Today we’d like to introduce you to Donna (author Donna Dee) Bolden
Hi Donna (Author Donna Dee), so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
As a young child, books were my life. I found excitement in the feeling of getting lost within the pages of a book. Books were doorways to travel the world through my imagination. My mother would read me a different book each night. I remember one night at the young age of seven, I told my mom not to read me fairytales anymore because they always ended the same. The next day she bought me a notebook and pen and told me, “write the book you wanna read”. That stuck with me even to this day. Little did me or my mom knew, that was the day my literary purpose was birthed. Writing became my passion in life. It became my outlet. I wrote short stories and tons of poems in many journals that I started keeping over the years. I never saw myself writing a book until a dream I had one night in 2017. I dreamed up the characters, and both the beginning and end of a story. I woke up from that dream and began writing. And as they say, the rest is history. That dream turned into my 1st published book “Growing Up Too Fast”, which was released in 2019. That story plot turned into a two book drama/romance series giving birth to my 2nd published book “Love Is A Two Way Street”, which was released in 2021. Recently I got back to my poetic passion by compiling some of my poems written over the years into a beautiful novella that is my 3rd published book “A Poetic Peacock”, which was released in 2023. I’m currently writing my 4th book.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being an author has not been all glitter and gold. As a self-published author you have to do all the legwork yourself. From editting to formatting, copyrighting, hiring an illustrator to create bookcover art, selecting a publishing company to print and bind your books, networking, advertising, and marketing yourself to the world through word of mouth and social media. However, I don’t look at it as a struggle. More like life lessons. I have learned so much on this literary journey that helps me to appreciate this talent that I was blessed with. Self-publishing gives me full control to take my time to ensure I leave my heart and soul in each book that I write. To be successful, you have to invest in yourself.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I just recently graduated from college obtaining my Bachelors degree in Social Work. I work at St. Jude Children’s Hospital, which is a wonderful place to work. I like to think what I do in my professional life with enriching lives leaks over into my writing career as well. Like my patients at work, my readers are very important to me. I genuinely appreciate each supporter I have. What I am most proud of is since 2019, I have been able to balance being a wife, dogmom, working fulltime while being a fulltime college student, all while still finding time to write and release books. What sets me apart from other authors is I leave my heart, soul, and spirit on each page I write. Writing isn’t my main job, it is my passion. That means I take my time and put my all in my books. I never want my readers to say, Author Donna Dee rushed and wrote this book. It is horrible. I want my books to catch a hold of you from the first page and keep you in a trance until the end.
What’s next?
I plan to keep on writing as stories continue to flow out of me. I have written about love, drama, and romance for years. I am now embarking up a new genre (mystery/thriller) with my 4th book I am currently writing. I have also allowed my creative juices to flow into making bookmarks which I have now created nine different designs so far. As a child I wrote two short stories that I want to turn into kids books. I also have a kids book series that I have begun jotting down in journals.
Pricing:
- Bookmarks – $3.00 each
- “Growing Up Too Fast”- $12.00
- “Love is A Two Way Street”- $20.00
- Two Book Series Bundle- of both “Growing Uo Too Fast” and “Love Is A Two Way Street”- $25.00
- “A Poetic Peacock”- $10.00
Contact Info:
- Website: www.authordonnadeebooks.etsy.com
- Instagram: Author_donna_dee79
- Facebook: Author Donna Dee
