Interview with J.E. Taylor
Hey y’all! It’s author interview day! Today is a special one too. We have J.E. Taylor with us today and not only is she hanging out with us but she’s also celebrating her new release! J.E. is so polite and sweet. Even though we were discussing her, she took the time to encourage my career. Which as an author, I can’t begin to explain how important it is to feel like you have people in corner. This can be a very lonely experience so to have someone resonate with me meant a lot. Her books are incredible. J.E. Taylor is one of those writers that can invoke emotions from the most guarded of people. Her stories are weaved together with raw heartbreak and impossible odds. It’s like she breaks your heart and glues it back together piece by piece with her words. She most definitely earned her USA Today bestseller badge. Her new book Wicked Heart comes out today and I strongly encourage you all to check it out! You won’t be disappointed!
How did you get started with your writing career?
I started after a long hiatus because my daughter asked the magic question and when I gave her the answer, she asked me why I didn’t just do it. Such a simple answer and a chance to show my kids that reaching for your dreams is something they should do. So, at 42 I sat down to write the stories that had circled around in my head since I was in college.
What is your favorite vacation spot?
This one is easy because we live there in the summer. York Beach, Maine. With Wolfeboro, New Hampshire a close second. But York is peaceful and has a mile and a half stretch of beach that can be walked daily.
But if you asked me where I’ve traveled that was my favorite, I’d say Alaska because it is such beautiful country. We want to go back, too.
How do you begin your writing process?
I don’t really have a process. Just butt in chair and fingers on the keyboard. It doesn’t matter if it is quiet or chaos around me, when I’m in the zone, I can block everything else out but the story I’m in. That goes for reading as well.
Do you have a secret talent or quirk?
Besides being a spastic klutz? No. I even asked my husband and he looked at me strangely and said not that he knew of. Sorry, just a little boring in that manner.
Do you believe there is a difference between a writer and an author?
I guess there is a distinction. A writer crafts stories out of the sheer love of storytelling. An author takes it a step further and makes it a business. I consider an author someone who has taken the publishing step. A writer could have hundreds of stories in their drawers but never makes it into a business venture.
If you could choose, which fictional family would you want to be a part of?
I’d love to be a Ryan. And if you’re not familiar with The Ryan Chronicles, then you should pick up those books, or Fire Cursed or The Death Chronicles II to get familiar with that fictional family.
What part of the writing process did you find to be the hardest?
Getting the first draft down of a new series. That first book and first draft is all about getting to know the characters and sometimes that takes more time and effort than revisiting old friends from other series.
How do you spend your time outside of writing?
I work a full-time day job. So, my time outside of working and writing is pretty rare. But when I’m not on the computer, I’m reading in front of a fire or on the beach. On weekends during the winter, if there’s snow, my husband and I are off on the snow mobiles. In the summer, we’re on the river or ocean on our kayaks or just hanging on the beach during the day and around the fire at night with friends. And on a few Saturday nights per month, I’m on Spilling Ink – a live podcast cohosting with Katie Salidas.
Thus far, what is your favorite character that you’ve written?
I loved writing Ty Aris – a.k.a. Ty Ryan. He was morally grey and walked the line between good and bad and that’s always fun to write. I’m also having a blast writing my newest characters, Robby Young and Sarah Stone from my Shade of Night trilogy. The first book Wicked Heart is due out on April 5th and I’m working on both the second book and a prequel at the moment.
What is one thing you find you’re really bad at doing?
Marketing. I would rather just keep writing, but I need to get my name out there and get some visibility, otherwise, my books will be relegated to the back seat because without visibility, no one will be able to find my books. Which is a shame, because I’m told they are pretty captivating!
What did your publishing journey look like?
Write 8 books in the span of fifteen months. Edit them for the next two years while querying agents. And I made a mess of querying because I was new and inexperienced and didn’t have the first clue of what a query letter really was. Found a small publisher on my own. They published my first and second book before they became a co-op – which at that point, I didn’t know why I was paying someone else for really doing nothing and went out on my own. Found some stellar editors and cover artists, and because of that small publisher, I knew how to format books and upload to the different sites, so the mechanics of publishing wasn’t hard. And I did really well in the early days of the kindle and ebooks in general. But now adays, there are millions of books for people to choose from and without visibility or a gimmick, the books tend to get lost in the noise.
Do you have any tips for aspiring authors?
Figure out your path. If you are going to query agents, truly understand what a query letter is and what it isn’t before you start that endeavor. If you are going indie, learn the ropes and hire a good editor and cover artist. Not some Fiverr person – stay away from that avenue. And if you are just starting to write – finish the story before you start editing and refining, otherwise you won’t finish the story at all. And most of all, enjoy the madness!
WICKED HEART
Waking up to blood smeared walls certainly does not instill calm. Quite the opposite, considering I had locked my house up tight with deadbolts, sigils, and safety spells to ward away evil.
And I went to bed alone.
With no memory of a struggle and no signs of a dead body, there’s only one logical conclusion. One of the demons we hunt at The Monster Defense Agency broke into my home.
My insatiable cravings clue me into exactly what I’m dealing with, and now I need to hunt the bastard down and fillet his ass before I end up at the top the agency’s most wanted list.
Preorder Link: https://books2read.com/u/mgEV5x
Bio:
J.E. Taylor publishes supernatural suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance that will capture your imagination in ways that terrify and tantalize at the same time.
She lives at the base of the White Mountains in New Hampshire, and during the summer months can be found on the shores of southern Maine.
