Skye Taylor

I am currently working on the 3rd book in my newest series inspired by a reader who discovered I was spending time on a beautiful little island in Maine that she remembered as a kid and suggested I write a series set there. I also have a mystery series set here St Augustine Florida that has two books currently out and another half written. The saddest part of my writing life recently has been both my small traditional publishers have closed their doors and I've had to become an Indie Author. I love writing, but this Indie stuff is a whole new adventure.

My New Bailey Island Romance series are dual time-line stories and the history of that island in Maine features in them, linked in theme to the current day story in each. I was blessed to be welcomed into a group who grew up and live on Bailey Island and love the history and they have shared all kinds of fun ideas and photos that have inspired my stories.

The world of publishing has changed and much of it I find troubling. It begins to seem that some authors have decided AI is a great way to write a story and while it is a nice tool, I fear it will dumb down the whole world of literature. I may get left in the dust, but I refuse to use AI and will continue writing the stories that come to life in my own mind.

I was drawn to the challenge for a couple reasons: I wanted to set a story in the oldest European city in the US where I live, but also because I loved the TV series, Blue Bloods and liked the idea of including a family/personal dynamic to the police procedural. While cozies are a well-liked trend, the reality of non-law enforcement individuals to keep running into dead bodies stretches the imagination in my opinion. Writing my mysteries is a major challenge for me because I am what they call a "Pantser" meaning I write by the seat of my pants. I create detailed and lengthy dossiers on my characters and I know them as well as I know myself so once I drop them into a situation, I don't have to wonder how they will react. But writing a mystery meant I had to learn how to plot. I had to know who, what, when, why and how and then create the red-herrings to lead my readers on wild goose chases while my detectives did their thing.

The single most surprising thing I learned was how dedicated and generous most of the men and women I met in law enforcement are. That and the to visit the dispatch room and see the work of those who answer the phones, both 911 and general dispatch. That is a whole other aspect of law enforcement we all expect to be there when we need it, but fail to appreciate the men and women who man those phones. Watching mysteries and police procedurals on TV or the barrage of anti-law enforcement on social media and in the news doesn't give the average citizen even a reasonably close idea of what it's like to be an officer. The course also offered me, as a tax-payer, a much clearer idea of how much it costs to train, support and outfit a deputy or police officer.

For me, the very best way to get a real-world feel to my stories is to visit the real places I use as settings, and to interview people who are involved in the activities I show but am not personally familiar with. For instance, in my current book, I have a young man who trains dogs for agility competition - lucky me, I have a neighbor whose dogs have placed repeatedly in those events. Even if my setting is fictional, it is still set in some regional area that might be very different from my own and I think it's important to talk to someone who does live in that general area to get a feel for the place. What's the weather like? What grows wild or in gardens? Ethnic makeup, traffic, tourists, wild animals you might see, etc. When I first started writing my research was done with a card catalog in a vast college library, and occasionally big city libraries on Boston and New York. Today we have the internet - just log on and ask the questions. But interviewing real people often produces comments and ideas about things I might never have thought to look up. Tide's Way is a fictional town, but it's located next to Wilmington NC so I visited the area. I had already written the opening scene where a husband awaits his wife's arrival at the local airport. He's standing at the foot of the escalator watching her legs appear. When I saw the sign to that airport, I decided to take a detour and check it out. Thank you God for that inspiration. Turns out the Wilmington airport is all one level - no escalators. But while there I got chatting with a security guard and two information ladies who, when I explained why I was there, immediately gave me a whole list of suggestions of places I should check out from the Riverwalk downtown to local churches and many things never listed in travel guides.

I used to live in Maine but after the Peace Corps sent me to the South Pacific, I discovered I far preferred being warm most of the time rather than just a couple months in the summer, which is why I moved south. But I still enjoy spending my summers there and over the past several years, I've been fortunate to rent a historica little cottage that was built when Bailey Island was still an island with no bridge. Bailey Island is a unique and beautiful place in our world. Its story is influenced by the fact that for much of its history, it was an island untouched by any industry other than fishing and had no modern conveniences. Even today, most of the men and women who live there, have their livelihoods colored by the sea and the tourists who come each summer.

I love it when readers give me ideas. In one of my mysteries, I created a character who knew everyone and had a finger in a lot of pies. I happen to know such a lady and without thinking I gave my character her name. Then it occurred to me that I should ask permission to use her name. She was thrilled and loves to tell everyone she is in my book. Now I've had other readers specifically ask to become characters in my stories and that's fun too. I always make sure to change things up so no personal secrets are revealed but the readers who see their names in my stories are happy.

My writing habits have changed more due to my own age and lifestyle. I have never been a person of routine (how I hated that whole alarm clock lifestyle when I had kids in school and a 9-5 job!!) But Now I have a more laid back style. I promise myself a minimum average number of words each day, but don't beat myself up if I miss it.

Motherhood and falling in love.

Ideas just seem to pop into my head and once planted, they grow into stories that have to be told. Then there's the totally unexpected. Recently a body was found on the sea-wall out front of my little neighborhood. There's still a lot of speculation and unknowns, but one of my neighbors has created a whole new plot for me to work into my next mystery based on that unusual occurrence .

Red herrings are the most fun. How can I make it seem like a really valid option, yet turn out to be a total diversion from what really happened?

The biggest change in story-telling is less about my growth as a writer and more about the rapidly changing world we live in. Back when maybe a couple hundred books in all genres were published in any given year or the cost of purchasing a single print book, even used, was the reality, readers stuck with a story even if it took a third of the book for the action to get under way. But in today's world of instant gratification: social media, hundreds of TV channels and streaming, electronic books, and video games, pulling people away from the slower option of reading, grabbing the reader in the very first paragraph has become the most important detail. I doubt books like Gone With the Wind would get much traction today given the first thirty pages are just Scarlet and the boys sitting on a veranda chatting. In our busy world we expect the action to be already happening and if those first few sentences don't grab the reader's mind with urgent questions they feel compelled to keep reading to find the answers for, they put that book aside and turn on something else.

My newest series, the Bailey Island Romances, has a four book arc and the main characters, Kenzie and Sam, have their story come to a hopefully satisfying end along with the resolution of the story of the ghost who haunts the widow's walk on the Captain Patrick Murray House. While I am not into fantasy, I have toyed with a return to either time travel or a paranormal with a ghost spirit as a main character, either human or animal.

All Author is my source of graphics and tweets for promoting my books. I have neither the talent nor the software to create them and I love being able to add text to the dozens of great graphics available. Also, the regular emails that come with updates remind me to take the time to do the marketing which I would have preferred to leave to the promo-guru at my former publisher. Thank you All Author for being a part of my marketing plan.