Tell us a bit about yourself.
My name is Karen E. Taylor and I am a horror/paranormal author, with eight published novels to date and an eclectic assortment of short fiction which ranges from vampires to ghosts to telepathic, romantic dinosaurs. What can I say? I start out to write a story and, before I know what’s hit me, the main character turns spectral or grows fangs or wings.
In real life, I’m the mother of two sons and have been married for 37+ years. Born in Pittsburgh, PA, I graduated from Grove City College with a bachelor’s degree in English Literature and Communication Arts. I always wanted to write the Great American Novel, but fell in love with vampire, instead. I’ve lived in all sorts of places, from Pittsburgh, to Grove City, to Richmond, to Laurel. Most recently, I loved living in Los Angeles, but have now moved back to the east coast, specifically Northern Virginia.
I’m working on a few new projects, but I’m superstitious enough to not want to talk about them yet.
Tell us about your most recent book.
CELLAR isn’t really my latest release, but it’s the feature of the book tour, so we’ll talk about that. It’s a haunted house novel, featuring recovering alcoholic Laura Wagner. She’s a single mom, with two young daughters who live with their father. When she returns from rehab, she discovers that her house is downright creepy and it has nothing to do with drinking. Interestingly enough, it was the second novel I started writing after finishing what was supposed to be my first (and only) vampire novel. That novel, BLOOD SECRETS, turned into three books, then five books, and finally ended up as a seven book series. I didn’t get back to CELLAR until 10 years later.
Who is the villain or antagonist in your story and what is he/she like?
The villain in my story is the ghost. She is manipulative and deranged, trying to twist everyone who dares to enter her house into a creature like herself. Death and bringing death are what she thrives on.
What was the most difficult part of writing about this character?
She scared me, and was capable of really horrible deeds, alive and dead. It’s important to me as an author that I understand why my characters do what they do, and Aunt Dolly’s motivation was a killer, in more ways than one.
To you, how important is a good antagonist?
Without a good antagonist you don’t have an interesting book. The villain is equally as important as the hero, and just as crucial to telling a good story. In my opinion, they need to be as finely drawn and characterized as the other characters.
What is one of your favorite paranormal creatures and why?
I’m on a ghost kick right now, for a lot of reasons. Firstly, because I’m pretty sure we share our condo with one of the original owners. He didn’t want to move on, I guess, and we manage to coexist peacefully most of the time. Secondly, ghosts can be pretty much anything that you want them to be: they can be pure evil, or a guardian angel of sorts, or anywhere in between. Like vampires, you can get a lot of bang for your buck. And maybe I just like being scared or scaring others.
Excerpt from CELLAR:
The neighborhood girls formed a semi-circle around Lizzy. Thinking it was only the cold that made her shiver, she took a deep breath. This is a stupid game, she thought, I never should’ve said I’d play. But she knew she couldn’t back out now. Amanda, who’d been enjoying the other girls’ company, would never let her forget it.
“Go ahead, Lizzy.” Brittany gave her a little push forward so that Lizzy’s nose almost touched the sliding glass door.
Lizzy shut her eyes and began to count silently.
One, two, three, four…
The girls around her began to chant softly. “Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly…”
…twelve, thirteen, fourteen…
The girls’ voices grew louder and Lizzy felt her heart beat faster and faster. She wanted to stop this stupid game. She wanted to stop it now. But she kept her eyes closed tight.
“Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly, Aunt Dolly…”
…eighteen, nineteen, twenty!
Lizzy finished the count. She opened her eyes. And screamed.
Readers can find me at www.karenetaylor.com, @karenetaylor53 at Twitter, www.facebook.com/Karen-E-Taylor-Writer-of-Supernatural-Tales-125652237503799/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel, and www.amazon.com/-/e/B001HMLORI