Interview with Taylor Bennett (+book promo)

October 23, 2019

Happy Wednesday, my friends — I’m happy because I have the day off ahaha — today I’m going to be sitting down to chat with someone that you may or may not know.

That someone is Taylor Bennett (as you’ve probably already read in the title) and she writes YA Christian contemporary fiction. Taylor’s celebrating the release of a new novella in her Tradewinds series, Mele Kalikimaka.

QUICK BLURB:

Preorder on Amazon

Mele Kalikimaka might be the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day, but Olive Galloway is feeling less than festive. After all, this is the first year she’s celebrated the holiday without her mom. Even the ringing of silver bells sounds a little blue. When an attempt to make the season bright ends in hurt feelings and a shattered heirloom, Olive’s hopes for a happy holiday are dashed. A surprise visit from a less-than-jolly fellow in red only adds to the turmoil. Olive is convinced that nothing can possibly bring peace to her corner of the earth. As presents pile up beneath the tree and Christmas Day draws near, Olive realizes it will take a Christmas miracle to help her family rediscover the true magic of the holiday season.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

It’s only available on Amazon (for $2.99)
Official release date: November 1st, 2019
There will only be an ebook version (it’s less than 100 pages)

Now on to the interview =)

As usual, my answers will be in italics.

1. How has your life changed since the publication of Porch Swing Girl and Sand Castle Dreams?

TB: My life has changed a lot, but no more than the average 18/19-year-old’s life has changed. I’ve graduated, made a decision on college, decided on a future career path, etc. but those things are to be expected! A big change that I totally DIDN’T expect is the way God has used my publication experience to open door in other areas too—I’ve had the opportunity to write for Brio magazine, sign books with some of my favorite authors, and teach a weekend writing club for young girls. I’ve dreamt of doing all of these things, but I never really imagined that it would actually happen…the Lord works in mysterious ways!

GH: That’s amazing! You are the actual physical manifestation of so many young writers’ dreams.

2. How did you develop the character of Olive Galloway and the rest of the gang?

TB: This is going to sound super weird, but I…didn’t. Olive and Jazz leapt onto the page fully formed. And, though Brander was originally meant to be a mash-up of two friends, that lasted about a chapter. After that, his character took on a mind of his own too! I’m not the best with character development for this reason—my characters seem to develop themselves…for better or for worse!

GH: Really? I can’t say I’m surprised, though — characters do often have a mind of their own and they almost never stick to the plan.

3. Aside from Mele Kalikimaka, are there any other novellas you plan to write in the Porch Swing Girl universe?

TB: None that I’m currently planning/writing, but I definitely have a few ideas *sneaky grin* To tell you about them, though, would mean almost certain spoilers for Book Three.

GH: That makes sense, haha! And yup, this is a spoiler-free zone… XD

4. How do you plan on celebrating Mele Kalikimaka’s release?

TB: One word: CAAAAAAKE

Actually, I have no idea! But it is sort of an unintentional tradition for me to make an outrageous dessert to celebrate a book release. Porch Swing Girl got a pink-frosted-animal-cracker cheesecake (drooooool), and Sand Castle Dreams got a double-layer carrot cake (also drool!) We’ll see what I come up with for Mele Kalikimaka…

GH: Ahhhh no stop you’ll make me hungry. Cake is definitely one of the best ways to celebrate a book release, or even just finishing a book 😉

5. Small piece of advice for a growing writer?

TB: Read, read, READ!!! I know that’s what “everybody” says, but they all say it because it’s TRUE! Reading is the number-one thing that has helped me as a writer. Reading speaks to our hearts, encourages us, and inspires us to write something half as impactful as the book in our hands. Besides, through reading well-written stories, we can learn key writing techniques—plot development, sentence structure, etc.—almost by osmosis!

GH: Yes!! Read to your heart’s desire and fill up that well of inspiration <3

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That’s all for now!

Thanks so much to Taylor for taking the time to chat with me, it’s been a true honor. If you’d like to support her in some way or another, here are some useful links:

Find Taylor on Facebook

Say hi to Taylor on Instagram

Add Porch Swing Girl on Goodreads

Buy Porch Swing Girl (Tradewinds #1) on Amazon

Thanks to every single one of you for stopping by my blog, I’ll see you all next week!

Make your mark,

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