Valerie Taylor

The foster family I lived with had two beautiful German shepherds—Beauty and Hercules. Beauty was black, of course, and was Hercules’s mother. Hercules carried the standard brown and black markings. There were four of us children who I’m sure tortured these animals. From what I recall they were protective of us and brought us great joy as we played cowboys and Indians, picked blackberries, and waded in a creek across the street. In my twenties, I bought a German shepherd and named him Hercules. Life is funny like that.

Though I have an extremely small family, not everyone has read it yet! I understand that’s not an unusual phenomenon. My daughter told me she had to start the first chapter a couple of times, because she was overcome with amazement that the book she was reading was actually written by her mother. On the other hand, as a result of promoting it on social media, I have reconnected with school friends from many years ago. Everyone has been totally excited and supportive. I’m also so inspired to learn about how their lives unfolded.

In the 1980s I graduated with a B.S. in Marketing and an MBA from SHU. At that time, SHU was a small community college that offered a robust evening program for students, like me, who worked full time. The campus is located right off the highway, and I passed it every day going home. So there was no excuse! However, convenience wasn’t its only benefit. Given its proximity to Fairfield County, SHU attracted the best and brightest faculty members from the corporate giants located nearby. In recent years, SHU has grown immensely and is internationally recognized. In fact, Princeton Review ranks SHU 10 th on its 2020 “Happiest Students” listing. I remember being happy with the quality of education there, so that recognition make sense to me.

I began writing as early as elementary school. I recall writing a newspaper article and also winning a short story contest. In addition to my college education, I attended Katharine Gibbs, the infamous secretarial school in New York City. Besides wearing white gloves and skirts, we learned all the finer points of business communications. From there, I had a natural proclivity to write all things business related. Sounds boring, eh? Perhaps. But I’m proud of the foundation it provided me.

Can you say COVID-19? The pandemic occurred just shortly before my Advanced Readers Copy printed. Initially, all 2020 authors panicked, wondering whether or not to proceed with launches. It was amazing to watch industry leaders step up and figure out ways to keep us moving forward. Besides that, and maybe due to the pandemic, I was forced to learn and adopt social media as a major publicity and marketing vehicle. Let’s just say, it’s a work in progress.

Did you know there are more than 75 million mature women in the U.S. today who are looking for stories with relatable characters? These are the women who inspired me to write Kassie, who—when on the brink of breaking away from a failed marriage—discovers secrets that force her to decide whose life to save—her husband’s or her own.

The most important tip when writing a book review is to NOT write a book report. Instead, present the context, theme, and thesis of the book in one or two paragraphs. Mention any relevant details about the author, including their writing style, and give your final assessment of the book. If possible, include a killer line that the author can quote and use, especially in social media. Finally, the very first sentence of the review must include the author’s name and the book title. This helps with search engine optimization, i.e., getting Google to pick it up.

The Takeaway Men (Sparks Press) by Meryl Ain is a story about a family who emigrated to the United States after the Holocaust. That in itself makes this book unique, as most stories focus on what happened during the war. Ms. Ain shows us the challenges each family member faces as they acclimate to a new world that isn’t quite sure how to accept them. Moreover, The Takeaway Men forces us to reflect on our own beliefs and to confront the realities of hateful discrimination in our world today.

The biggest gem in book clubs are the other members! So often I have one opinion about a book before we meet, and then what I learn from others during our discussion changes my mind. Since I’ve been in several book clubs over the last fifteen years or more, it’s hard to choose hidden gems. The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry and its companion, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy, both by Rachel Joyce stand out for superlative storytelling. Similarly, News of the World by Paulette Jiles combines a historical narrative with a surprising and touching view into unexpected relationships. Interestingly, Universal Pictures released News of the World, starring Tom Hanks, into movie theatres recently. I’m very excited to see it, though I’ll probably need to wait until I can make my own popcorn and watch it from my couch.

Indeed! Due to reader demand I wrote What’s Not True, the sequel to What’s Not Said. It’ll publish again by She Writes Press on August 24, 2021. Kassie O’Callaghan returns and discovers that sometimes it’s what’s not true that can set you free.

Seeing posts on Twitter peaked my interest in your website. Then one of my author colleagues recommended it and suggested I take a look. I’d score the website a 5 for the vast array of tools provided. That said, there’s so much there I haven’t taken advantage of yet as I’ve been so busy with the launch of What’s Not Said. I’m hoping in early 2021, I can educate myself with everything and utilize the site more effectively. I’m looking forward to it.