Meet This Sistah: Kesha Pride

Meet This Sistah is your chance to discover more about the authors of newly published books.

Meet Kesha Pride, the sistah who has created a great Black-lesbian Grey’s Anatomy type novel full of drama an intrigue.

Name: Kesha Pride

Books Written: Taking A Chance At Love

Where you live: Houston, TX

Age: 31

Straight, Lesbian or Bisexual: Lesbian

Stud, Femme or No Labels: Femme

Your Hobbies: Reading, Writing, Cooking, interior decorating, gardening, traveling, video games

Describe yourself in 5 words or less: nerdy, goal-oriented, sensual, sassy, caring

Your philosophy on life: C’est la vie: Such is life. Life is what you make it. If you want great things in life, you have to work hard to get them. If you’re too lazy to work for them, then life will be mediocre for you. If you work hard, life will be great. You tend to value what you work hard for so the harder you work, the more appreciative you are. Never give up. Shoot for your goals. But at the same time, don’t walk in blindly. Planning is the enemy of chaos. I’m a hard worker. The blessings that have fallen upon me are gifts from God as a reward for the hard work I put it. Because I believe so strongly in this, I surround myself with people with similar beliefs. No lazy people are in my inner circle. BTW, shout out to my friends, my inner circle. They’ve supported me in ways I didn’t expect. They know who they are 🙂

Website address: www.KeshaPride.com

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/KeshaPride

Twitter account: www.twitter.com/KeshaPride

takingachanceatloveWhat are your likes/dislikes: I do not like mean people, shallow people, ignorant and not willing to learn people. I don’t like bugs, worms, or other ‘squiggly’ things (lol). I am not a fan of the color pink. I don’t like sour things, including margaritas. I do like cookouts and small gatherings at home, a fun night of dancing with friends, and whooping butt in Mario (yea, I’m good, lol). A beautiful, intelligent woman. A good book. Time with family. Looking at houses. And of course, good food.

Political Affiliation: Democrat

Taking a Chance at Love is filled with drama between Dr. Tori Becker and trainee, Dr. Kenya Jackson. What made you base the book on the medical profession?
 Actually when I started writing, I wanted the story to be a drama like Grey’s Anatomy, my favorite show. But I couldn’t do the characters justice by confining them to a hospital. Also, the teacher-student/supervisor-employee relationship is always one that sparks drama. I took advantage of that.

How has your training in the healthcare field helped with writing this novel?
I think it helped make certain parts of the story come to life. For example: Tori’s tour in the facility, her first day at work, and of course, her stay in the ICU. On the other hand, I spent a good bit of time deleting because I got too carried away with medical terminology. I had to call some friends and ask them if they understood what I was saying in this paragraph or that chapter. If it was too complicated and full of medical speak, I deleted. I wanted my readers to understand what I was saying without having to stop every few lines to look something up. That would distract from the story.

Living in Atlanta, Tori and Kenya found themselves in several trying relationships that seemed very “interconnected.” Do you believe the lesbian world is that small?
Honey, you know it is. And it seems it’s worse in larger cities. Here’s my reasoning: larger cities have more lesbians, right? More lesbians means more women hooking up. It increases the possibility of meeting someone that knows someone that knows someone. It’s all a hodgepodge of madness if you ask me, but unfortunately, it’s inevitable.

Who do you identify more with as a character, Tori or Kenya?
I get asked that question quite a bit. I think I put a little of myself in both characters but most people who truly know me say I am more like Tori. I’ll take their word for it.

Would you ever recommend a workplace romance, especially for lesbians?
Tough one. I think it depends on the individual. I do think that if you decide to engage in workplace romance, that you take it slow and keep it private, at least until you’ve established a strong foundation and feel like it could be something that’s long lasting. I mean, think about it. If it didn’t work, you’d have to see that person and deal with their wrath everyday. Or if they got with someone else, especially if it’s another co-worker, you’d have to see that everyday. What if you haven’t healed yet? I don’t think I could do it. I like to keep my work and my personal life completely separate.

One of the best parts of Taking a Chance at Love was the forum scene, where women aired their views on lesbian relationships and marriage. Why do you think we should have more discussions like that one?
We spend so much time talking about frivolous things (who’s dating who; who’s cuter than who) that don’t even scratch the surface of our intellect. I think discussions like those stimulate the mind and with topics close to who we are, it promotes involvement from people who might not otherwise care enough to contribute to the discussion. The questions from that scene were actual questions and responses from a discussion I laid out for my Facebook friends. The contributions are real. The names are real. Another shout out to those that participate in my question and answer sessions!

Tell us about Pride Books.
When I researched publishing, I realized I didn’t have the patience to sit back and wait for a company to decide my work was good enough for print. I also knew I could push my book just as well as a full fledged company because I believe in my capabilities more than they could ever. Pride Books is my personal publishing company. However, right now, I am working to have it available to other authors to print their works and share with others. It will provide quality lesbian literature to women of all colors. I have a special project brewing right now. 😉

On your website, you say that Taking a Chance at Love is “the first in series of novels to be shared with the LGBT community and open-minded heterosexuals.”  So what are you working on next?
Other than the project above, I am now working on the sequel to Taking A Chance At Love. The same characters are involved and it plays off Chance, but it is being told from a different point of view. The main characters have changed. I plan on keeping the romance, drama, and mystery theme. The rest of it you’ll have to see. It will be ready for sharing this spring. Look for it 🙂

What inspires you to write?
 I tell my friends all the time, I have such a wonderful imagination. If you say a few words to me, I paint a picture in my head. That’s what I try to do with my stories. I want to write a few words but show you a picture. Create a movie with just words. And it’s something that when I do it, it lifts stress from me. Especially the happy scenes. On the other hand, when I write dark scenes, like the ICU and the hostage situation, it makes me uneasy. I feel like I’m in the story and as I write, my palms get sweaty and my heart races as if I’m the one the gun is being pointed at. I want my readers to feel the same way. No more reading just to get to the sex scenes. I want them to crave every word, every picture painted. But most of all, I aim to please. I give the people what they want. Feel me?

Interviewed February 2011

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.