Q & A With Caroline Taylor Author of The Typist

1.     Has this story been floating around in your head for a while, or was it a more recent development? Actually, this is a complete rewrite of something I started years ago, featuring the same lead character, only she lived in a small Midwest town and the only crime was some stolen items and . . . yawn. So I kept the characters’ names, changed the venue to Washington, and made it about murder and spying during the Cold War.

2.     In what ways do your characters manifest the urban-cultural divide? Here’s just one example: Judah Lundquist is an upright, uptight Midwesterner with a strict religious upbringing; whereas, her friend Nancy Pinkerton is a younger, more cosmopolitan woman from a less sheltered background. Judah has a strong sense of right and wrong, and yet things in Washington are much more fluid.    

3.     Why did you decide on a 1960’s setting? It had to be during the Cold War, and the mid-1960s seemed just about right for something that was fought mostly in the shadows and yet loomed large in people’s lives.

4.     Having lived in Washington D.C., what past experiences of yours play a role in this novel? Other than my familiarity with the area, in one of my very first jobs, I was required to type insurance policies that could not have any errors or erasures. 

5.     Are there any similarities between Judah and the characters in any of your previous books? No. Judah has a strong religious background, even though she was a child thief. None of the other characters in my previous books hail from the Midwest

6.     What advice do you have for aspiring writers? Understand that rejection does not mean you’re no good. Rejection simply means that the person doesn’t want your story and that it could be because of personal prejudices, the current market, competing stories, or even personal or work issues that make rejecting a piece easier than taking it up. Learn from rejection on those rare occasions when someone gives feedback. But, also, look at that feedback with a critical eye

7.     Do you have a method for tackling writer’s block? If I can’t think of what to write, I go for a walk, take up some household task that involves physical rather than mental labor, or, when available, work on a freelance editing assignment—anything that gives the creative side of my brain a rest.

8.     What’s next for you? I am working on two novels, a mystery with a theme of human trafficking and a mainstream novel with a theme of dealing with loss of loved ones.

This book may have been received free of charge from a publisher or a publicist. That will NEVER have a bearing on my recommendations.