Hey loves,

I am so excited about this next Q&A with new author, Deandrea Moore. She has always been a great writer and now she is an author. Her new book, I’ll Take Wine With That is available on Amazon right now and a must have. Go grab you a glass of wine or water, and come enjoy this Q&A with me and Deandrea.

Tannika: Hello Deandrea, how are you?

Deandrea: Hello, I’m doing fine, considering everything that’s going on in the world. Although things are crazy right now, I feel that I needed this time. I’ve definitely used it to my advantage.

Tannika: You just recently wrote and published your first book, I’ll Take Wine With That. Can you tell me about the process? What did you learn? What was challenging? And what were the fun parts?

Deandrea: Yes, I just recently published my first book and it was a process that started in September last year. I learned a lot about myself and gained confidence in my writing again, which was probably one of the most challenging parts. Coming up with the idea for the book, the table of contents and the poems themselves were the fun parts. Coming up with the table of contents felt like coming up with a track list for a CD, but I wanted to do that first to catch the vibe of the book I was going for. Although coming up with the poems was fun, it was also challenging. In some of the poems, I had to really allow myself to be vulnerable in my writing, which is a bit difficult for me. I also learned that there are so many different styles to writing and poetry.

Tannika: I find elements of vulnerability, femininity, transparency, courage and self-reflection. But I want to know what is the theme of your poetry book?

Deandrea: The theme of my book would definitely be self-reflection, but broken into different sections. I have a couple poems about love, intimacy, the other side of love, and seasons in life, and making progress.

Tannika: What is the other side of love?

Deandrea: The other side of love is just the parts we don’t want to have to deal with or what happens after love is over. That’s why the different poems in that section are about jealousy, wanting to go back (tempting), and heartbreak.

Tannika: Why did you name your book, I Will Take Wine With That?

Deandrea: I named my book I’ll Take Wine With That because I use to drink wine as a coping method when I was going through things. I started going to counseling and I now use it in a responsible way. I also had a glass during writing several of these poems. I love wine as well.

Tannika: What is your favorite wine? I love the cranberry wine from Cooper’s Hawk.

Deandrea: My favorite wine, if I’m going for something cheap and good, would be Oak Leaf’s White Zinfandel. If I’m going for something really sweet, then it would be Stella Rosa Peach or Carlos Rossi’s Sweet Red.

Tannika: You talked about being depressed and coping? Why is it important to have these discussions about mental health in the Black community?

Deandrea: Yes, I was depressed and using wine to cope. We need to start having these mental health conversations in the black community because we’re not immune to mental health issues. We think that we can handle things on our own or they’ll just go away, but they must be dealt with. When we don’t deal with things we pass them down or we lose lives. Also, when we make sure our minds are healthy, then we can progress.

Tannika: You have beautiful poems and are a great writer! How has writing also helped you?

Deandrea: Writing has helped me to release some feelings I had inside. It has also helped me to gain confidence, not just in writing but in myself. Lastly, writing has helped me to be a little more open and vulnerable with others, but still protective of myself.

Tannika: One of your poems is titled Self-Love Story? What advice would you give young ladies to develop self-love and genuine confidence?

Deandrea: Yes, Self-Love Story is one of my favorite poems because this year is dedicated to that and getting back my self confidence. Advice I would give to young ladies would be to always make sure your cup is the first one you pour into, because if your cup is empty then you’ll find yourself drained trying to pour into others. I would also say to be selfless, but selfish with your time, energy, etc. Also, take time to find yourself and do the things that make you happy. Take time to practice self-care and not just face masks and pedicures, but mental self-care, making sure you’re working to become the best version of yourself. Don’t compromise your happiness for anyone or any relationship.

Tannika: Ok fun question. What is one fun fact your readers may not know about you and one fun thing you have been doing to cope with the quarantine and provide yourself with self-care?

Deandrea: Something my readers may not know about me is that I want to practice makeup on the side. Something fun I’ve been doing during quarantine to cope is learning how to do more hairstyles on myself, give myself pedicures and practice makeup.

For more information on writer and author, Deandrea Moore, and to order I’ll Take Wine With That, visit https://winenwords.com/.