All About Me!

Name: Pamela Sadadi Yaye   Birthday: May 12

Favorite Book: I LOVE books. It’s hard to pick just one but these are some of my favorites: The Holy Bible, The Red Tent, One Day My Soul Opened Up, The Husband, The Quickie, and Babylon Sisters.

Favorite Food: That’s like asking a mother who her favorite child is! I am a total foodie, and I enjoy eating Thai, Vietnamese, Caribbean, and Italian cuisine. My spinach lasagna is delicious, so if I was forced to pick one meal, that is what I would chose.

Favorite Movie: Poetic Justice, The Family That Preys, Inside Man, The Best Man,

Favorite Musicians: Kirk Franklin, Adele, Marvin Gaye, Usher, Miguel, Alicia Keys, Mary J Blige, the list is endless. I enjoy discovering fantastic new artists in every genre.

Something about me that may surprise you…I am a sports junkie. Basketball, football, tennis, and World Cup Soccer are my favorites, and when playoff time rolls around I arrange my schedule so I don’t miss any games. My girlfriends’ think that’s extreme, but I don’t let anything get between me and my sports! Ha,ha

The most thrilling thing I have ever done is…ride an elephant in Thailand, and climb The Great Wall of China. My brother and I had a blast, and I hope to do it again one day. It’s definitely worth the sacrifice.

In my free time I…ride my mountain bike, hang out with my family, and experiment in the kitchen. My children love to cook, and once a week we try to make something new from one of our many cook books.

My favorite book to write was…ALL OF THEM! I love writing, and every novel I’ve published caused me to grow as a writer. I research extensively for each book, and learned about the marketing business while writing Promises We Make, how to make a popular Mexican dessert in, Escape to Paradise, and about the city of Paris in, Designed by Desire. My new family mini-series, The Morretti Millionaires, was filled with so much drama I had to write not one, but three books to tell the entire story. (I have a feeling the Morretti family and their friends and enemies are going to be around for many more years to come so stay tuned…)

If I wasn’t an author I’d be…a teacher, which I am!

Five years from now I’ll be…a full-time writer, revisiting places like Singapore, South Korea, and Japan with my family, and hopefully celebrating the release of my 30th romance novel.

My LifetimeTV.com, Blog Post

She said, and I quote, “Romance novels are so unrealistic.” Hair flip, eye roll, snort. “The main characters are sleeping together in chapter one, in love by chapter two and married by chapter four. Who writes this stuff anyway?” Um…I do. My smile stayed intact, but I was thinking, “What has this chick been reading???”

I’ve been sneaking off to read romance novels since I was fourteen (please don’t tell my parents! I was supposed to be reading my bible, not Brenda Jackson!) and though I’ve read some novels that left me scratching my head, I like nothing better than diving into a book with engaging characters, clever banter and big, BIG, endings. When fellow readers ask me to recommend a really great book, I always say, “You can never go wrong with Sandra Kitt, Rochelle Alers or Donna Hill.” These women really know how to deliver. And all three of these African-American romance pioneers write for Kimani Romance. Impressive, huh?

I read romance novels for the fantasy, the escape, for inspiration and I suspect a lot of women do too. I know I’m not the only one out there who loves to read about over-the-top romantic gestures, first kisses and hot love scenes. I am a very sensual person and I have the Cosmo subscription, Motown CDS, and copies of the Kuma Sutra to prove it! What’s wrong with knowing what you want and speaking up for yourself? Isn’t that what the woman’s movement was about? Standing up and being heard?

But I digress. Let me get back to my conversation with Ms. Anti-Romance. The discussion continued and the more I listened to girlfriend talk, the more convinced I was that she was reading the wrong books! Kimani Romance features strong, intelligent heroines and successful, oh-so-fine heroes who fall in love despite the obstacles they face on their journey to happily ever after. I have yet to read a wham-bam-thank-you-mam’ love story within the Kimani Romance line and I read a lot. I’m talking Oprah Winfrey type numbers. (Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point!)

I’m proud to say I write for Kimani Romance and aside from Ms. Anti-Romance, I’ve had nothing but positive feedback and glowing reviews about the line. Kimani Romance features very realistic, but likeable characters. Regular, flawed, people like you and me. Take the hero in my novel, Love T.K.O. for example. Rashawn “The Glove” Bishop is the first to admit he’s made some mistakes. As a kid growing up in Tampa’s poorest neighborhood, he was easily lured to the streets, ran with the wrong crowd and was on the fast track to a life of crime. But a teacher took pity on him when he was a teen and introduced him to the world of amateur boxing. Rashawn never looked back.

On the other hand, Dr. Yasmin Ohaji has lived a charmed life. A caring, supportive family, a thriving practice, a band of gregarious, fun-loving girlfriends. After the devastating loss of her fiancé, she became consumed with work and activities in the community. Expanding her business and making a difference in the lives of inner-city children is all that matters now. Yasmin Ohaji has it all. Well, everything except true  love. A soul mate. Someone she can trust and depend on. Enter, Rashawn Bishop.

Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it? That’s what Ms. Anti-Romance said too! “Rashawn sounds like my kind of man,” she confessed, her hazel eyes wide and dreamy. “I’ll have to check this Kimani line out.” To ensure that she does, I told her a few more juicy tidbits about Rashawn and Yasmin’s story. No, they don’t end up in bed in chapter one, or three or even ten, but when it finally does happen, she’ll be fanning her face and licking her lips because it’s sensual, meaningful and intense. Everything a good romance book should be.
LOVE T.K.O: The Story Behind the Story

He was only 25. A young, handsome up-and-coming boxer who had an undefeated record and a smile that made women drool. Before a large, celebrity crowd at a legendary MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas, he collapsed unto the mat in the eleventh round, stunning his family, his friends and a legion of adoring fans.

I read the article on AOL news and my heart instantly went out to his family. His father, who was present at the fight said something that struck me. “We hold no animosity or hatred towards his opponent. It was a good, clean match and we know he meant no harm. My son died doing what he loved and it was just God’s will.” They weren’t angry at the other boxer and wished him well in his career. I remember thinking, but what if they did hold the other boxer responsible…what if the victim’s sister was intent on revenge…what if she fell in love with the man who accidently killed her brother?

But a funny thing happened as I started to write. It didn’t fit. I decided to forge ahead and not worry about those niggling doubts. The more I tried to make Yasmin and Rashawn do what I wanted them to do, the more they resisted. Yes, Rashawn ended up being a boxer, and yes he had a smile that made females swoon, but he turned out to be completely different than what I had envisioned in my mind. And Yasmin, well, I never would have imagined that a couples therapist could be so vulnerable, so open, so willing to be loved by a man who is opposite her in every way imaginable.

I’m a proud sports junkie.  I’d much rather watch Monday Night Football than the Real Housewives of Atlanta or the Bachelor. Yeah, I said it. Shocking, but true. And I don’t discriminate, I’ll watch anything—except golf. (Sorry, but Tiger Woods just doesn’t do it for me!) Talk about research! I’ve learned so much about men by watching  interviews, reading articles about my favorite players and seeing how they interact with everyone from the coaching staff to the female, sideline reporters.  There are so many characters in the world of professional sports today, and I find that the male characters in my stories have some traits of my favorite athletes.

Through writing Love T.K.O., I learned to listen to my characters. I learned not to force what just isn’t there. Everything in Yasmin and Rashawn’s story happens at a smooth, natural pace and the response to their story was overwhelmingly positive. That was my goal. To write an even better story than my debut novel, Other People’s Business.  I don’t know what I’ll do with that original story idea. I tucked it away in one of my notebooks for now, but who knows? Maybe one day, I’ll pull it out and listen to what the characters are saying…

I have written 18 romance novels, and I am still having the time of my life “listening” to the characters in my stories. My new family miniseries, the Morretti Millionaires, was a blast to write, and I hope, Seduced by the Playboy, Seduced by the CEO and Seduced by the Heir, captivates you. I can’t wait to “hear” what you think, so visit my Facebook page and share your thoughts