JAMIE: When did you realize it was time to try for publication?
TAYLOR: Once you have a story to tell and faith in that story, there's good reason to follow through on your commitment and belief. I thought it would be a great learning experience, as well as something to put on my resume. This is just another step into what I love to do.
JAMIE: What type of books have you written?
TAYLOR: These are fantasy-fictioN, young-adult novels, action-adventure. they are allegories.
JAMIE:When did you start writing?
When I was a child, my mom would buy notebooks for me. On family trips to the beach or wherever, I would be the one pushed back into the luggage because I'm the smallest. I'd take out the trusty notebook and begin writing tales of dragons and of adventures and perils great and small.
My love of writing came from reading books such as C.S. Lewis' Narnia Chronicles and J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, which I read when I was younger. I'm 19 and it seems like I've been writing my whole life. I love it.
JAMIE: Do you have previous publishing experiences?
TAYLOR: I do not, but I'm open to being published by any publishers that find my stories intriguing and well-written.
JAMIE: How did you choose your publisher?
TAYLOR: They chose me really. I was a minor at that time. I write my books at fourteen and sixteen years old. I was searching for literary agents and publishers. I did a lot of research. I received many letters confirming a publisher's interest IF I would pay the money, which is a weighty sum. So, Eloquent Books in New York picked me up, thinking I had something worth telling and shining up a bit. I've loved their companionship ever since.
JAMIE: What costs and expenses were involved in publishing your books?
TAYLOR: I would say the cost depends on with whom you work and how much you work. Cost is more than money. For me, the money for a joint-venture (50/50 royalties split with publisher/author) was $600. They wouldn't publish for free on a minor. I was more than willing to work up the money for the price. Yet the greatest investment is the time. To me time is worth far more than money. Time cost me about 56+ hours a week. It was worth it. Still is.
JAMIE: What is it about your books that readers will find most engaging?
I would have to say my favorite part of the first book is the beginning:
"Hear it crashing upon you; closing your eyes, you hear it-the sound that changed the course of this realm. The icy mantle yields its fraying mist, breaking as it goes, now rushing so succinctly upon your bare feet, drawing them down into the grainy earth. Then, the wave expires back into the rimy mountains and thalassic hills from whence it came. You hear it again as the sea pulses, trammeling you in its very nature of sound. The resounding gongs of the ocean cling to your senses, as they seem to be the rustling of a hand underneath the breadth of a great blanket, drawing it forth and back again. The wind finds you as it slows down and rushes through time, as a woe taking every breath by the reins. You open your eyes as you see the pulse dithering through the sea; the wave of invisible fluctuations runs after the throb of luminescent light, scampering across the horizon. The beat crashes against you, knocking the very breath away from your grasp as the pulses increase in speed, the surroundings slowly ceasing to sift into existence. You close your eyes, hardly able to breathe as the unimaginable occurs, the prospect considering how it used to ring so clearly. Then, all is still. All is silent. Your eyes crack, now shy of the gleaming light that is so strange to your glance; as the rays pierce your eyes, you direct your gaze downward upon the halted shore of polar reflections. A stone lay, caressed by the hands of fate, lingering amidst the pearled flits of light emanating from its internal. The entity seems to have been formed by this strange phenomenon, but is it real? Is it tangibly existent? You crouch, balancing your hands expertly out as to lay your fingers on the article, but something holds you back. You look up and see that the scene is crumbling into view, beholding darkness as the light. There’s nothing but you, the stone, the ancient secret, and silence. The stone remains, waxing by the now reflecting breaks in the sky. Somewhere, a rider was born, and his thoughts formed the last egg that would ever be, like a wave cultivating a shell by its pure, gleaming rush. You are torn away from this scene, left with naught but a memory. Or is it only so simple? Now the reader has to take the first action in this journey. Should you flip the page, there is no turning back."
My favorite verse in the sequel is by far the last paragraph, but I cannot reveal that secret just yet.
JAMIE: Do you have any hints to share with readers on how to get published?
TAYLOR: Educate yourself. Visit google like it's your best friend. Please watch out for scammers. Anyone will publish anything for money.
JAMIE: Who are your favorite authors?
TAYLOR: J.R.R. Tolkien and Jane Austen were both geniuses.
JAMIE: What are your major inspirations?
TAYLOR: Inspiration comes from life and its very own Author - God. I have to say that Jesus Christ inspires me in the big things (the sunrise) and the little things (a flower unfolding). So, that's why I write and how I write.
JAMIE: What’s your writing plan for the future?
TAYLOR: Continue to grow. I'm taking Creative Writing classes at the University of Louisville right now, pursuing a minor in that subject. I also strive to be a student of life. I have a feeling there are going to be more ideas and books coming out of my experiences. For now, I'm illustrating children's books. As far as the future: well, we'll just see what God has in store!
JAMIE DEDES
