Taylor Epperson is a US based writer of contemporary romance, and I recently finished two books of hers in quick succession: The Luck of Finding You and Begin Again. More about them later! But first, let’s find out a bit more about Taylor.
Taylor, welcome! I read that you wanted to be an author since you were twelve years old. That’s awesome! Can you share a little bit of your journey with writing? When did you decide to publish and launch your books into the world?
That’s right, around twelve was when I decided I wanted to be an author. I’ve been writing stories for as long as I can remember. I seriously started writing back in 2019 when my daughter was one and I needed something that wasn’t focused on being a mom. In 2021, my sister recommended a Sarah Adams book to me and after I read it, I realized that self-publishing was something I could do. I’d always thought that I’d go the traditional route (and I still may some day) but I wanted to take a chance on myself and my stories, so in 2022, I published The Luck of Finding You and the rest is history.
What are some of the challenges of being an author? What’s your top tip to help other authors?
While I do love self-publishing (I like the control I have over everything) it’s also overwhelming at times to be in charge of everything. The writing part is easy for me (as easy as it can be) but everything else takes a lot out of me. My top tip is to give yourself regular breaks. From writing, from marketing, from everything. Make sure you’re filling
your creative well by reading good books, watching good TV and movies (with good stories) and spending time doing other things that you love. Sometimes, it feels like everyone else is constantly going and moving and putting out new work and it can feel like you’ll fall behind if you don’t do that too. But taking regular breaks (like I don’t write or work three days a week) is so important. This is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s okay to slow down and walk when you need to.
Now tell us about your wonderful books. The Luck of Finding You has lots of You’ve Got Mail vibes! Was that the main inspiration for the story? What was your favourite part of it to write?
Oh, thank you so much. You’ve Got Mail was definitely a big inspiration for The Luck of Finding You, as well as the song ‘Cornelia Street’ by Taylor Swift. I really loved writing that one, and my favorite part was probably the ending.
You published Begin Again recently and this follows on from The Luck of Finding You with Noah’s sister’s story. I was ALL THERE for Annie and Sam. Just what I’d read about them in the background of The Luck of Finding You was enough for me. Tell me what inspired you with their story?
I had Annie and Sam and a vague plot written out back in 2021, but realized I wasn’t ready to tell their story yet. So I started off with Tally and Noah and then Drew and Holly. I wanted to write a story that dealt with the aftermath of being in an abusive
relationship, as I have experience with that. But I also didn’t want to tell my own story. So that’s where the original idea sparked from, but Annie and Sam came to life and their story came together in a way that I could never have imagined a few years ago. I’m glad I waited to tell their story, because I love it so much!
You deal with some tough topics -and I think you do it so well! What for you is a good balance between brokenness and hope in a story? How do you walk that tightrope?
Thank you! When I first started writing The Luck of Finding You, I wanted to focus on what is sometimes referred to as the fluffier stuff. And while I do think I focus a lot on the romance—the characters falling in love and their tender moments together—I also knew that I wanted to deal with real life, tough topics. I struggle with mental health issues and chronic illness and it’s hard for me to want to gloss over the hard things in real life. For me, I always want to bring hope into a story. Love can be found regardless of the hard things in life and I truly believe that. I think that’s why I’m able to find a balance as I write. It’s not easy to write though. In an earlier draft of Begin Again, things felt way too heavy, so I had to pull back on the amount of time that Annie spent in her abusive relationship and what was shown on the page. To find a balance, I really try to listen to my gut and to what beta readers are telling me.I’ve got a couple of books that will be coming out in the next year or so that may dip a little deeper into the tough things, but I do hope that they still bring hope and joy to the people who read them.
What sort of reader would like your books?
Someone who loves a good romance story and enjoys diving a little deeper into real life things.
You can follow Taylor on Instagram @authortaylorepperson.
Sophie Toovey 