Y-Eh! Interview: Nelsa Roberto

Rhythm and Blues protagonist and spotlight hog Alya has done it again. She’s interviewed another author for you, for the Y-Eh! blog tour.

Alya’s subject is Nelsa Roberto, author of YA novel ILLEGALLY BLONDE– the story of Lucy do Amaral, the determined and adventurous daughter of strict Portuguese parents, who is torn between two worlds when her family is threatened with deportation.

Hit it, Alya.

OK, so first of all, I just wanted to say that Nelsa’s answers TOTALLY make me think she should talk to Nadine, from Break On Through… except for the part about Glee. And Sandra Bullock. And Michael Bublé. OK, no wait. Maybe it’s good she talked to me. Nadine doesn’t really like to talk to anyone anyway, so it’s not like she’s going to start doing interviews any time soon. But you know what I mean– all the stuff about moving, and independence, and strict parents. Those are TOTALLY Nadine things. BUT ANYWAY, here’s what I asked Nelsa:

1. I LOVE any kind of music you can dance to, especially hip hop, and pretty much all R&B, especially ballads. How would you describe your favourite music?

   I grew up near the Motor City (that’s Detroit in case y’all didn’t know) so as a teen I was very much into Journey, REO Speedwagon, Bob Seger and BRUUUUCEE (that’s Bruce Springsteen in case y’all didn’t know). I still love me my rock (and Bruce will always hold a special place in my heart) but now I appreciate anything from Michael Buble to Mariana’s Trench (love their song Beside You. It’s my favourite right now). And, in spite of my two daughters cringing in embarrassment, I also love to rock out to Kanye West (I guess you would cringe too if you saw your mother dancing and driving with Goldigger blaring out the windows).

   Interviewer’s Note: Ain’t no shame in car dancing. Rock on, Nelsa.– Sincerely, Al

2. So I was pretty happy being a dancer, and then all of a sudden one day, this producer guy asked me to audition as a singer, BUT I COULDN’T EVEN SING. Yikes! If you could have any talent in the world besides writing, what would it be, and why?

   Definitely a singer. I get chills when I listen to those talented kids on Glee. I actually auditioned and won the lead in Man of La Mancha during my senior high school year and, seriously, I can’t sing that well. I don’t know how I got the part. I like to think my acting made up for any deficiencies in the vocal department. But, boy, would I love to belt out a song like Mercedes.

   Interviewer’s Note: A-men to that!

3. Sometimes I think my life is not turning out like anyone else wanted it to. It’s hard to figure out, let alone stand up for half the stuff I think I want now. What was something or someone you had to stand up for to your parents or teachers or friends, when you were a teen?

   I was very lucky in that my parents and friends were always pretty supportive. I suppose the biggest challenge I had to stand up for was moving away from home (although that happened after I finished university). It wasn’t that common for the female members of a fairly tight knit Portuguese family to just take off on their own like that – especially with no other family member around to watch over them! So when I accepted a job in a huge city like Toronto after growing up in a very small town of under 3,000 and then having to tell my mom I was leaving … oh, that was hard. That was hard. I still live with the emotional guilt over that.

4. If you read Break On Through, you already know I am SUCH a huge fan of Bershawn Sera, the best singer in the universe. What celebrity would you most like to meet? How do you picture it happening?

   Sandra Bullock. I love her movies. I love her personality. I love her courage. I don’t really ever picture myself meeting her but if it were to happen, hmmm …. Maybe if she bought the movie rights to one of my books and she called me to tell me she was producing it? Ha!

5. How would you deal with it if you had a huge secret– OK, more than one huge secret– and you needed help, but for some reason, you didn’t feel like you could talk about it to your BFF, the person you usually turn to for EVERYTHING?

   First, I’d try and deal with it on my own – I’ve always been pretty independent. But if it were causing me major angst, I would probably turn to my husband or my brother for some advice or a sounding board as to where to go next. But that’s only relevant for an adult, isn’t it? If I were still a teen and I was struggling so much and I couldn’t go to my best friend (and if the secret were too big and awful for my mom to help me deal with it) I’d probably go talk to one of my teachers. There were a couple of teachers that I really trusted back then. I would hope that my own daughters have that kind of support system in place for them too if they felt they couldn’t talk to me or their friends.

6. Look at what you are wearing RIGHT NOW. (Be honest with yourself, even if you are wearing pajamas, or a t-shirt with a splotch of dried toothpaste.) If you had to go on stage in the next five minutes (Pretend you’re singing on reality tv or something. It’s your big chance.) and couldn’t go get a better outfit, how would you make it work, using only the clothes you are wearing and the contents of your makeup bag (if you have one.)

   I’m wearing a brown casual skirt, a turquoise blouse and slip -on sandals. Not exactly exciting stuff. So I’d definitely use the make up. Lipstick, mascara and blush are your friends! But, no matter what you wear it’s always your confidence and talent that come through. Believe in yourself and the rest will follow.

Good answers Nelsa! Thank you soooo much for stopping by. Know what? I am going to get Illegally Blonde, and I am going to make Nadine read it, and then we are going to talk about it. (And by talk, I mean argue, but I mean it with love.)