Girl, Have You Met… Danielle Allen?

Danielle Allen is a lover of football, fashion, film and fiction. From karaoke nights to vacationing and everything in between, she enjoys making the most out of the life in which she’s been blessed. Danielle spends her days teaching and event planning and her nights writing.

Danielle Allen is the contemporary romance author of the Back to Life Series (Back to Life, Back to Reality, and the standalone spin-off, Back to December), Love Discovered in New York, Autumn & Summer, the Heartache Series (Heartache, Heartfelt, and the not yet released spin-off, Heartless*), Work Song, The One Series Duet (The One, and After The One), and Nevermore.

Have you always known you wanted to be a writer?

I’ve always been a storyteller and I’ve known I wanted to write a book but it wasn’t until the last few years that I seriously considered the idea.

Where does the inspiration for your stories come from?

I’m inspired by life and the unconventional. My goal is to continue writing storylines I’ve never heard of.

What would readers be surprised to know about you?

I sing a lot for someone who cannot carry a tune

What are your hobbies outside of writing?

Music. Movies. Binge watching TV shows.

Why is Black Romance important to you?

Because love is universal and while the media tends to paint a very negative picture of black people, rarely are we inundated with images of black love. Personally, my goal is to do my part and rehabilitate the depiction of black women in romance. When you look over the years at the narrative surrounding black people in entertainment, black women in romance books in particular, it’s clear that our stories weren’t being told. We are more than what’s been said of us…when they’ve given us the courtesy of being included. But there’s been a beautiful wave over the last few years of stories about Black women, Black couples, and just life of people who happen to be Black that highlights the diversity within our culture. And with the wave, a lot of beautiful love stories are reflective of the truth: love is universal.

What advice would you give aspiring authors?

Start now. Write it down now. Whatever you’re waiting for, stop. If writing is in your heart, start today. Find the time.

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