AuThursday – Brenda B. Taylor

Please welcome author Brenda B. Taylor to the Clog Blog.  Brenda I must ask, what inspired you to write your first book?

Writing novels has been a life-long ambition. I wrote fiction stories in elementary school, but only after retirement did I complete a novel for publication. Both series, The Wades of Crawford County and Highland Treasures, came from genealogy research. The Wades series was inspired by my ancestors who immigrated from Tennessee to Missouri before the Civil War. The Highland Treasures series sprung from research into my Sots ancestry.

Q:  Why did you decide to write Christian/Sweet Historicals?

My writing is part of a Christian ministry my husband and I co-founded. I enjoy reading and writing sweet romances that have an exciting plot and storyline. I have a teaching field in history and enjoy the research, then imagining the circumstances of those living in the era I’m studying.

Q:  Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

The message I want to readers to grasp from my novels is—ordinary people live extraordinary lives, and I want to tell their stories.

Q:  What is your writing process? Do you outline, fly by the seat of your pants or a combination of both? Do you use mood music, candles, no noise, when you write?

I use a combination of outline and fly by the seat of my pants. Sometimes while I am writing a scene, the characters take off in a completely different direction from the one I have planned. I can’t do a thing to stop them. I like quiet while I write so my mind is not distracted and can concentrate on the story.

Q: Do you ever suffer from writer’s block? If so, what do you do about it?

When I have writer’s block on occasion, I sit down and begin a scene in the story. Soon, the characters start conversations and the action begins. I may go back and edit then rewrite, but the writer’s block is replaced with all sorts of thoughts about the direction for the action in the storyline.

Q:  Name one entity that you feel supported you outside of family members.

I belong to a local writer’s guild, and they have been instrumental in encouraging my writing and helping me get established as an author.

Q:  If you weren’t writing, what would you be doing?

If I weren’t writing, I would be looking for something else to do, piddling, and generally wasting time.

Q:  What do you feel is the most important aspect for all new authors to remember when writing or creating their own stories?

Let your imaginations run wild, because a storyline and characters will emerge out of the chaos. Sometimes our minds and thought processes are too inhibited by everyday life and expectations.

Q:  Where can readers find you on the World Wide Web?

I love to hear from my readers.  Connect with me here:

Website: http://www.historicalheartbeats.com/

Amazon Author Page: http://amzn.to/JV31xY

Pinterest: http://pinterest.com/rayburnlady/highland-treasures

Twitter: http://twitter.com/rayburnlady

Facebook: http://facebook.com/authorbrendabtaylor

Goodreads: https://goodreads.com/author/show/7203463.Brenda_B_Taylor

Tumblr: http://rayburnlady.tumblr.com

Google +: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104377029337086788786/posts/p/pub

Join me on Saturday as we read an excerpt from Brenda’s latest release Highland Ruby. ~Tina