J.E. Taylor’s Shades of Night Interview
1) Let's get to know you. What is your genre and what drew you to it?
My favorite genre is urban fantasy. I’ve written dark thrillers, horror, paranormal romance as well, but this is my favorite because I like taking the real world and adding magical elements to it along with having the ability to add romance into the fantasy as well.
2) Do you prefer writing dialogue, action or other scenes?
Action and love scenes are my favorite. I like leaving my readers on the edge of their seats.
3) What is the hardest challenge in being a writer?
Balance. Finding balance between my life and my job(s) is the biggest challenge. I work full time and I write close to full time, so carving out the time for my family is essential and really tough when there are strict deadlines.
4) What is the one thing you wish you knew at the beginning of your writing journey?
I wish I knew how to write a query letter at the beginning of this journey, then I wouldn’t have made a fool of myself with a metric ton of agents. Perhaps I would be traditionally published at this point, but who knows. I took the reins of my writing career and went indie.
5) Pick five books that are must-reads in your mind.
Laura Thalassa’s Four Horsemen Series (Pestilence, War, Famine & Death), her Bargainer series and Linsey Hall’s Dragon Gift series. Many more than five books here but these are the author’s I’m pretty much a automatic purchase when they release things. There are so many more, but these are dark fantasy, urban fantasy, and romance all wrapped together.
6) Which book, other than your own, would you like to see turned into a movie or T.V. show?
I would love to see The Four Horsemen made into a Netflix or Amazon Prime series (not network television – they are a bit too edgy for that).
7) What is you preferred method of reading a book? (Audio, paperback, hardcover, or eBook)
eBook – I love my kindle paperwhite. I can read it anywhere and I have such a huge backlog of books to read that it’s embarrassing.
8) Name one book that you have reread several times.
Pestilence by Laura Thalassa – that was one of my exercising books when I belonged to a gym.
I’ve also read The Stand a few times as well.
9) Villain, hero or “show steeling” side character? Which would you be?
The show stealing side character. 😊
10) What is the name of your book/series? Tell me a little bit about them.
Shades of Night is the series I’m currently writing, it’s filled with witches, werewolves, vampires and a corrupt Monster Defense agency.
Sarah Stone and Robby Young hunt vampires and other monsters for a living for the Monster Defense Agency (MDA). Any creature who targets humans is fair game, and vampires are the worst of the lot. When they feed, they don’t stop until their victim is dead. Because of their eating habits, they are on the MDA’s kill on sight list.
When Sarah has a particularly bad night that includes memory loss, bloody walls, and no body, she’s afraid she is now on the agency’s kill list.
Wicked Heart – Book 1 in the series – came out on April 5th.
Young Blood, a Shades of Night prequel, is scheduled for June 1st
Crooked Soul – the second book is scheduled for release on July 5th.
Tainted Mind – the last book in the series is scheduled for release on October 4th.
11) Do you have a website? If so, what is it?
12) Where can we find and follow you? (Name your social media platforms.)
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JETaylor/
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/jetcryptkeepers
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/J-E-Taylor/e/B003FER8M6
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JETaylor75
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jetaylor75/
TikTok: @jetaylor75
13) If there anything important that you would want my readers to know about you?
Most of my stories are quite dark. Basically, I’ve been slaying my nightmares since I started writing, so if you pick up my books, expect a page turner with triggers, and you won’t be disappointed.
If you’re looking for a wholesome read, I am not the author for you.
