Interview With Author Gabrielle Yetter
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I am a British author who was born in India, raised in Bahrain, and worked as a journalist in South Africa, before travelling to the U.S. on holiday where I remained for more than 20 years.
In 2010, my husband and I sold our home, gave away most of our possessions and bought one-way tickets to Cambodia where I wrote The Sweet Tastes of Cambodia (a book about traditional Cambodian desserts) and The Definitive Guide to Moving to Southeast Asia: Cambodia. Together with my husband, Skip, I wrote Just Go! Leave the Treadmill for a World of Adventure (based on our adventures and the experiences of others who made significant changes their lives), and later published two children’s books, Ogden The Fish Who Couldn’t Swim Straight and Martha the Blue Sheep.
In 2019, I published my first novel, Whisper of the Lotus, which was long listed in the 2019 London TLC (The Literary Consultancy) Pen Factor writing competition.
And The Clouds Parted is my first poetry collection and was mainly created during lockown.
I presently live in Eastbourne, southern England.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
And The Clouds Parted is an illustrated collection of poetry. It was created during lockdown and consists of thirty pieces, each one a story or an observation, with messages about hope, loss, moving on, and seeing familiar things with new eyes.
At the beginning of lockdown, I was on a bike ride with my husband. It was a misty March morning and the world felt dark, scary, and foreboding. As we rode, the sky began to clear, and in the distance the sun broke through. It felt like a metaphor for the time—that there’s always hope to be found, no matter how dismal things may appear. In my head, I started composing a poem—and it became the title poem for my book, And The Clouds Parted.
From that moment, I started to write about situations and people that moved me. One poem was for a dear friend whose world was torn apart when she lost her beloved to Covid. On the day she closed down his apartment for the last time, I hung up the phone from her, opened my laptop, closed my eyes, and starting writing. Words flowed from me about pain and sorrow and loss as I sensed some of the feelings I imagined she was feeling. Those words became the poem, Moving On.
What are you working on now?
I continue to write poetry as I’m constantly inspired to write about people, situations, and experiences in my life.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
My social media includes Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and I have my own website and author page.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Read a lot. Write as much as you can. Pay attention to the basics of grammar and spelling. Ask for advice when you need it. Use an editor.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
Keep writing.
What are you reading now?
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles (one of my favourite authors whose work makes me want to give up writing forever!)
What’s next for you as a writer?
Since discovering I have a flair for poetry, I’m constantly making notes, observing people and putting together poems to describe circumstances I witness.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. Many Lives, Many Masters by Brian Weiss. and The Prophet by Khalil Gibran
Author Websites and Profiles
Gabrielle Yetter Amazon Profile
Gabrielle Yetter’s Social Media Links