Get Lost with Skye Taylor Author of Falling for Zoe

Get Lost in a Story readers, today’s guest is the talented Skye Taylor who’s celebrating her newest release brought to you from Bell Bridge Books.  Please welcome Skye to Get Lost in a Story. 

 

FALLING FOR ZOE

Jake Cameron won't risk hurting his best friend by admitting he loves her. Little does he know . .  that's what hurts her the most.

Zoe Callahan, pregnant with the child her ex-boyfriend doesn't want, adores her ramshackle new home in the seaside town of Tide's Way, North Carolina. When she meets handsome Jake Cameron, her next-door neighbor who offers some fixer-upper help, her heart goes out to him instantly. He's a doting dad to three daughters and the kind caretaker to a mom-in-law with Alzheimer's.

Jake is equally taken with Zoe. But Jake, a contractor and volunteer firefighter from a close-knit family of brothers and a sister, won't risk a romance that could disrupt his family after his ex-wife nearly destroyed it.

Despite Jake's efforts to hide his feelings, he and Zoe quickly form an unbreakable bond. Zoe discovers love hasn't given up on her, even if the father of her unborn child did. Now she just needs to figure out why Jake is so determined not to let the heady attraction that sizzles between them turn into something more than friendship.

When disaster strikes Jake is Zoe's rescuer. He already has her heart, but now, in spite of the rift that has come between them and the haunting nightmare from Jake’s past, Zoe must trust him with her life and the life of her baby. And Jake must trust himself.

DONNELL:  Welcome, Skye.  Well, who can resist that blurb?  Falling for Zoe sounds like a heartbreaker, happily ever after rolled into one.  What, if anything, inspired this story?

 SKYE: Many romances feature heroines and heroes who have had bad things happen to them through no fault of their own and they have to overcome adversity to win love and a happy ever after. But I wanted to write a story where my hero and heroine had both made mistakes that led to the problems they now faced. I wanted them to learn from those mistakes and face the future with hope and optimism.

DONNELL: Jake sounds like he’s one perfect protagonist.  Does he have any flaws?  How about Zoe?  What characteristics make these two perfect for one another? 

SKYE: Jake’s parents did their best not to spoil the baby of the family, but his older siblings did it for them. Jake’s childhood was happy and carefree, and it took some bad choices and serious mistakes before he grew up and took responsibility for himself and those he loved. Zoe, on the other hand spent her growing up years being the caretaker for her younger siblings and never quite believing she deserved to make choices that were for herself and her own happiness. They are good for each other because Zoe admires the man Jake has become and gives him faith in himself and his worth as a man. And because of Jake, Zoe finds the confidence to reach for the thing her heart wants most.

DONNELL:  North Carolina.  I had the opportunity to travel there last year.  Beautiful place.  Is that home?  Why that setting when you live in Florida?

SKYE: I’m a transplanted Yankee. I grew up in New England and lived in eight different states as an adult, including for a very short while, North Carolina. But I was back in Maine when I joined the Peace Corps in 2002 and ended up spending two fantastic years in the South Pacific. After returning to Maine, I discovered I no longer had the heart to cope with endless winter and cold. Four years later found me in St Augustine Florida, a wonderful little city filled with history, lined with gorgeous beaches and so much more. I love it here. But North Carolina is a charming, beautiful state and because the ocean calls to me everywhere I’ve lived, coastal NC became the setting for my series. Because at least three of the main characters in this series are connected with the Marine Corps, Tide’s Way was set in the area south of Camp Lejeune.

DONNELL:  I think I know the answer to this.  But do you prefer mountains or oceans?

SKYE: Mountains are beautiful to look at, but the sea calls to my soul. I love falling asleep to the sound of the waves breaking on the shore and the scent of salt in the air. I love watching the sun and the moon rise over the Atlantic and sunsets reflected in the Intracoastal Waterway are spectacular. And I also love walking, especially walking on the beach, splashing barefoot in the sea.

DONNELL:  What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned while researching a book?

SKYE: Although The Camerons of Tide’s Way is a contemporary series, I also love writing historical romances and I’m especially taken with the idea of time travel into the past. Both have led me to a wonderful new appreciation of history. Probably the most interesting thing I learned is that the islands along the coast of Maine had many well-established communities of Europeans catching and salting fish, trading for fur with the natives and shipping both to Europe long before either Jamestown or Plymouth came to be.

DONNELL:  Do you have any hobbies?

SKYE: Sewing and historical leatherwork, beach combing, and travel top the list, but I sometimes spend time dressing out in historical garb and participating in re-enactment activities. And of course reading. My to-be-read pile threatens to take over the house, and there’s nothing more pleasant than curling up with a great book.

DONNELL:  What’s the most unusual thing you have in your closet?

SKYE: That would have to be the clothing that a Spanish lady living in Saint Augustine in 1940 would find perfectly normal along with a very versatile knife she would have carried in a sheath at her waist.

DONNELL:  I see you volunteered for the Peace Corps and are a world traveler, and this after all your kids were grown.  Did you always have an adventurous spirit?

SKYE: Looking back over my life, I’d have to say yes. My mother always wondered where I got the courage to do things like jump out of airplanes and join the Peace Corps well after my 50^th birthday. But for me, it was always about the sheer enjoyment of adventure, of trying new things, going to new places, and meeting new people.

DONNELL:  You’ve been asked to attach a label (one to three words) to sum up your story to the reader – what are they?

 

SKYE: Believe in yourself.

 

Skye, thank you for being our guest today.  Now it’s your turn.  Time to ask readers a question. 

 

I’m a person who’s all about adventure, and I love hearing other people’s stories so --  “What’s the most interesting thing you’ve done in your life or the most interesting place you’ve been? And why?” The three most adventurous answers will get a free copy of Falling for Zoe. (Warning – great adventures might find their way into a future novel with the names changed of course.)

 

Contact Links and Buy information

 Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JGAHJDG/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_tmb

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/falling-for-zoe-skye-taylor/1119109341?ean=9781611944440

Email: Skye@skye-writer.com

My website: www.skye-writer.com

FB: http://www.facebook.com/skyewriter22

 

Bio:

 

Skye Taylor lives in a bungalow on a barrier island in Florida where she divides her time between writing novels, walking the beach, and trying to keep her to-be-read pile from taking over the house. She considers life an adventure and after all of her kids were out on their own, she spent two years in the South Pacific with the Peace Corps (2002-2004). She's jumped out of perfectly good airplanes and earned a basic sky diving license. She loves to travel and has visited twenty-eight states (lived in eight) and fifteen countries on four continents and the South Pacific. Her bucket list includes at least that many more places to see. Having been born and lived most of her life in New England where her children grew up, she is now a transplanted Yankee soaking up the sun, warmth and history of St. Augustine. She has five grown children and fourteen grandchildren. She's a member of Florida Writer's Asssociation,  RWA,  and Ancient City Romance Authors where she has served as treasurer, and conference chair and is currently secretary. Check out her website at: www.skye-writer.com.

 

Her novels include: WHATEVER IT TAKES (2012),  FALLING FOR ZOE, from Bell Bridge Books (April 2014) - the first in the series, The Camerons of Tide's Way. LOVING MEG is book #2 (2015). Previously published essays on her experiences in the Peace Corps can be found on her website.