DALLAS (KDAF) — “Romance is a happily ever after, but it’s the journey to get there.” For El Paso’s Yvette de Oro, writing romance came as second nature for her as she uses her experiences and those around her to tell a story.

CW33 Digital got a chance to sit down with the author as she spoke on her book, representation in the genre and her overall experience as a romance novelist.

In the media alone, representation of Latin people is small but still developing. Latinos saw a similar decrease in participation in front of and behind the camera from 2021 to 2022, with that number slowly increasing this year. Latin leads made up 7.4 percent of starring roles in 2021, with 4.3 percent of co-leads, 6.9 percent of screenwriters and 6.9 percent of directors, according to research by Axios.

With that being said, there are many different stories and experiences to be told. For Yvette, her experience and what she knows to be true helped her create her five self-published books, including her latest, Love is Where We Left It.

“I’m from El Paso so I obviously take from that. It also just depends on the character, right? Like, some girls from El Paso are going to be different…. cultural-wise than they are from Dallas… It’s different and then there’s, you know, are they going to speak Spanish or not? Being a Latina doesn’t mean that you automatically speak Spanish, right? I mean, most of my cousins don’t speak Spanish. I grew up speaking Spanish as my first language. And then I forgot it because I moved to Canada. So it’s one of those things. It depends on the character and being Latina can mean so many different things and I think there’s joy in that.”

Her book, Love is Where We Left It, is based on a moment or “canon event” many women have experienced. When you run into an old flame and have to decide to rekindle the relationship or let it be. de Oro, says the inspiration for the book came after making the semi-finals for America’s Next Great Author. A reality TV show that is still in the works. Which she described as a competition like American Idol but for authors. The book she pitched for the show, was Love is Where We Left It. The synopsis is described below:

Small town, high school sweethearts…

Sunny’s teenage years were amazing in the small, cozy town of Blue Hill, Tennessee, and all the best highlights of those years included Graham.Her sweet and sassy meshed with his reserved but friendly and they clicked like fated mates

until the pressures of adulthood tore them apart.Years later, world-weary Sunny has moved back home to find out Graham has returned too.
A horrifying mental image of seeing him and hauling ass the other way to avoid the confrontation has her cringing.

Because that’s what she’s always done since him – run.

Will they finally confront what happened? Or will they decide to leave what they had, a love that was young and easy, in the past, where they left it, and just turn around and walk away?

– Love is Where We Left It, Yvette de Oro

The experience has inspired her to continue writing books that represent women who look like herself.

“So all of my books … as I mentioned earlier, depends on the character, right? But my women are Latinas. And I want to feature them… Because I feel that we’re what 20 percent of the population? And.. you don’t see us as much and it’s a constant struggle to get out there… So, regardless if they speak Spanish or not; wherever they are from. Don’t deny that you know where you’re coming from. And who your ancestors are and be proud of that. However, again, it’s not a choice. It’s range.”

When it comes to writing stories and finding inspiration, de Oro says it’s important to never lose sight of yourself and your passion. When asked where she feels writing will take her in the next five years, she says that she sees her stuff publishing more books and that time will tell what’s in store for her next.

You can find out more about Yvette de Oro on her website and Amazon marketplace.