N. Carolina Author Jennifer Hudson Taylor Interview and Book Giveaway

14 Dec 2011 20 Comments

by Heather H. in Uncategorized

Now I’m a bit biased when I say Carolina girls are the best in the world (there’s even a song about it, so it must be true.) Today’s guest is Jennifer Hudson Taylor, who lives in the Charlotte area. Jennifer is a southern girl but the setting of her current Highland series transports readers across the ocean and back in time to 15th century Scotland. She’ll be sticking closer home with next year’s novella “Quakers of New Garden” which features four stories that follow  a Quaker family living in Greensboro in the 1800s. (My mom-who rarely reads historicals-is already excited to read this one, just from reading the summary!)

Jennifer has published two  books, and signed contracts for two novellas and four more upcoming novels through 2014. Her work has appeared in national publications, such as Guideposts, Heritage Quest Magazine, Romantic Times Book Reviews, and The Military Trader.

Jennifer is giving away a copy of her novel “Highland Sanctuary” to one winner. Just leave a comment to enter-that simple. Or if you’d like to purchase an autographed copy of any of her books for $10, check out her blog.

Don’t forget, you can enter each giveaway of the 12 Days of Christmas. Click here to see what (and who) you’ve missed.

INTERVIEW WITH JENNIFER HUDSON TAYLOR

OA: Jennifer, why did you choose to write a historical series, particularly one set in Scotland?

JHT: There aren’t many Christian fiction books written in 15^th century Scotland. At the time in 1998, the market seemed saturated with prairie romances, and I thought it would be nice to write something in a time and place I had enjoyed in the secular market. When I switched to reading Christian fiction, I missed the variety of selections that were available in the secular market, but I craved books with Christian values that didn’t have all the bad language and sex in them.  I had always loved Scottish historicals and so that was the first thing that came to mind, even though it wasn’t published until 2010.

OA: What do you think readers can take away from a book whose time and place are so far removed from our own?

JHT: I think historical lessons can be discovered through an interesting story by way of skipping a boring history lesson, although history lessons are rarely boring to ME! I’m learning from my family that I’m in the minority on that. People never change regardless of gender, race, or period of history in which they live. People still want to be loved, valued, happy, and often are searching for a way to make their life count, for meaning and purpose. For this reason, Christian fiction will always have take away value as we writers are led by the Holy Spirit to inspire modern readers in their own faith walk, plant seeds in developing minds to dispel doubt, remind people of God’s hope when they are depressed or grieving, and show them the love of Christ through fiction parables.

OA: What led you to write your first novel?

JHT: I’ve always loved reading historical romance novels. I finished reading a book that inspired me when I was 12, and I decided to write a book. And so I did.

OA: Why do you choose to write inspirational versus secular books?

JHT:  I started out writing secular books even though I’ve been a Christian since I was 9. For a long time, I didn’t know that Christian fiction was available and when I first heard about it, my reaction was, “It’s probably so chaste that it isn’t realistic.” God called me to write Christian fiction, I know this now when I look back at all the signs I ignored, but I ran from it like Jonah. I didn’t think the market was big enough or that I could make a living from it. I was even so stubborn that I stopped writing for 3 years.

Deep down there was a fear that I wasn’t qualified to write Christian fiction—that I didn’t know enough about the Bible or that I wasn’t a good enough Christian. During those 3 years, God took care of that. He allowed me to be humbled to a breaking point. We went through so many things that the Bible became my desperate search for answers. No more seeking sermons or ministry leaders for their thoughts, I wanted to read and find the answers for myself. The Word of God came alive and my relationship with Christ grew in such a way I never imagined possible.

After this experience I vowed I would never write another thing unpleasing to God. In my mind this meant I’d never write romance again. Of course, God had other plans. When I found Embrace the Dawn by Kathleen Morgan in the Religion section of Borders, I freaked. Since when did Christian fiction contain Scottish medieval romances? I bought it on the spot. Read through it and I was hooked from then on. It inspired me to convert my Scottish historical to Christian fiction and it became my debut novel, Highland Blessings.

OA: Which comes first when you write a book, the plot or the spiritual journey?

JHT: It depends, but most of the time it’s the plot and then the rest comes together. Since I started out converting my secular novels to Christian fiction, I’ve just sort of gravitated to that chronological order. However, some of my more recent books have had the spiritual journey integrated in the plot as it was developed.

OA: How do you choose which Bible verses to include in a book?

JHT: It depends. Sometimes a verse will rise up from my spirit based on what my characters are facing. Other times, I have to do searches for key phrases on Bible Gateway.

OA: How do you balance showing a character’s spiritual journey without “preaching” to the reader?

JHT: That’s hard because what one person considers too preachy another may not. I try to take my mind back to my younger Jonah days and look at it from the perspective of those eyes. If it seems like something that would have caused me to toss the book or keep reading and digging, I go by that. One thing that I try to do is limit church sermons and if I have a church scene, keep the pastor’s comments limited to a line or two. Also, I try not to have other characters preach to each other with long paragraphs of dialogue. If they give advice, I try to limit it to 2-3 lines, no more than one paragraph and then get the action going again.

OA: How do you do research when preparing to write a historical novel?

JHT: These days I begin with the Internet. Google Search is a powerful tool. I read a few articles and blogs, print out and highlight things I’m interested in and want to research further. Once I have the basic info, I go back to my highlights and questions and begin researching specific questions. If I need more details than what is provided on the Internet, I look up specific books. If they’re available, I order them from Amazon or Google Books. While I like reading novels on my Kindle and Nook, I still prefer a printed book for research. This may change since my shelves are getting full and I can store up to 3,500 books on my Kindle.

OA: Who are some of the authors who’ve inspired you?

JHT: Kathleen Morgan, as well as some of the secular authors like Julie Garwood, Teresa Medeiros, and Judith McNaught with some of their earlier books. I don’t read them now, for obvious reasons, but they did inspire me to want to write. God inspired me to want to write for Him. God showed me through Kathleen Morgan’s work that there is a place in the Christian fiction market for a writer like me. Now, I’m moving on to chart new territory with Quaker historicals based on some of my family history, even our Scottish Quakers.

OA: What is your favorite and least favorite parts of writing a novel?

JHT:  The doubt. I love all stages: the research, the writing, the editing, cover design, the promoting—but at every stage, doubt will always try to creep in and attack. I worry the current book isn’t as good as the last one—that it’s too different and readers won’t like it. I worry that I’m too tired with my day job and all my responsibilities and I’m not giving the same quality as before. I worry that no one knows about my books, and therefore, won’t buy them and no amount of marketing will make a difference. I worry stuff will happen and I won’t meet a deadline. On and on it goes, but I have to cast those thoughts aside and keep pressing forward.

OA: Do you have advice for writers aspiring to be published?

JHT: If this is something you really want/need to do, don’t give up. God’s timing isn’t your timing. Learn as much as you can. The more realistic your expectations, the better are your chances of not being disappointed and your ability to make valuable decisions when you are published.

OA: This may be like asking you to choose a favorite child but do you have a favorite character or book that you’ve written?

JHT: Highland Sanctuary has a special place in my heart. I based the heroine, Serena, and her seizures on my daughter, Celina, and her seizures.

OA: Do you have any special traditions that you and your family do each year at Christmas?

My daughter and I try to read at least one Christmas novel or novella together. We used to watch a Christmas movie each night in December, but my deadlines have kept me from doing that this year. I still have to work my full-time job, so writing is reduced to evenings and weekends. I used to send out Christmas cards through the mail, and I normally put out an historic Christmas Village, but this is the first year I’ve not done so in 18 years.

This has been a hard year. A few months ago we lost my father-in-law and my mom has been fighting an aggressive cancer and may need further surgery. The happiness that is usually part of the season for us isn’t as prominent as before. I think grief does that, but I know that things will get better.

OA: In the spirit of the Season of giving, can you tell us about a charity that you support and why it’s special to you?

JHT: The Ronald McDonald House Charities was a huge support to our family when our daughter was in Brenners Children’s Hospital. They provide a place for families and parents to stay while their child is being treated for long-term care in the hospital. This is why every city with a hospital needs a Ronald McDonald House. Some of these long-term hospital visits are unexpected and parents can’t afford the hotel expenses for weeks and months at a time. Emotionally, they are already dealing with enough. I was able to stay in the hospital with our daughter, but the Ronald McDonald House gave my husband a place to stay nearby. All he had to pay was a donation and it was no set amount. It was/is such a blessing! http://rmhc.org

OA: What do you have in the works for 2012?

JHT: Novellas

Highland Crossings Novella, Feb 2012 featuring Heart’s Inheritance (1815) by Jennifer Hudson Taylor.

The four stories in  Highland Crossings is centered around the lives of the McKay and McPherson cousins and their descendants. A priceless brooch is given to an ancestress for a good deed she once performed for the imprisoned Mary Queen of Scots and serves as the motivation that tears the family apart. It plays a role in bringing the sisters together after twenty years of separation, gives a daughter a start on her dreams, and a granddaughter a new plan for the future. Each finds her way in the New World, the new nation, and a new century, finding God’s purpose for their lives and the loves of their hearts.

Quakers of New Garden Novella, Apr 2012 featuring “New Garden’s Hope” (1808) by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Quakers of New Garden is a collection of four stories centering around the generations of the Wall family starting in 1808 in Greensborough, NC with their assistance in birthing a new city and tracing their migration to the non-slave state of Indiana. There, they face new struggles in their involvement with the underground railroad leading up to the Civil War, and cling to the plain ways of tradition and faith for 200 years until present day when a new generation is tempted to abandon plainness and step out in faith to a new life and a new love.

OA: You’re also a speaker as well. What kinds of topics do you speak on? How can someone have you come speak to their group?

JHT: Yes, I have topics of Faith & Inspiration, as well as Writing & Publishing. People who want to have me come speak can either contact me through the online form on my Speaker page or send me an email at jt4novels@yahoo.com. Here’s a link to my Speaker page for a list of topics, quote recommendations and a speaking video: http://jenniferswriting.blogspot.com/p/jennifers-speaking-topics.html

Faith & Inspirational Topics

Writing By Faith
Climbing A Dream
Finding Your Island with God
Parenting & Discipling Special Needs Children
The Balancing Act of Faith, Family & Work
Choosing the Gift of Life

Writing & Publishing Topic
Writing 101
Publishing 101
Marketing 101
Building an Online Platform with Impact
Digging Deep into POV
Creating the Emotional Heartbeat of a Story
The Agent Search: It’s All About Faith
The Art of Researching Today & Yesterday

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HOW TO ENTER THE BOOK GIVEAWAY

But First the Rules. Please read over them, they’ll likely answer any questions you have about the giveaway-if not, ask away.

This giveaway is open to US Residents, with the book mailed to the winner by the author. (Sorry international friends, postage is expensive!)

Here’s how you can enter to win a free copy of “Highland Sanctuary.”

1. Simply leave a comment under this post, with your name and email address (so I can contact you if you win! Email addresses are used for this contest only. I don’t collect or sell email addresses.)
   

BONUS ENTRIES (Leave a Separate Comment for each action you complete stating what you did along with your name and email.)

• Watch the video book trailer for one of Jennifer’s novels: http://www.youtube.com/jt4novels
• Visit Jennifer’s website: www.jenniferhudsontaylor.com
• “Like” Jennifer on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JenniferHudsonTaylor
• Follow Jennifer on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/jt4novels
• Friend Jennifer on Goodreads
• Connect with Jennifer on Google+ https://plus.google.com/115153741517730789591/posts?hl=en
• Subscribe to Jennifer’s Quarterly Newsletter
• http://jenniferswriting.blogspot.com/2010/05/subscribe-to-my-free-quarterly.html
• Visit the website of Jennifer’s publishers
• www.abingdonpress.com
• www.barbourbooks.com
• Visit the Ronald McDonald House website

The giveaway closes on Friday, Dec. 23 at 11:59pm. Winners will be announced on Saturday, Dec. 24 at 2p.m. Please check back every day through Dec. 23 for a different giveaway and interviews with authors. You can enter all of the giveaways but you can only win once.

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