We were lucky to catch up with Loreal Ballou recently and have shared our conversation below.

Loreal, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about one of the craziest things you’ve experienced in your journey so far.

A few years ago, I met an Aspiring author on facebook and we would talk almost everyday. I had a lot of notes on facebook showcasing my writing. One day I suggested that she &I write one or two short stories just to get our creative minds going and to get feedback. She agreed we caught the eye of a publisher. The publisher reached out and said she would like to publish our short stories. I was really excited, but didn’t know that much about publishing or being published. All I knew was that she wanted to publish us and we were going to be living out our dreams finally. So I told my friend and she eas hs, but nit as much as I was. So I asked the publisher for the contract that she promised and all she said was that it was coming.
I gave her the two stories that I wrote with my friend and told her I’d give her the story that I was working on. I ended up losing my flash drive and had to start the story over again. Once the publisher read over it, she started making suggestions. I decline her suggestion and advice because it would’ve changed the whole story and the theme that I was going for. Perturbed, that I declined, she told me that nobody would ever read my work and that I’m nit good enough to be an author.
Being as though this was my first book and she rushed me for it, this hurt me to the core and really discouraged me. After I was down for a few days, I put on my big girl pants and did research on how to publish on my own. We never got a contract after it was promised to us. So, I published all three books on amazon and the book that she said nobody would read, has the most reviews.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Loreal B ( Loreal like the make up) and I’m a Christian fiction romance author. My aunt got me onto reading and I’ve always knew I wanted to be an author since elementary school.
I got into writing when I was in middle school and I didn’t know anything about word count. I just knew the basics of writing a story. Now that I know a little something something, i try to write 2k words a day. What sets me apart apart from other authors is my writing styles and how I deliver the messages in the books.
I’m mostly proud of myself for living out my dream as an author. This road hasn’t been easy, but its worth it. The main thing I want to potential and current readers is to know is Jesus is the answer and even though you get told one no, keep going, you never know who you may meet or influence

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I knew about word count abd hiw to just let my story flow.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

My goal is to bring more souls to the Kingdom of God and let people know that the Lord, God loves you.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: _lorealb
• Facebook: Loreal Ballou
• Twitter: Loreal_2blessed