Debut Authors Week: Meet LaConnie Taylor-Jones

Last but certainly not least is an author whose novel is hot off the presses. Her novel When I’m With You will be released this month and I can’t wait to read it. The blurb promises lots of passion and emotions and just a really good read. So, it is my pleasure to welcome my soror, LaConnie Taylor-Jones to my blog. Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know a little bit more about you and your new novel.

1. So tell us a little bit about yourself. In addition to the standard biography, what’s one thing about you that most people would be surprised by?

Well, if you haven’t read my biography, I’m a native Memphian and a Health Educator Consultant by trade. Also, I’ve been an avid romance reader since I was a junior in college. In fact, I flunked my mid-term Organic Chemistry exam because I stayed up all night to finish reading a romance novel. However, what most people would be surprised to know is that with a husband and four kids, I can’t cook!!

2. Get out! Can’t cook a thing? I don’t believe it... LOL. Okay, tell us a little bit about your road to publication. What was it like getting the call? Holding your novel in your hands for the first time?

The road to publication was B-U-M-P-Y!!! It was long and tedious, but I never gave up on it!! I started writing When I’m With You in August 2003 and finally completed it in May 2005. However, getting agents interested in representing me was another challenge. I submitted the manuscript to sixty-eight agents. Eleven requested a partial, but afterwards, declined further interest. In November 2005, I gathered the courage to submit the manuscript directly to six publishing houses. By the spring 2006, three had requested the complete, and finally in October 2006, I got ‘THE CALL’ from Genesis Press. Holding that book in my hands for the first time was an awesome feeling!!! It was then that I realized how much had gone into turning a dream into reality.

3. Tell us a little bit about your novel, When I’m With You . What was your inspiration for writing it?



The story received 4-STARS from Romantic Times and deals with the damage caused when someone is in an abusive relationship, and what happens when the person suffering the abuse is too scared to tell their loved ones what’s going on. It also showcases the difficulties one faces when learning to trust after having suffered the shame, embarrassment, and betrayal during the relationship, and the importance of being able to forgive and forget while moving forward with your life. I wrote this story based on my experience as a health educator. Over the past eighteen years, I’ve taught health education, primarily to African American women in a community-based setting. Oftentimes, before I can lecture on the risk factors associated with chronic diseases disproportionately impacting African Americans, I have to deal with the social and economic deterrents these women face. Unfortunately, abusive relationships top the list. Also, one of the things about this story that the cover doesn’t tell you is the important lesson of why you should know your family history.

4. You already have a release date for your second novel, When A Man Loves A Woman . Can you tell us a little bit about it? Is it connected to the first novel? When can we expect it?

When A Man Loves A Woman will be released April 2008, and yes, it’s the sequel to When I’m With You . This is Vic and A.J.’s story and it deals with the ultimate betrayal in a woman’s life and how the man who loves her helps overcome it. Also, readers who I truly believe will enjoy the saga of the Baptiste Clan should hold on to their seats, because I’m working on Ray’s story, tentatively titled, If I Were Your Woman . There are also two other works-in-progress, too. With all of this, I plan to stay pretty busy in 2008.

5. Busy, indeed! Keep them coming. Okay, do you have any advice for other writers dreaming of their own debut?

The first and most important tip I can give anyone is to prepare. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways: reading books from authors published in the genre you’re writing in, taking courses or workshops, entering contests, and if possible, speaking with published authors in your targeted genre. Once you have a workable draft of your manuscript, join a critique group and above all, accept constructive feedback. All of these things will help in the end so that you’re providing a quality product for agents and editors to review. A couple of books I’d highly encourage writers to purchase are: Building Better Plots by Robert Kernen and Writing Novels that Sell by Jack Bickham.

Check out LaConnie’s awesome book trailer here:



You can find out more about LaConnie here:

http://www.laconnietaylorjones.com

http://www.myspace.com/laconnietaylorjones

Thanks to everyone who supported my first "Debut Authors Week" and checked out the interviews of all these exciting new authors!

much love and peace,

Gwyneth