1. Hi Taylor and welcome to the Magic Book Corner. It’s fabulous to have you here! To begin, could you please tell our readers here a little bit about yourself? 

Thank you so much for having me, Laura! Let’s see—I am married to my high school sweetheart, I am a military spouse, we have a daughter, and we live on a sailboat in North Carolina! I have degrees in both Criminal Justice and Spanish but have never used them. I have been writing since 2014, but it wasn’t until my third book that I got published by The Wild Rose Press. When I got the contract offer for Cloaked, I thought I was hallucinating after being up with a newborn for three days straight. Balancing parenting and writing have been a hectic and beautiful part of this stage in life. 

2. You have two published novels up to date. Are you working on a third one at present? If yes, what is it about and do you have any publication date in mind? 

I am currently working on a novel titled WHAT I WOULD DO FOR YOU and it is about what happens to a family when a child can never grow up. This novel is very near and dear to my heart because I have a severely disabled older sister and I wanted to give a voice to all the siblings out there in a similar situation. No publication date yet, but I will keep you posted! It will be very different from my first two books—no fantasy! 

3. To what readership in particular would you say your books will best appeal to? 

My books appeal to women looking to be inspired by other women. My heroines are fierce but also vulnerable. I think readers seek out characters they can relate to, even if they are in fantastical circumstances. Because hey, everybody wants an escape from real life! But that doesn’t mean we can’t take pieces from their stories and integrate them back into our own normal lives. 

4. And what should a reader expect when picking up Cloaked or Sonder Village? 

Frustration? Is that a bad answer? Because honestly these characters are on their own adventures, make their own choices, and have their own reasons, no matter what you want them to do! I remember you told me you wanted to throw your copy of Cloaked against the wall at one point, Laura! But I promise, the journey is worth it in the end. Expect a message of growth, love, and acceptance. 

5. I loved both your books but Cloaked literally blew my socks off. I read it in a day not wanting to set it down. Not even while I was cooking. And I got so swept within the story that I forgot to stir in my pot and ended up burning the dinner! How did Cloaked come to be? What is the inspiration behind it? 

I believe Cloaked came out of a childhood of watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer and reading Tamora Pierce novels! I wanted to write a book about a girl who kicked ass, period. She didn’t have to have superpowers though, because ordinary people can possess incredible strength both inside and out. The opening chapter came to me in a dream—a girl breaking in to instead of out of a dungeon—and I built the story from there. 

6. How far would you go to save the one you love? Would you face your greatest fear and risk losing your life in the gamble? What would you sacrifice to make sure he's happy? Would you even risk your very heart and soul? To me, this is the core of Cloaked, brilliantly portrayed through Charlotte’s actions as well as character. Why choose this particular gist? 

These are the ultimate stakes! This makes for a novel that keeps you on the edge of your seat from the first page. Very rarely do we have the opportunity to lay everything on the line for those we love, and I think Charlotte’s situation makes readers imagine what they would do in her shoes. She represents a transcendental love that is unique in the universe. This is the love we are all searching for in life, both to give and receive it. 

7. In Cloaked you give us two of the most remarkable characters I have ever met. Not because they are magically special and badass, but because they are real. Fawkes with his fighter's heart and anguish, broken in ways Charlotte couldn't fix. Scarred and imperfect. At times full of an anger so deep that not even fear of death can overpower it; and at others, breaking down under such agony and devastation, that you cannot help but want to reach out through the pages to offer him any comfort you can. How did Fawkes come to be? 

Developing Fawkes was the biggest hurdle in my first draft. He fit the romantic trope of a mysterious, sexy, disinterested stranger upon his introduction, but I knew he had to become more than that. Charlotte was so dynamic that Fawkes needed to be a slower reveal, but just as fascinating. There were times where I felt so guilty writing Fawkes’ story that I had to step away and think about if I really needed to put him through that. Most often, the answer was yes, because Charlotte and Fawkes would have each other’s backs through it all. She made him strong enough to handle his story. 

8. Charlotte is a role model for not only what each and every woman can become, but also what each human should do and she is almost a complete opposite of Remy, the female lead of Sonder Village. Both so different and yet both setting up the stage for a profound meaning that gives readers a lot of food for thought. Could you please tell us more about these two characters? 

Charlotte is who we aspire to be, but Remy shows us what it means to be human. Both characters demonstrate that our choices have a ripple effect on everyone around us, and that sometimes, the right choice is not the easy one. Remy and Charlotte are both incredibly brave women and I would be lucky to have either one of them in my corner. 

9. Remy is difficult to like. I personally found it very hard to really care for her for a while. Until I really got to know her and realised that Remy is a little bit of each and everyone of us! How is it that you chose to write Remy this way? 

You know, my mom said the exact same thing to me! For the concept of buying a village abroad to work, I needed to create a character who runs away and starts her life over somewhere else. The type of person who would do this—essentially abandoning everyone and everything she knew—understandably would have a lot of baggage to unpack about her past. She is defensive, quirky, lonely, and carries a burden of secrets that weighs her down at every moment. She is an uncomfortable reflection of the worst qualities in many of us, and it can be hard to look in the mirror. But, in spite of this, she—and we!—are capable and worthy of love, happiness, self-discovery, and forgiveness. 

10. Your books are no light and fluffy romance with lots of smut and cheesy relationships. They are love stories is for the old souls. For those who want meaning and beauty within the pages of their books. For those who don't shy away from the grittiness of life and human nature and do not rush to condemn a broken soul. Is there any particular reason you chose this approach? 

To be honest, I don’t really even know how to write a smutty and cheesy relationship! I think that even if I started with one, it would eventually evolve into a more realistic scenario. I get so attached to my characters that I keep digging deeper into what makes them tick. Nobody is truly flat and superficial in real life, so my characters don’t reflect that. Grittiness and human nature just come with that package. Plus, perfect is boring! Readers aren’t perfect. Writers aren’t perfect. Why pretend? 

11. I adored the hauntingly beautiful descriptions of that small Spanish village as well as that of El Camino de Santiago from Sonder Village. Why did you choose those particular places? Why Spain and why El Camino de Santiago? 

Sonder Village was inspired by a news article I read back in 2015 about entire abandoned villages up for sale in Spain. It was the first time that the setting for a story came to me before the main character did, and the village later became a character in its own right. I dug into the history of the region to build the plot and got swept up in the lore of the Camino. People chose to walk it for all kinds of reasons, but most importantly everyone walks it to discover something about themselves. It is on my bucket list to walk one day! 

12. Why a village? Not a person or a ghost but a sentient magic village?  

I had always wanted to experiment with setting as a character. Cities like LA and NYC play huge roles in pop culture and have set associations and characteristics about them. These places have a life of their own, but I wanted to take it one step further with my location. Vibrant, pulsing cities are alive in their own way, so what happens when a place becomes abandoned?This was my inspiration for the village and all of its loneliness. 

13. You seem to prefer the grittiness of life and human nature in favour of the so called ‘perfect happy ever after’. Could you please tell us a little bit about the reason behind this choice? 

I want my endings to feel attainable to readers. They are happy, but they are also realistic in a way that people could think, “Yes, this could happen to me!” The realness of the struggle to get there also gives the message that these endings are worth fighting for, and true happiness does not always come easily. In order to appreciate the good, we must balance out with the bad, which is also the Karma concept I used in Sonder Village.  

14. What is it that you love portraying most when writing a book? Plot, characters, underlying message or meaning? 

Characters! Back story, motivation, decisions, dialogue…there is no greater feeling than bringing a person to life. I love developing how characters act and react to certain scenarios and seeing how the story changed them at the end. Readers need to love your characters and care about what happens to them. A writer could have the most gorgeous plot and prose in the world but if there is no personal connection between page and the reader, the story lacks meaning because the characters are how we live it. 

15. Time-travelling romance with suspense and mystery on one side and romantic historical fantasy on another – you daringly approach different genres and pull it off brilliantly. How is it that you chose to do so? And should we expect something different yet again from your next novel? 

Well, thank you! On the surface the stories are quite different, but underneath they have a lot in common. Both Charlotte and Remy are on epic adventures of self-discovery, both trying to save themselves and the ones they love. Though they come from different time periods and circumstance, they share aspects of being a woman that are universal. My next novel still explores the female perspective and complex relationships with family, only without the fantasy aspect. 

16. Why emphasise on female perspective? And is there anything in particular you would like to point out with both Remy and Charlotte? 

 The female perspective is what I know, and experts always say to write what you know! There is a gender disparity in the publishing industry as a whole, and I think it is so important for women's voices and experiences to be heard. Remy and Charlotte were two very different examples of a woman's journey, but both are equally important to share.  

17. On a little more personal note, did you face any obstacles in your writing career and if yes, how did you deal with them? 

All the time! Publishing is a brutal industry. I wrote, pitched, and shelved two other novels before writing Cloaked. Each rejection brings up so much doubt, but you just have to pick yourself up and keep going. It is all a learning process. Yes, it hurt to pack up years of my life and stick it in a desk drawer, but without those two other books, I never would have had the foundation to write Cloaked and Sonder Village. Currently, I struggle with building my career via book promotion. I feel awkward about self-promoting! I’m like, “Yes, I write books. Don’t feel like you have to read them. They might not be your cup of tea…” Then I just want to get back to my current project and never post on social media ever again. I’m trying to be brave like Charlotte and Remy though, and put myself out there! 

18. And our last question, do you have any advice for other aspiring or upcoming writers? 

Don’t compare your first draft to your favorite book. Aspiring writers can get discouraged looking at the disparity between their words and novels they admire. They wonder how they are ever going to get to the level of iconic authors, not understanding that everyone’s first draft is crap. Especially the first time you try to write, and that’s okay! Keep reading and keep writing. You can’t become an expert with one attempt. Also, editing is its own kind of magic, so don’t give up before you get to that point.  

About the Author: Taylor Hobbs

Taylor Hobbs is from Seattle, Washington but now lives in North Carolina on a sailboat. She brought a love of incredible coffee and a deep appreciation for red wine with her across the country. A fan of all things Joss Whedon, she channels her inner superhero while wrangling a two-year-old all day. When not writing, she enjoys doing yoga and traveling with her family. They are planning their next big adventure and will be moving to St. Croix in the Virgin Islands next year.  

You can find Taylor Hobbs here:

Website: https://www.taylorhobbsauthor.com/

Blog: www.cannonstocruising.com

Twitter: tayhobbit

Instagram: @taylorhobbsauthor

Facebook: @taylorhobbsauthor

Follow her on Amazon, get the books and be up to date with new releases here: 

http://amazon.com/author/taylorhobbs