Rising Stars: Meet B. Danielle Watkins

Today we’d like to introduce you to B. Danielle Watkins.

Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
One of the most challenging questions is always, “What’s your story?” As an artist, we are ever-evolving, so it seems like it just isn’t right to tell part of a story that isn’t finished being written, but there is a lesson in every journey, so with that being said, My first poem was published when I was 15 years old. I may be telling my age with this story, but that’s fine. The internet was newish, and AOL had the world in a headlock. Famous Poets Society advertised that they would publish your poem (if it was good enough), and once you got accepted, all you had to do was purchase the book. I got in, and then I had to explain to my parents why I needed $89.99 plus shipping and handling for a book they knew nothing about. This didn’t start my career; however, in the rearview mirror, it was a sign of what was to come. Ten years later, I started my journey as a published author, and then four years after that, I was sitting in the first movie premiere of the first script I’d ever written. Now 23 years later, since that poem, I’ve published five novels with two new ones in development, and I have written well over 100 scripts with movies on streaming services such as Peacock, Amazon Prime, and Tubi.

Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
No road is smooth, no matter who is walking/riding along. My career has had more tears than I can count and even more disappointment. One of my worst obstacles, the beginning of my greatest lesson, was taught while I was green in the world of streaming, broadcasting, and being picked up by a network. When being romanced and attracted to a network, the reps say the right things and make you feel like you are the next Golden Child of the era. Then when it comes time to pay you like the Golden Child you were made out to be, there is a laundry list of things you could have done better to earn promised money. I’ll never forget receiving an email about the “quality” of my television show; that was not meant for me. This email was followed up by an apology email stating I should not have received the previous email. Heartbreaking? Yes. Devastating? Yes. Motivating? Yes.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m known mostly for making black lesbian films and web series and being a best-selling author, award-winning director, and screenwriter. As a writer and as a woman, my reality is that there are not many people in the rooms who look like me. Being a black woman in a cisgender white man’s world is hard, and adding the LGBTQ+ component adds flare, but another strike against me when I walk into a room. I am a part of a unique sorority of women with scarlet letters on their backs who are often overlooked and underappreciated. As a writer, it is my job to ensure that not only can our stories be told, but they can be told from an authentic point of view and a space where other women can see themselves and not be ashamed. Mainstream media has taken the “black lesbian” story and muddled it into what cisgender white men (and women sometimes) believe to be true. I live this life, and I have for almost twenty years, and I yearn to see what myself and my friends look like on the screen, yet there is nothing. Nothing authentic, nothing that doesn’t sexualize and romanticize what it means to be anything Queer. In my experiences, I have learned that many of us (if given a choice) would be normal because walking in your truth daily isn’t easy, and Hollywood has yet to depict what that means accurately. I hope my wiring career places me in rooms to tell stories that make people uncomfortable and alert at the same time, just as my writing has done in the past. I am a walking billboard for the underserved community, and my goal is to bring it to the forefront one story at a time.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
Diligence! Resilience! Determination!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: instagram.com/blacbutterflii
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=73901069
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/b-danielle-watkins/
• Twitter: twitter.com/blacbutterflii
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOtf1GBqH8mHUPgqFtrq6LQ

Image Credits
Michele Dearing