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Indie Support Sunday: Taylor Epperson

While Taylor Epperson’s and I’ve been following each on Instagram for a while, I only read her debut late last year. But from the first page onwards, I was hooked onto Taylor’s writing style in The Luck of Finding You. I’m the kind of reader that likes open and closed door romances, so when you find one with the perfect amount of swoon and feels, everything else doesn’t matter. That’s exactly how I feel about Taylor’s book. I can’t wait to read the second one—The Rules of Mistletoe—because it has some of my favorite tropes.


That’s not all, Taylor’s third book (that is connected to the Nelson Sisters series) is out now—so make sure you pick up Begin Again. When she revealed the covers, I was absolutely in love.


While all of Taylor’s books are available in Kindle Unlimited, if you’re a fan of special edition covers, make sure you pick them up in paperbacks!


BEING AN AUTHOR

Who or what inspired you to write?

I fell in love with stories when I was young and have wanted to write my own since I was 11 or 12! 


What’s the best and worst part about being an indie author? 

The best part is writing stories and connecting with readers! I love doing this every day. The worst part is having to be in charge of all the things, all the time. 🙈 I struggle with that a lot. 


Why did you choose to self-publish instead of going the traditional route?

Because choosing to self-publish made me get serious about my writing. I was dragging my feet with a novel I’d been working on, because querying to agents felt so daunting. But for some reason, the moment I decided I was going to self-publish, my brain got into gear and I actually made writing and editing a priority. 


And, I also loved the idea of having more control over my schedule and everything else (even though some of that is the worst 😂)


When you’re not writing, what do you do to get the creative juices flowing?

I read a lot. I like to take walks in nature. I also play a lot of Animal Crossing, which is creative in a different way. 


If you were to recommend books to me (in any genre), what would they be?

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab 


What are your top 5 tips or pieces of advice for aspiring authors?

  1. Keep writing! 

  2. Follow other authors who inspire you and let their own story/journey inspire you. 

  3. Read good books. 

  4. Keep writing! 


ROMANCE AS A GENRE

Why did you choose romance as the genre to write in? What is your favorite thing about the genre?

I love love! And truly, I chose to write romance because romance novels always give me so much hope. There is a love story out there for everyone and I love that. 


If not romance/subgenres of romance, what genre would you like to write in?

Poetry!!


What are your most and least favorite tropes?

Favorite: friends to lovers, siblings best friend, only one bed, one of them has always loved the other 

Least favorite: enemies to lovers (don’t hate me booksta 🙈) 


What are some tropes you want to write in the future?

I would love to write a second chance romance. And I want to do a true friends to lovers, since I haven’t yet! 

And maybe someday I’ll write a hate to love, but we’ll see. 


What are some topics (sensitive and otherwise) that you think should exist more in romance?

I try to have a blend of real life hard stuff with the romance, because that’s what real life is. There is loss and grief and abuse and heartache and illness (physical, mental, and chronic) and I think those should be shown on the page. 


I live with anxiety and depression and I hope to add that to my future books, while also showing that anyone can find love. 


If you write closed door romance, why did you choose that and what are your favorite ways to build tension between the characters?

I choose to write closed door romance simply because that’s what I’m comfortable writing right now (even though I read both closed door and open door). But this is where I feel pushed in different ways to create that same tension that exists in open door romances, without showing what’s behind the door. I LOVE the tiny moments. The knee brushes and lingering glances. The small and big gestures as the characters slowly start to fall in love! 


YOUR BOOKS

What inspired your published stories? How and when did you come up with these stories and plots?

My first book was inspired by You’ve Got Mail, but where the characters had had a romantic past and then are thrown together again. 

My second book was inspired by my own Christmas traditions and I wanted to capture them in a romance! 


Can you briefly tell me about your books?

The Luck of Finding You follows Tally and Noah as they are forced to work together after not seeing each other for 5 years. They are also friends online, but they don’t know that, as they use different names online. 

The Rules of Mistletoe is a fake dating, holiday romance. Drew needs to get out of the state to avoid his brother and Holly’s dad mistakenly thinks that she and Drew are together, so they pretend they are. 


Do you already have a favorite character from the stories you’ve written?

Rosie (she’s in a future book) has been my favorite to write, possibly because so much of her shortcomings are things that I’ve learned how to overcome and I love seeing how change is possible! 


If you were to cast your book for a movie/television show, who would you cast in the lead roles?

For Drew I would cast Giacomo Gianniotti (Deluca in Grey’s Anatomy) and Zooey Deschanel for Holly because those were the characters I saw in my head at first when I wrote the first draft. But I don’t know who else for my other book(s) 😂


How much of yourself do you put into these characters?

I feel like I probably put bits of myself in all of my characters, but I also try to draw characteristics from other people to make the characters not all like me because that would be boring. 


What is a story/stories that you really want to tell?

I’ve got a lot of ideas in my brain right now, but I really want to write a small town romance series! 


Is there one common element that readers can find in all your stories?

There will probably always be something that will pull at your heartstrings, but there will also always be a happy ending.  


What’s next on the bookshelf for you? Anything you can tell us about a future project?

I’m currently drafting book four, which will be a summer novella—out in July—and editing a project in a new genre that will be coming out later this year! I am so excited for both.


When you write these stories, what are you hoping your readers will feel?

My goal is to leave readers feeling happy and hopeful. 


AUTHOR’S CHOICE


  • Paperbacks, hardbacks, ebooks or audiobooks

  • Contemporary, fantasy, historical or romantic suspense—contemporary or romantic suspense. Sometimes a little fantasy. 

  • Single or Dual POV—I LOVE BOTH! Don’t make me choose 

  • Standalones, series or standalones in a series—standalones or a series of standalones  

  • Open door, ajar door or closed door romances—any and all! Give me all the romance! 

  • Music and silence when writing

  • Plotter, pantser or plantser

  • Water, tea, coffee or….wine?

  • Cold or warm weather

  • Write better in the morning, afternoon or night?

  • Illustrated or photo cover?


Find Taylor on Instagram and TikTok. Sign up for her newsletter and check out her website as well! And there’s more! Taylor has a merch store on Bonfire as well as indie author resources on Etsy. If you want exclusive access to her content, you can also sign up for her! Patreon.

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