Check Out Rachel Howzell Hall’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Howzell Hall.

Hi Rachel, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’ve always written – but I didn’t know for much of my life that I was a writer. I grew up in South L.A., in the neighborhood known as The Jungle. Lot of living went on in this part of the Crenshaw/Baldwin Hills area, and as a little girl, I kept record of it in my Woolworth diaries that opened with little keys. Observing. Wondering. Fearing. Hoping. It wasn’t until I started work at PEN Center USA West and met working writers who led similar lives that I started thinking of myself as a writer. That’s when I started to write my first novel, A Quiet Storm. Published on the first anniversary of 9/11, this novel did okay – I still haven’t earned out, ha. But after my second novel couldn’t sell and my wonderful agent and I decided to amicably part ways, I experienced life in my thirties. Health, career, motherhood… facing all of this while still trying to write a good story that an agent believed in enough to sell. Self-publishing with the new Amazon platform helped me share two stories that hadn’t been purchased–and combined with personal grief, I moved closer and closer to a genre that I loved: crime/mystery. Eleven years had passed when I landed (and kept) a new agent, and she sold my first police procedural, Land of Shadows, in 2013. I’ve been publishing a new book (sometimes, two books) every year since then.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Absolutely not. I had agents, and lost agents. I couldn’t land another book deal for eleven years since my first published book. I’ve been told that my voice wasn’t urban and Black enough. Low sales numbers. Racism. Sexism. Health issues. I still work a day job, which, of course, juts into novel-writing time. Doing so much and at the same time makes me extra-crispy tired, but what am I gonna do? Not write?

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a fundraiser-writer at a major academic medical center here in Los Angeles. I’m proud and blessed to have a gift of storytelling, which helps me craft narratives about the research and care we provide. From ghostwriting for executives to crafting multi-million dollar proposals to fund lifesaving initiatives, I wield my pen, thrilled to help improve the lives of patients and families here in SoCal and communities beyond.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
I consume too many books and news stories to name, sometimes for pleasure, sometimes for work. All of it fills me with knowledge that maybe I’ll use for work or my novels. Who knows. I’m curious about the lives of people. Why we do what we do – and what happens to others when we transgress. I love reading crime and mysteries but I’m also into books about mutiny on the high seas. I play videogames, especially, RPGs, like Baldur’s Gate and the Fallout series.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.rachelhowzell.com
• Instagram: rhowzellhall

Image Credits
Andre Ellis