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Author Revealed

Victoria Rowell
Photograph by Leslie Bohm

Victoria Rowell

Victoria Rowell is an advocate, mother, former foster child, versatile actress, and bestselling author. Known as the feisty Drucilla Winters on The Young and the Restless, she has been nominated twice for a Daytime Emmy and awarded twelve NAACP Image... Read full bio

Author Revealed:
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. "The best dancer is the best warrior" Socrates
Learn more about Victoria Rowell
Victoria Rowell Revealed
About Victoria Rowell
  • What is your birthdate?:
    5/10
  • Previous occupations:
    Vintage clothing salesgirl, au pair, secretary for Chase Bank, waitress, ballet dancer, and model for Seventeen magazine.
  • Favorite job:
    Lecturing/Acting
  • High school and/or college:
    St. Patrick High School in Roxbury, Massachusetts...and yes, I learned the Irish jig.
  • Name of your favorite composer or music artist?:
    Ottorino Respighi (Pines of Rome) and Aretha Franklin.
  • Favorite movie:
    Out of Africa
  • Favorite television show:
    "Lost In Space" from my childhood and "The Office" now.
Revealing Questions
Q. How would you describe your life in only 8 words?
A. Inspired, Organized, Artistic, Boa-feather-filled, Soapalicious, Dramatic, Political, Philanthropic
Q. What is your motto or maxim?
A. "The best dancer is the best warrior" Socrates
Q. How would you describe perfect happiness?
A. *Giggles* I won't delude myself into thinking perfection is possible, but I will say one of the closest things to it is happening upon a pink lady's slipper orchid in the woods.
Q. What’s your greatest fear?
A. Now why would I tell you that? ;)
Q. If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you choose to be?
A. If I could be anywhere in the world right now I'd be in Whitehaven, Montana...or Madrid.
Q. With whom in history do you most identify?
A. Queen Charlotte and author Harriet Wilson.
Q. Which living person do you most admire?
A. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Esther Brooks, my first ballet teacher and mentor.
Q. What are your most overused words or phrases?
A. Laughter, thank goodness.
Q. What do you regret most?
A. That I was never in a choir...I love to sing.
Q. If you could acquire any talent, what would it be?
A. What a great and liberating question. Being a trapeze artist and an equestrian.
Q. What is your greatest achievement?
A. Living - surviving the foster care system in the most positive way, joining the American Ballet Theatre family, motherhood, selected by 193 members of Congress as a national angel in adoption, getting on the New York Times' Bestsellers List, being an Advisory Board Member for Princeton University's African American Studies, and publishing my first novel, Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva
Q. What’s your greatest flaw?
A. I demand the best, not only from myself, but others around me. I have no patience for half-stepping and sometimes that kind of demand gets complicated and sticky.
Q. What’s your best quality?
A. Resilience.
Q. If you could be any person or thing, who or what would it be?
A. A magnolia tree.
Q. What trait is most noticeable about you?
A. Determination.
Q. Who is your favorite fictional hero?
A. Spongebob Squarepants
Q. Who is your favorite fictional villain?
A. Phillip Healey on the Rich and the Ruthless.
Q. If you could meet any historical character, who would it be and what would you say to him or her?
A. The Russian ballerina Anna Pavlova. "Thank you for giving ballet to the world."
Q. What is your biggest pet peeve?
A. Overly loud speakers on an airplane...and no pretzels, thank you.
Q. What is your favorite occupation, when you’re not writing?
A. Antiquing, gardening and cooking.
Q. What’s your fantasy profession?
A. To be The Rolling Stones road manager.
Q. What 3 personal qualities are most important to you?
A. Kindness, patience, intelligence.
Q. If you could eat only one thing for the rest of your days, what would it be?
A. Oh man, it's between blueberries and collard greens. This is really tough for me. I'll have to say, collard greens.
Q. What are your 5 favorite songs?
A. Gustav Mahler's 5th Symphony, Ray Charles "A Song For You", Journey "Open Arms", Nessun Dorma, an operatic piece, and Sarah Vaughan "Brazilian Romance"
On Books and Writing
Q. Who are your favorite authors?
A. Playwright Henrik Ibsen, Olwen Hedley, Barbara Kingsolver, Arthur Golden, Paulo Coelho, Paul Watkins, Terry McMillan, and more.
Q. What are your 5 favorite books of all time?
A. "Alone in the Antarctic" Admiral Richard E. Byrd, "Jubilee" Margaret Walker, "The Poisonwood Bible" Barbara Kingsolver, "The Giving Tree" Shel Silverstein, "Divided Soul: The Life of Marvin Gaye" David Ritz, and because I can't help myself I have to include "The Lover" by Marguerite Duras.
Q. Is there a book you love to reread?
A. "The Catcher In The Rye" J.D. Salinger
Q. Do you have one sentence of advice for new writers?
A. Stay in the chair!
Q. What comment do you hear most often from your readers?
A. Inspiring, glad I wrote the book, it was relatable, visual, filmic, funny, tragic, loved the history component, and looked forward to my first novel..
Q. How did you come to write Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva?
A. "Secrets of a Soap Opera Diva" is a novel I've been slowly writing for ten years - inspired by working in daytime off and on for over two decades, having had the privilege of working on three different soap operas in that span, and here's a little trivia for you... Who remembers me as Georgette the Chauffeurette in my soap opera debut in a New York City-based sudser? You also may remember me in 'As The World Turns' in the late eighties, and most notably as feisty fashionista Drucilla Winters on 'The Young and the Restless' for seventeen years. Due to overwhelming demand I decided to complete "Secrets" while I was on the road with my New York Times' Bestselling memoir, "The Women Who Raised Me".