opinion, it was wrong for him to express his true feelings to her in that way. This was the most insane thing I've ever read in a romance novel. He just got into a car accident, and he told her he left her money, but she had to marry him to get it since her proposal ended with Edmond. It was insane.

Shelda: It was definitely insane, but rich people do crazy things all the time to get what they want. Had he told her how he felt about her, it could have gone either way. He knew she would be afraid to cross that line with him. Yet, her being his wife would make it a little harder for her to just walk away because he knows her. And he knows the things that are important to her.

8. Explain the title GASP?

Shelda: I chose GASP as the title because the love scenes were hot and I knew they would make you inhale quickly. I wanted to leave you gasping for your breath. Also when I think of gasp, I think of shock. The conversations with Val and the things he would say to her and also the big lie from Julian of course would definitely leave you astonished. So all those things pulled together was the concept of the name.

In addition to everything else you want to add, you can also tell us why people should read your novel:

Shelda: People with a love for a good romance story should read my novel. My characters are relatable and empowered. Once you start it, you will not want to put it down. I am currently working on a romance series. The title of the next novel is Second Chance which will be out soon.

It's a pleasure to have you here today to chat about your debut novel Gasp that's currently available on Amazon, and if you've already read it, Shelda would appreciate a review. Thank you so much in advance!

I look forward to reading your next release Second Chance.

You can get Shelda Sauls novel Gasp here: GASP https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094DY1NC4/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_34C5HH2MTBXZRDMEHJRS

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