Author Interview: L.J. Taylor
by A.E. Albert
by A.E. Albert
@aealbert23
Book Title: Just Dreams: The Brooks Sisters Dream Series (Vol 1)
Genre: Romance/Suspense
What inspired you to write your first book? I have always enjoyed reading romantic suspense and watching action movies. I have also always loved writing. As a young girl, I wrote poetry and song lyrics and even tried to write a fantasy novel at the tender age of 13. Just Dreams is the product of those interests and influences. I wrote the first draft of the book during National November Writing Month in 2008.
Is there a message in your book and/or books?
I'd like to think that I'm sharing the love so to speak - depicting strong female characters/heroines in romantic suspense novels who also happen to be African-American like me. I haven't seen a lot of that out there.
Is there anything in your book and/or books based on real life experiences?
The heroines in the Brooks Sisters Dreams Series are very loosely based on me and my sisters in terms of personality. Kathy, however, is younger and skinnier than I am and a lot less risk adverse (I have yet met the man that would have me risking my law license).
I was able to draw on my professional background and experience to create believable courtroom scenes; however, all of the events and the characters depicted in the book are completely fictitious and come straight out of my imagination.
What books and/or writers have influenced you the most?
Some of my favorite authors include Nora Roberts, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Jon Land, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, Eric Jerome Dickey (and the list goes on). I would say that all of them have influenced my writing in some way - whether they helped me develop an interest in legal dramas and spies or served as an example of how to create authentic characters and dialogue.
What has been your greatest challenge when writing?
What books and/or writers have influenced you the most?
Some of my favorite authors include Nora Roberts, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Jon Land, John Grisham, Scott Turow, Nancy Taylor Rosenberg, Eric Jerome Dickey (and the list goes on). I would say that all of them have influenced my writing in some way - whether they helped me develop an interest in legal dramas and spies or served as an example of how to create authentic characters and dialogue.
What has been your greatest challenge when writing?
Actually sitting in a chair and finishing the book. I don't normally have a hard time producing first drafts. Instead, it's the editing phase that gets me every time. Facing a 300 or more page manuscript can be daunting and knowing that you might have cut out and write or re-write a large percentage of it after you've had the satisfaction of completing the first draft is hard to face.
At one point you might want to chuck the manuscript over your 20th floor balcony and dive off after it. But the editing phase is the most important. It's when the real writing begins. It's where you add color and texture to the characters, dialogue and settings you've created. So it pays to take a deep breath and get down to it because the real satisfaction is holding the first copy of your paperback novel in your hands. That's when it becomes real.
What are you working on right now?
What are you working on right now?
I'm working on a National November Writing Month ("Nanowrimo") project - a novel that I'm writing in a new genre under a pen name (your Nanowrimo project must be brand new - it can't be an existing project).
After November 30th, I'll get back to revising Book II of the Brooks Sisters Dreams Series - Dreams Deferred. In that book, Kathy's wild baby sister Ivy Brooks is the heroine. That's coming out early next year.
What have you learned and do you have any advice for other authors?
What have you learned and do you have any advice for other authors?
I have learned so much from this process that it would be impossible to share it all here. The best advice I could give to other authors is to finish their books and not to let anyone or anybody derail them from accomplishing that goal.
About L.J Taylor
L.J. Taylor is a civil trial attorney who practices in Miami, Florida. The oldest of six children, she grew up in New York City. As a child, she voraciously read every romance novel she could check out of the public library. Her tastes later expanded to include spy novels and thrillers. She began writing novels during National November Writing Month in 2007 and has been chugging along ever since.
Find L.J. Taylor's Books At:
About L.J Taylor
Find L.J. Taylor's Books At:
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