Friday, October 17, 2014

Interview with Jennifer Taylor and her debut novel "Mercy of the Moon"

Today, I am thrilled to host talented author, and friend, Jennifer Taylor, whose debut novel, "Mercy of the Moon" a historical romance, releases today!

Jennifer Taylor with her debut historical romance, "Mercy of the Moon"

Welcome, Jennifer! I'm so excited to have you here on your release day! "Mercy of the Moon" is my kind of book--I'm halfway through the novel and loving it!! Can't wait to have you sign my copy (which I ordered early from Amazon here).
Thanks, Dylan—I’m thrilled to be with you today. I am a blog interview virgin, so be gentle with me!

I will, and I promise to cuddle you afterwards. ;) 

As many writers read this blog, I want to start with the most frequent question I hear from unpublished authors: What do you think is THE most important thing writers can do to get an agent/publisher in today's market?
·         Join a writer’s organization like RWA (Romance Writers of America). You will learn about craft and the business of being a published author. I would not have my contract with the Wild Rose Press without the support and of our local RWA chapter, Sunshine State Romance Authors (SSRA). I am very grateful.

·         Don’t be afraid to get your feet wet. So you think your story isn’t perfect? We are all learning, every day. Jump in and enter one of RWA’s contests: that’s how I got my contract. When I finaled in NWHRWA’s Lone Star Contest, one of the judges, Allison Byers, editor at TWRP, requested to read my full manuscript. And now she’s my editor extraordinaire! Take a chance and let your baby see the light of day. You learn a lot from the critiques.
·         Most of all, keep writing. Carve out a routine and do your best to stick to it, even if it’s just 15 minutes a day. Keep a writer’s journal, where you can encourage yourself, record your brilliant ideas, and talk to your characters.

Excellent advice! If you could have done anything differently with your writing career so far, what would it be?
http://amzn.to/1vINHq6
Click here to buy it on Amazon!
I wouldn’t waste a minute being discouraged. I spent several years writing children’s fiction, and came close to contracting my middle grade novel, but it didn’t pan out. Did I fail? No. What I learned from writing for children has been a tremendous help to me as I write historical romances.

Who are your writing role models, and how have they influenced you?
I love Diana Gabaldon’s writing and her ability to blend multiple genres so flawlessly. She’s a genius. But my biggest role models are the founding members of Sunshine State Romance Authors-you, Loretta Rogers, and Flossie Benton Rogers, multi-published authors who share their experience and knowledge despite having very busy lives. You three have shown me how it’s done: with class, generosity, and kindness.

Aww! You're so sweet! :) Okay, now we know you've just released "Mercy of the Moon" but are you planning any upcoming releases? Next books?
I am currently working on the second book in my Rhythm of the Moon series, Heartbeat of the Moon.

What's one fact about you that most people don't know.
In 2006, I volunteered in Romania at a failure to thrive clinic/orphanage with Global Volunteers. It was a life-changing experience for me.
My great grandmother was a postwoman/midwife in the mountains of Idaho. It’s partly why my heroine, Maggie is a midwife. My uncanny gift for knowing when someone’s pregnant-sometimes before they do-is probably in my genes.
I fear the pneumatic tube.

I know people will want to check you out online. Can you give us your website links and contact information?
@jennifer4taylor


Thanks for being here on your debut release day, Jennifer! I am loving your historical romance, "Mercy of the Moon" and am looking forward to more novels. 

"Mercy of the Moon" Book BLURB:
Strange things are happening in King’s Harbour. Midwife Maggie Wilson vows to find the person who almost murdered her sister. When her sister’s behavior ignites old superstitions, the townspeople threaten to send her to an asylum. Maggie turns to handsome Ian for help in a town where everybody is against her.
Apothecary Ian Pierce wants nothing more than to feel whole, as he does when he is near the beautiful midwife, singing to her soul with his music. Only then can he forget the horrors from his past when false accusations sent him to Bedlam.
When they unearth the deeds of a sinister killer, Ian’s most daunting battle will be to safeguard his sanity…and win Maggie’s heart.

The door swung open,
and Mr. Pierce, the singer from the kirkyard, thrust
himself into the room. He carried a body in his arms,
covered in a cloak. Blue-tinged, slender feet dangled
from the tattered, mud-soaked hem.
Samuel stared in slack-jawed shock and backed
away. “Why have you brought this body here?”
To Maggie’s astonishment, the body began
convulsing in great spasms, and the singer struggled to
hold it. The cloak fell off, revealing a shroud-wrapped
body, only the face exposed. The eyes, ice blue, stared
wide and unblinking and blank with terror.
Sarah’s eyes. Her lips blue, dirt-encrusted
eyelashes, cleft chin. “It cannot be,” Maggie whispered,
and shrank back. Coldness enveloped her, as if she had
slipped into a frozen lake, cold water surrounding her,
and could hear only muffled voices, echoing urgent and
sharp. She saw only shapes above the icy water.
“Miss Maggie.”
A voice, masculine and hoarse, broke through the
ice, and she stared into the singer’s eyes. They steadied
and warmed, pulled her out of her daze.
“We must move her by the fire and rid her of this
shroud,” Ian urged.
She took a deep, shaky breath. Yes. It was Sarah,
yet the eyes stared unseeing in a blue-mottled face
covered in dirt.
Samuel’s voice escalated in panic. “She was
buried, she was dead. I saw her. How can this be?” He
turned his head away.
Maggie grabbed him by the shoulders. “Samuel, you must look at her. 
Somehow it is our Sarah.”

About the Author: 
JenniferTaylor spent her childhood running wild on an Idaho mountainside. Although she’s lived across the U.S., she is still an Idahoan at heart and a notorious potato pusher. She has a degree in Human Services and worked as a roofer, a hoofer, a computer data entry operator and a stay-at-home mom.

Music has ruled her world since birth: she shimmied out of the womb with a bad case of Boogie Fever, but soon fell in love with the lyrics, how the words fit together perfectly like a jigsaw puzzle. Jennifer has dreamt of writing romances since reading Wuthering Heights at the tender age of twelve, and now lives that dream, using music on a daily basis to uplift and inspire her writing. It’s no coincidence that Ian, the hero in Mercy of the Moon, uses music to win heroine Maggie’s heart.

Jennifer lives in rural Florida with her husband and enjoys the comings and goings of her three grown children and three grandchildren. She feverishly lobbies for the return of breeches and would really love to see her husband of thirty-five years in a pair.

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