Desires of the Heart Author Beverly Taylor

V. Richardson: Hi Beverly! Thank you for chatting with me today!

B. Taylor: Hi Vanessa. The pleasure is all mines.

V. Richardson: Please tell us a little about yourself?

B. Taylor: I was born and reared in the Midwest and attended Jacksonville Theological Seminary and received my Bachelor of Religious Arts in Christian Psychology. I am also the author of the teen novel, Foolish Virgin. I reside in metropolitan Atlanta Georgia where I am executive director of Chastity House, Chastity of Hope Family Services, and The ChasteKeepers program for teen girls.

V. Richardson: You have just released your latest book, Desires of the Heart. What is the synopsis of Desires of the Heart?

B. Taylor: The synopsis asks the question: What would you do if you were in jeopardy of losing the man you love to another woman?

Carson and Katharine O’Connor seem on the surface to be perfect people—good looking, successful and God-fearing, but no one could accuse them of being too perfect to be believable.

Katharine spends her life building a home and family until the day Carson leaves her and allows a voluptuous, cunning school counselor, Cindy Lomax, and her disturbed pre-teen daughter, Deanna, to move in with him on a platonic basis—or so he thinks. Katharine must find her way beyond the past and will stop at nothing to rebuild her marriage, to include having breast and buttock implants in order to compete with Cindy’s striking figure in winning her husband back.

When tragedy strikes, Carson realizes it was pure love that guided him to Katharine. Is it too late for Carson to rectify his mistake with her? Will Cindy’s vengeful tactics prevail? Will Deanna’s criminal intention manifest itself? Will Katharine find the strength to forgive, despite the fiery darts that have been thrown at her?

Desires of the Heart is a story of lost and found faith, learning to love yourself, how one man’s selfish decisions affect and endanger those around him, and a stunning glimpse into how man looks on outward appearance but God looks on the heart.

V. Richardson: What do you want readers to take away from this book?

B. Taylor: I would like for readers to be enlightened, inspired and entertained as well as educated that changing who you are on the outside does not remove who you are on the inside; in addition, to demonstrate how making selfish decisions can personally affect each member of the household in a detrimental way.

V. Richardson: What have you discovered about yourself on your journey to publication?

B. Taylor: That my skin was tougher than I thought (lol).

V. Richardson: There is always a story behind the glory. How do/did you handle rejection (s)?

B. Taylor: After I got over the initial disappointment, I picked myself up, brushed myself off and started all over again. Thanking God for everything—good and bad.

V. Richardson: You also write books under another pen name. Tell us about that, as I find the name quite fascinating.

B. Taylor: Yes. My Pseudonym (Beverly Rolyat), which is “Taylor” spelled backwards), is for a different Christian audience—Christians who are living their lives backwards. I’ve attempted to write stories that reflect the lives of carnal Christians.

I want them to see themselves through a looking glass (which are the characters portrayed in the stories) to show how they are living beneath their Godly privileges. These books contain explicit language, which is the language of the carnal-minded Christian. After seeing themselves through the lives of the characters, I am hoping that it will remove the film from their eyes and allow God back into their lives and to serve Him and only Him with all their heart, mind, soul and strength for the rest of their days.

V. Richardson: Fascinating! What advice would you offer to aspiring authors?

B. Taylor: I would tell aspiring writers to continue to pump out short stories—for short can grow into long, and never throw in the towel because the moment you do—you’re washed up. The race is not given to the swift neither the strong, but to the ones who endure until the end. Hang in there.

V. Richardson: Wonderful advice, Beverly! How can readers contact you?

B. Taylor: Readers can contact me via my website at: www.beverlytaylorbooks.com or my personal email at beverly.taylor@hotmail.com. I am also on social networks such as Goodreads and Shelfari.