Please welcome, Janet Taylor-Perry to Five on Friday.

 

Janet Taylor-Perry, a native of Laurel, Mississippi, a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a BS in psychology, Belhaven University with a Master of Arts in teaching, and gifted certification from Mississippi College, is an author, editor, and educator in English, social studies, and gifted. She has taught 5th – 12th grades in a number of districts in the state. She currently teaches life skills in a variety of areas with Goodwill Industries of Mississippi.

Janet’s short pieces appeared in Letters from the Soul, 2002; Brick Streets Press: 2010 Winner’s Circle; and The Magnolia Quarterly, 2012 and 2013. She’s produced pieces that finished semi-finalist, short-list finalist, and finalist for The Pirates’ Alley Faulkner Wisdom Competition in 2012 and 2013. Memberships include Kappa Delta Epsilon, Red Dog Writers, Gulf Coast Writers’ Association, The Mississippi Writers Guild, and TheNextBigWriter.com.

Inspiration comes through life experiences. She’s the mother of five and an avid reader who loves anything old and historical from antique cars to old cemeteries. She’s on Facebook @ Author Janet Taylor-Perry.

The first installment of The Raiford Chronicles, Lucky Thirteen, can be found on Amazon for both Kindle and in paperback.

Now for the questions where we’ll learn more about Janet.

What are the top three things on your bucket list? And why?

A. A full year in Europe beginning with spending at least a week in a castle in Scotland or Ireland. Promote my work across Europe. I’m of Scotch-Irish descent. I’d like to visit my roots.
B. Travel across the US with stops in every state at one special site as well as its capital and have a book promotion at each place, definitely including the Grand Canyon. I’d like to see my own country first hand.
C. Have guided Walk-about in the Outback of Australia. Take it slow and easy! I can’t move really fast these days. I’ve just always wanted to visit Australia and see the places filmed in Crocodile Dundee & The Man from Snowy River.

Ann: Holy smokes, Janet! You better get started now. That’s a lot of traveling!!

Who would you choose to play the two lead roles in your book, if it was made into a movie?

For Wilted Magnolias:

April Chastain—Whoever this girl is https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323786274744/
Russell Dalton—Chris Pine, no doubt https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323779884899/
For the Raiford Chronicles:

Raiford—Henry Cavill He has the eyes! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323785409756/
Larkin—whoever this girl is— https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323785409900/
King Satin’s Realm:

Caitlin: Deborah Ann Wahl https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323785409869/
Aidan—This guy– https://www.pinterest.com/pin/89931323784522679

Ann: I always love when an author casts their stories. You went beyond and gave us Pinterest Pins! I love that!!

 What is one of your favorite quotes?

Id’ have to say what Larkin Sloan says in Lucky Thirteen: “Your luck is what you make it. Your life is what you make it. So, go out and make it count.”

Ann: Sometimes our characters give us a bit of wisdom!!

What is your favorite book and why?

I have more than one, but for this, I’ll choose The Robe by Lloyd C. Douglas because it depicts what might have happened to the centurion who won Jesus’s robe. I’ve always found that story fascinating.

Ann: Amen to that.

 If you could be a character from one of your books, who would it be and why?

Larkin Sloan Reynolds from The Raiford Chronicles because she is very much me. Like me, the character endured great struggles and survived. And, like me, she is an educator that touched the lives of her students and had life-long relationships with some. My one life-long relationship with a student would have to be with Christopher Chambers who designs all my book covers. I taught him journalism his 11th-grade year & I admire him for also overcoming obstacles.

Ann: Teachers have so many memories of past students, and I can relate. Having been a school secretary on a junior high campus I know each day brought new adventures!!!

  

http://www.janettaylorperry.com/

Lucky Thirteen http://amzn.to/1ld8grm

Twelve women are dead, and a thirteenth is missing. Detective Ray Reynolds races time to catch a killer. Nothing ties the victims together, except the way in which they died. What Ray discovers blows him away as the battle takes on a supernatural element. There’s just one small catch — evidence points to Ray as the murderer.
From a small town in Mississippi, Larkin Sloan is a dynamic young teacher in the equally small town of Eau Boueuse, Louisiana. Abducted, she foregoes common sense and rational behavior in order to stay alive and not become the thirteenth victim of a serial killer.

Semifinalist, Faulkner Wisdom Competition
Top 100 in Denmark
#9 on Amazon

Heartless http://amzn.to/1iWuYmP

From the author of the critically acclaimed Pirates’ Alley Faulkner Wisdom semi-finalist, Lucky Thirteen, comes the second book in The Raiford Chronicles.
Police Chief Ray Reynolds did not think there could be a more brutal, heartless killer than Latrice Descartes whom he had encountered fourteen years earlier. His thirteenth wedding anniversary dinner is interrupted by one of his detectives to tell him an old married acquaintance, who also happens to be a United States Senator, has been found murdered in the presence of a much younger woman and that both are missing their hearts.
Ray becomes embroiled in another murder mystery that touches even closer to him than the one involving Latrice Descartes.

#70 on Amazon

Broken http://goo.gl/6YTwyz

Police Chief Raiford Reynolds learns that true evil never dies until the end of time as he encounters a brutal, maniacal killer bent on revenge.
A number of police officers and FBI agents are assassinated by a skilled sniper who leaves no evidence. The first dead law enforcement officer is Ray’s own sister-in-law, and all the others were somehow instrumental in the capture and death of Latrice Descartes twenty years before any one of them was killed.
Once again, Ray finds his personal life and his professional life cannot be separated as his family become targets of a mad man.

Top 20, Faulkner Wisdom Competition

Whatever It Takes http://goo.gl/1eLv66

Detective Raiford Reynolds has always done whatever it takes to crack a case, but when the case involves hurting his family, and he is not the one even investigating, he changes his tune quickly. Suddenly, whatever it takes includes putting the life and well-being of his family and friends in danger, especially his headstrong youngest child, Cherie.
Ray must come to terms with the fact that he is growing older and many things are changing. He must learn that whatever it takes means letting go and not being the one in control of a situation.
Whatever It Takes makes a detour from tracking a crazed killer as in its three predecessors. This time the residence of Eau Boueuse, Louisiana, deal with an organization of neo-Nazis who will do whatever it takes to advance their warped agenda. Ray suspects that the Feds have an agent undercover within the group, but he has no clue how close his own family is tied to the operation.
Whatever It Takes is filled with intrigue heightened by forbidden romance. And once again, the underlying theme of faith in the worst circumstances encompasses the characters.

King Satin’s Realm http://goo.gl/wf7UbM

Alone, confused, desperate, Aidan O’Rourke never dreams that talking to old Diggory Danaher will take him on an adventure of a lifetime. After months of stories about a mythical island and his father, Aidan decides to find out for himself if his father is alive and living as a panther on the enchanted island.
Stowaway wives, a lost father, bewitched human beings, a wicked witch, pirates, and friendly dragons combine to draw Aidan into a web of intrigue of good versus evil as he becomes the champion of a land that only exceptional humans can reach. Aidan proves how exceptional he truly is through the power of faith and unconditional love.

Semifinalist, Faulkner Wisdom Competition

Wilted Magnolias https://goo.gl/2oJOjc

Not having seen each other in sixteen years, sparks fly immediately when April Chastain misrepresents herself and returns to her hometown of Magnolia Blossom, Mississippi, to work for Russell Dalton, a man she has adored since childhood. They find themselves caught up in a web of romance, mystery, and danger.
Left for dead at the age of six, April was miraculously spared by a man-size teddy bear, a gift from Russell. As clues about the murder of April’s parents trickle to light, evidence surfaces that points to trusted friends as possible murderers. Several other deaths and a high number of cancer patients are linked to suspected illegal dumping of toxic, water-soluble cadmium.
Through it all, the one constant is an inanimate teddy bear, which holds a secret. The world of investigative reporting proves to be a roller coaster of intrigue, secrets, and tumultuous relationships in Wilted Magnolias.

Finalist, Faulkner Wisdom Competion

Readers, I hope you’ll check out all of Janet’s books. She and I met via thenextbigwriter.com. Thank you, Janet, for taking part today and sharing your books with us.