Thursday, July 31, 2014

Interview with Author Margaret Taylor


Margaret Taylor 
I currently live in San Antonio, TX but that’s state 38 for me, so I’ve been just about everywhere…



Good morning, Margaret!  Welcome to Vision and Verse, the Place for Art and Authors.  Can you tell us what you've written
I have nine books out now:

A First Love Never Dies - Book 1 of The Spi-Corp Series (Sci-Fi Romance)
Saving His Love – Book 2 of The Spi-Corp Series (Sci-Fi Romance)
To Light The Dragon’s Fire – Book 1 of the Dragons, Griffons and Centaurs, Oh My! Series (Fantasy Romance)
To Save The Broken Heart – Book 2 of the Dragons, Griffons and Centaurs, Oh My! Series (Fantasy Romance)
Wolf's Paradox - Book 1 of The Layren Series (Paranormal Romance)
I Saw Momma Shoot Santa Claus – Book 1 of The Legacy Series (Paranormal Romance)
All In The Name Of Love (Contemporary Romantic Suspense)
Love's Prophecy (Paranormal Romance)
The Seer – Book 1 of The Shadowcon Series (Urban Fantasy)
Love On The Edge – Nine Shades of Suspense (Multi-Author Box Set, Romantic Suspense)


Wow!  That;s an impressive list. What is your favorite genre to write?
Anything where I can just make it up! *laughs* I prefer Fantasy, Science Fiction and Paranormal if you must know because I really dislike extensive research…


What's your favorite food? 
Anything I can eat if you must know. I love Pasta, Steak and Potatoes, Salad, whatever will fill my belly.


Are you a tea or coffee drinker?
Neither actually. But, I love Diet Coke.


Pizza or ice cream? 
Either? I’m horrible about cooking/fixing something to eat, so the easier the better as far as I’m concerned.


Oh, I hate to fuss, too, especially for just me, so I understand.  Where on earth would you like to visit? 
Australia and Ireland and Scotland. I’ve lived all over the world and those are the three places I’ve never made it too and really want to!


I want to go to Scotland, too.  Maybe we can get a planeload of authors together!
Favorite musical artist.  Do you listen to music when you write?  What?
Oh my yes. I couldn’t name a favorite though. I listen to a combination of stations on Pandora – now that I’ve figured out how to *use* the bloody thing – and just love it! I have a Dub Step Station, Imagine Dragons Radio, and several 80’s Rock/Ballard stations that I flip between depending on my mood and what I’m needing to write at the time.


What makes Margaret Taylor laugh?
Anything but stupid humor. I’m not a big fan of things like The Hangover, etc, but I love a good joke and love to be snarky and sarcastic. You’ll find a lot of my heroines are like that too…


Favorite work of art or sculpture.
Oh wow. That’s a tough one. I’m not a big “art person” if you must know, but I love older portraits, the kind done in Oils and such from “back in the day”. I guess it’s because I stand there and look at them and wonder “What were you thinking?” while you were being painted. And then my brain goes, “Hmmm, I see a story in there somewhere…”

How old were you when you started writing?
I was 13 when I penned my first short story – which was *horrendous* by the way – and I’ve been writing ever since in some form. I’ve been through the gambit of technology, from the Old Royal Typewriters (Yes, yes, I had the erasable paper and green pencil of doom with its little brush on the end!), an IBM Selectric (I thought I had died and gone to heaven the first time I hit that “correct/erase” button!) a TRS-80 from Radio Shack all the way up to now, with Windows Cloud and Office. I’ve always been a writer I suppose, but now is the first time I have a real shot at doing it for a living…and I am *loving* it!


Describe your perfect evening.
Letting the characters out to play…
Yes, a truly perfect evening for me is being able to sit back, have my Diet Coke and pretzels nearby and just write!


Where do you get your inspiration?
Oh everywhere! News broadcasts, a headline in the paper, conversations with friends, even had a Tweet one time inspire a book!


What do you do when you get a writer's block?
I’m fortunate. I don’t get it all that often, I really don’t. But, when I do, it’s usually because a character in my current work is just being stubborn! So, I pull out something else (I have about 30 books in various stages of production…), work on it for a while until Mr. or Mrs. Stubborn gets over themselves and wants to start playing nice again.


Who is your favorite author?
Oh wow. Another tough one. I like a little of everything, from the classics such as Tolstoy to Tolkien to Piers Anthony (I’m a huge fan of his and the first time I jumped ahead of him in the Fantasy category, I have to admit I did a little happy squee dance!) to the more modern like Julia Lake Mills, Kate Hill, Catherine Coulter and so on. It really depends on my mood at the time I guess. I’ve been reading most of my life and so I’ve had love/hate relationships with a lot of Authors out there.


Best book you ever read.
Again with the tough stuff! See above answer…*laughs* I could no sooner pick a “favorite/best book” as I could cut off my own toe…


Last book you read.
I actually just finished Julia Lake Mills Dragon Series and LOVED it! She’s totally awesome with the Hot Alpha Male who will move heaven and earth to save their lady loves and I love that…:D


What would you do for a living if you weren’t a writer?
What I do now…*laughs* Yes, I’m being mysterious and that’s all I’m going to say about it…


Who is the one person who has influenced your personal life the most and why?
Oh, *finally* an easy question! My mom. Sadly she passed away in 2003 – before she could see my and her dream come true – but I dedicate every book to her because she truly gave me a love for reading and writing and sinking into my own head for fun. She was a Professor of English Literature and I still remember, very vividly, the day she said to me, “I am so impressed with you honey. You truly have a gift with words…” I was like 12 I think and I still tear up thinking about it 20+ *cough* years later.
I miss her and still find myself, every once and a while, picking up the phone wanting to call her and share my joy over a new book I’ve finished…


If you could sit down and have a conversation with ONE person, living or dead, real or fictional, who would it be and why?
Oh, see above answer. I’d love to have my mom back, just for one day, so she could share the joy in this journey finally coming to fruition!


What advice would you give someone who aspired to be a writer?
Never, ever, give up! Keep working at it. Keep honing your craft.
And, Stephen King said it best I think: “If you wake up and all you can think about is writing…write!”


Oh, and one more…Give yourself *permission* to write crap. Complete and utter CRAP! Because, anything can be fixed in editing…*laughs*





1 comment:

  1. Thank you, Margaret, for being with us and sharing your work and some very good advice. We at Vision and Verse wish you continues success in all your writing endeavors.
    Hugs,
    Carol

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