VIRTUAL AUTHOR VISIT
WITH SKYE TAYLOR
Skye Taylor, mother,
grandmother and returned Peace Corps Volunteer, loves adventure and lives in St
Augustine Florida where she enjoys the history of America’s oldest city,
walking on the beach, and volunteering with the USO. Her published work
includes Bullseye, The Candidate, The Camerons of Tide’s Way
series and Iain’s Plaid. Visit her website: www.Skye-writer.com to read her short
stories and essays about her time spent in the South Pacific with the Peace
Corps. She is a member of Sisters in Crime, Florida Writer’s Association, RWA
and Women’s Fiction Writer’s Association. Skye has twice won silver in the
Royal Palm Literary Awards with Healing a
Hero and Worry Stone, and The Candidate placed second for Strong Romantic
Elements in the ACRA Reader’s Choice Awards.
She loves hearing from her readers at Skye@Skye-writer.com
Website URL: https://www.Skye-writer.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/skyewriter22
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About Bullseye: A Jesse Quinn Mystery (Jesse
Quinn Mysteries Book 1)
Publication date: Feb 26, 2020
Publisher: SandCastle Books
Genre: Mystery
Dan Hoffman’s wife is dead. His fingerprints are on the
glass prism she was bludgeoned with, and powerful people want him in cuffs. But
Detective Jesse Quinn has a history with Dan and she believes he’s innocent. A
man on the run claims the murder is tied to a long-ago cover-up over an
incident in Afghanistan. Four people are dead, and two attempts have been made.
A rival in the Sheriff’s office wants to take over the investigation and time
is running out. Will Jesse be able to put all the pieces together before she is
sidelined and Dan arrested for his wife’s murder?
Buy the book:
Bullseye: A Jesse Quinn Mystery (Jesse Quinn Mysteries Book 1)
Amazon: https://amzn.to/2vvBwZl
Interview with Skye
Taylor
Do you have any
writing totems? Superstitions? Strange routines? Things you do or have to have
around you when you begin your writing process?
I have a squishy Minion who sits by my monitor and when I’m
really frustrated I can take it out on him. but for the most part, he just
monitors my day. But, for every book, I have had a small token or totem that
sits next to the minion while I’m writing the book. Then my brother made me a
beautiful display cabinet that hands on the wall next to that window
overlooking the ocean where the token gets displayed.
While I was writing Worry
Stone, I had two small smooth stones I found on a beach. Falling for Zoe has a wee Smurf fireman.
Loving Meg, a German Shepherd
figurine. Dog tags for Healing a Hero,
a small piece of plaid for Iain’s Plaid
and so on. Now I have a pair of cufflinks because my new heroine is a deputy
detective with the St John’s County Sheriff’s Major Crimes squad.
What is your most
recent book? What inspired it?
Bullseye is book 1
in my new series, the Jesse Quinn Mysteries. I can’t say that any one thing
inspired it. As I mentioned earlier, I have grown weary of the same old, same
old that seems to dominate the romance genre so I was looking for a new
challenge and opted for mystery. While other authors have created best-selling series
with amateur sleuths, as my son points out, how many people do you know that
have that many people around them die mysterious deaths? So, cozies were not my
style either. Could have opted for a PI, but ended up deciding to have my main
character be in law enforcement.
I love to get right into my research for any book,
contemporary or historical, so I signed up for the Citizens Law Enforcement
Academy and enjoyed every night of the 12 week course: the chance to drive a
police cruiser, on their training course, meeting the K-9’s who serve, visting
the incident house where real life situations play out on a screen in front of
you, waiting for your response, a visit to all the special teams that included
SWAT, diving, helicopter, hostage negotiation etc. Then I went on two
ride-alongs and got to see what a deputy’s life and work are like up close and
personal. It was an eye-opening experience that gave me a whole new
appreciation for the dedication, professionalism and patience that our men and
women in law enforcement exhibit every day.
Is this your first book? Your first fiction
book?
Bullseye is my
ninth novel, but first mystery.
How long did it take you to write your book?
How many rewrites did it go through?
Due to many
interruptions (family emergencies and my dad’s passing) this book took longer
than any of my previous books, and it was nearly a year before it was
completed. It went through a couple rewrites, but at least a dozen edits –
serious edits that you might consider rewrites of at least portions of the
book.
What do you want your writer’s epitaph to
be?
I’ve had readers
tell me they want to go to Tide’s Way – the fictitious coastal town in North
Carolina where my 6 book contemporary romance series was set. Or they want to
invite the Camerons over for dinner. I think I would be happy to have my
writer’s epitaph be that, She created characters I couldn’t forget. Although my
tagline would be okay too: Writing Stories that Take Flight.
Interview with Jesse
Quinn
Interviewer: Good afternoon, Deputy Detective Jessalyn
Quinn, or do you prefer to be called Jesse?
Jesse: Only my mother and my ex call me Jessalyn but
everyone who knows the real me calls me Jesse. I like it because my dad used to
call me Jesse Girl when I was little. He was killed in the line of duty when I
was twelve he’s the reason I wanted to be a cop. I aspire to be a law
enforcement officer he would have been proud of.
Interviewer: So, I guess you’ve wanted to be in law
enforcement all your life.
Jesse: Pretty much. I tried living the life my mother
thought proper for a southern lady. You know, dutiful wife and mother, active
in the community and all that stuff. But it didn’t work out. And it definitely
wasn’t fulfilling once my kids got to school age and started having a life of
their own. Elliott, my ex, was another mistake, but the less said about him the
better. When that life began to unravel I enrolled at the Police Academy and
got a job with the St John’s County Sheriff’s department right after
graduating. And I love my work.
Interviewer: But does your work sometimes interfere with
your family life? It must be hard being a good mom and a good cop.
Jesse: Mike only has two years left in high school and
Jacqui’s a freshman. They’re good kids and for the most part, I trust them to
make good decision. Sometimes I do get caught up on a case and I worry what
might be going on at home when I can’t be there, but so far I’ve been able to
balance the two pretty well. Jacqui’s just turned thirteen and wants to be 21
so I have to be especially vigilant with her, but her father, while he wasn’t
much of a husband, is a good dad to his daughter and he’s been there when I
can’t be. My mom has taken Jacqui under her wing too so there’s that. And Mike
has Seth.
Interviewer: Who’s Seth?
Jesse: He started out as Mike’s tutor. Mike wasn’t okay with
his father taking off for a younger woman and his grades were slipping badly.
So, Seth came into his life, got him back on track in school, then stayed
around to be all the things Mike’s dad never had the time for.
Interviewer: So, is there a new man in your life, or have you
turned your back on that kind of relationship? Once burned, twice shy and all.
Jesse: (blushing a little) Well, Seth has hung around for
more than just Mike. I tried to pretend there was nothing there and once Mike
was doing okay, Seth would be gone. But he’s more persistent than that. And
incredibly patient, waiting for me to loosen up, and maybe take a chance on
him. He’s good company, a good listener and a great cook. I don’t know if it
will ever be more than just friendship, but . . . who knows. Maybe.
Interviewer: So, tell me a little about your work. How did
you end up on the Major Crimes Squad?
Jesse: Being a detective is a lot more rewarding than riding
in a patrol car ever was. Some of the things a deputy sees, no one should ever
have to see. People can be incredibly stupid or just as incredibly evil. Some
folk just get into trouble without half trying. Being on patrol is day after
day of dealing with the worst of people every day and the best of people on
their worst days. Major Crimes has its share, more than its share, of just
plain evil, way too much human suffering and pain, but it’s also rewarding when
you solve the puzzle. Figure out who did it and nail them. Sometimes you have
to tell someone a loved one has perished and that’s never easy, but when you
manage to track down the perpetrator and throw in them in jail, you get to go
back and give the family some sense of justice. That’s the rewarding part. And
sometimes you get to intervene in someone’s plan to hurt another, save a kid
from a life of sexual slavery, or drugs, or convince a battered wife to finally
leave her spouse and start healing again. At the end of the day, I know I’ve
made a difference, and that’s what makes this job worth the hardships and the
ugliness, time away from family or just the nightmares you live with for the
rest of you life.
Interviewer: Well, Detective Quinn, it’s been interesting
chatting with you, but I can hear your phone beeping so I guess I better let
you get back to your work. Thanks for coming in today.
Jesse: (Reaching for her phone) It was my pleasure. Thank
you for having me.
Excerpt from Bullseye
The tang of salty air filled my senses as I gazed up at the
familiar, sprawling mansion where I’d spent so much of my youth. Hanging out
with my ex’s sister and being courted by Elliott the Rat while the house still
belonged to the Edwards family.
Then there was that intense fling I wasn’t so proud of. The
one with Dan Hoffman, current owner of the property.
Dan had called 911 when he arrived home from work and found
his wife Laney unconscious. According to Lt. Ward, Dan had desperately demanded
an ambulance, but when the EMT rig rolled in the wife was already dead.
I ducked under the yellow crime scene tape stretched across
the cobblestone drive, and strode toward the house. At the top of the wide,
stone staircase a handsome black rookie stepped into my path.
“Ma’am? This is a crime scene. No one is—”
I shoved the front of my suit jacket aside. As he gawked at
the badge hanging on a lanyard around my neck, I held out my ID folder.
He accepted the black folder. “Jessalyn Quinn.” He frowned,
then his head jerked up and his eyes met mine. “You’re Jesse Quinn? The Jesse Quinn?”
“That would be me.” I tried to add a jaunty grin.
“But you’re . . . I mean—”
I made the tsking sound Mother never missed an
opportunity to scold me for. “Too short? Too female? Looks can be deceiving.
Didn’t they teach you that at the academy?”
Nothing about my diminutive, tailored appearance matches the
reputation of an impetuous rookie barely off probation who had taken out three
armed thieves at a convenience store my first week alone on the job. I’d been
far too hasty back then and way overconfident. However, having prevailed in
spite of taking a round in my thigh, the incident had gained me creds. Big
time. No one had ever questioned my ability to handle myself since if you
didn’t count the testosterone-laden ribbing dished out on a regular basis.
“Sorry, Detective Quinn. No disrespect meant.” The young
deputy started poking at the electronic tablet he held, logging my information
and the time I’d arrived.
“None taken.” I slipped my ID back into my pocket. “Were you
first on the scene?”
He nodded. “I was just a couple blocks away. Got here before
the EMTs.”
“Deputy—” I glanced at his name tag. “MacKenzie. I’ll catch
up with you later.”
“Just ask for Mac,” he replied, nodding.
“Mac,” I repeated as I stepped past him and into the cool
interior of the beautiful old house.
When I’d stepped out of my cruiser, the tidal wave of déjÃ
vu had been strong, but inside, the clash of history, of memories good and bad,
swelled in my chest. I did my best to ignore the tightness and inspect my
surroundings impartially.
My sturdy, leather-soled shoes clicked loudly on the bare,
hardwood floor that had once been covered with a luxurious Oriental carpet. A
carpet that had tickled my bare backside on more than one occasion. Another
wave of shame burned through me as I hurried through to the next room.
The old family room hit me even harder. I clenched my teeth
and forced the memories back into the box where they belonged.
