Welcome to our stop on the Sparks Of Light tour for Janet B. Taylor. This tour is hosted by Rockstar Book Tours.
Author: Janet B. Taylor
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Released: August 1 2017
Review Source: Houghton Mifflin
For the first time in her life, Hope Walton has friends . . . and a (maybe) boyfriend. She’s a Viator, a member of a long line of time-traveling ancestors. When the Viators learn of a plan to steal a dangerous device from the inventor Nikola Tesla, only a race into the past can save the natural timeline from utter destruction. Navigating the glitterati of The Gilded Age in 1895 New York City, Hope and her crew will discover that high society can be as deadly as it is beautiful.
• What are some quirks you have that get you in the mind set for writing?
o Well, I guess my biggest quirk is that I do my best writing at the ‘buttcrack’ of dawn. I generally get up around 3am, choke down a cup of coffee, and just start rolling. That’s just when my mind is alive and clicking. (Of course, I’m ready for bed at 8pm, like an eighty-year old….) Don’t worry, though. On the weekends, I relax, and don’t get up till around 4:30!!
• What were your biggest challenges in writing Sparks Of Light?
o I think my biggest challenges for Sparks was making sure all the threads I started in ‘Into The Dim’ carried through in ‘Sparks.’
o That, and forcing myself off Pinterest, where I would spend hours gazing at all the gorgeous Victorian dresses. OHHH… those gowns!
• Were any of the characters inspired by people in real life?
o All of the historical characters we meet in Sparks Of Light were real people. JJ Astor. William K Vanderbilt. And, of course, the fascinating Nikola Tesla. o But the person who inspired me most was Consuelo Vanderbilt. She was eighteen in 1895, and was married off against her wishes to the Duke of Marlborough, when she was in love with another young man. Her mother, Alva Vanderbilt, was a tyrant, who constantly abused “Connie”—beatings, isolation, and body-shaming. Alva forced her daughter into near-starvation to ‘keep her figure.’
o The marriage with Marlborough lasted twenty-two years, though Consuelo was unhappy the entire time. Besides being incredibly beautiful, she was also kind, progressive, and worked all her life to help underprivileged women and children.
o I’ve tucked back plans to write an entire novel about her one day.
• What is your favorite scene in Sparks Of Light?
o Wow! That’s always a difficult question! But I think I’d have to say the scene where Hope is in the Victorian insane asylum, strapped to a cold surgical table, as the doctor prepares to perform a lobotomy on her.
o The HARDEST to write was near the end. And I won’t tell you what happens, but I WILL tell you I was bawling so hard while writing it, my son saw me and ran to get my husband, telling him, “Come quick! Something’s wrong with Mom!!”
• Do you incorporate yourself into your characters? If so which character are you most like?
o I think every writer puts a little bit of herself into all her primary characters. In many ways, I’m like Hope—just not the good parts. I don’t have her brains, but I AM clumsy as heck. I’m always covered in mysterious bruises, and if there’s a grain of sand on the sidewalk…I’ll trip over it. As for personality, I’m a lot more like Phoebe. Hippity, hoppitydisgustingly cheerful most of the time!
• What is an unknown fact about Sparks Of Light?
o There was a really funny scene, early on in the editing process that involved Mark Twain, electricity, and a pair of ruined white pants. Mark Twain and Nikola Tesla were real life bff’s! And the story is a true one that my editor loved, but thought didn’t go with the ‘tone,’ really well. It really happened, though…..Look it up under, “Nikola Tesla makes Mark Twain poop his pants!”
• Describe your book in 5 words.
o Darker
o Friendship
o Victorian Glamour (can I count that as one?)
o Racism
o Loyalty
The 2013 winner of the coveted #PitchWars, Janet B Taylor, has four years' experience writing web content for a major television network fan site (CBS) that garners over a hundred thousand hits a day. Janet travels extensively to those places where her novels are set, often roaming around at night to commune with the famous historical figures about which she loves to write. She is a member of several writing organizations, including the SCBWI and the Historical Novel Society, and lives in a tiny town in Arkansas with her family.
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Tour Schedule: Week One:
7/24/2017- a GREAT read- Review
7/25/2017- Lisa Loves Literature- Review
7/26/2017- YA and Wine- Guest Post
7/27/2017- Ex Libris- Review
7/28/2017- Once Upon A Twilight- Interview
Week Two:
7/31/2017- Seeing Double In Neverland- Interview
8/1/2017- Adventures of a Book Junkie- Interview
8/2/2017- History from a Woman's Perspective- Review
8/3/2017- Two Chicks on Books- Interview
8/4/2017- The Bucket List- Review
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Not only does this take place in my fav era, I love time travel novels!
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