Interview with suspense author Rhonda Parker Taylor

Today’s special guest is suspense author Rhonda Parker Taylor. We’re chatting about Crossroads.

Rhonda is doing a virtual book tour with RABT Book Tours, you can find other tour stop information below.

Bio:
Rhonda Parker Taylor is an American writer, entrepreneur, and academic researcher. Her new release is Crossroads, a suspense novel released in February 2023. Crossroads is endorsed by best-selling author J.J. Hebert and Golden Globe-nominated American Actress Mariel Hemingway. “Captivating crime novel that will keep you intrigued from start to finish.” J.J. Hebert. Crossroads is a powerful read. . . a complicated and intriguing journey.” Mariel Hemingway.

Rhonda Parker Taylor was born in Noblesville, Indiana, on October 18, 1964. She is the second youngest of five children born to Anita and William Parker, founders of a midwestern steel manufacturing company in Noblesville. Rhonda spent her childhood in their two-story home surrounded by cornfields and cows and attended Heritage Christian School in Indianapolis. After graduating from Heritage, she attended Bauder Fashion College in Arlington, Texas. After graduating from Bauder with a certificate in fashion buying, she returned to Indiana. Parker initially found work at Educational Financial Services in Indianapolis. Her friends and family suggested that she try her hand as an author. Rhonda took their advice and wrote her first book, Crossroads, in 2002. It took a decade for her to publish it due to her academic explorations. She attended the doctoral in business program at the University of Phoenix and received an MBA and a bachelor’s in science management from Indiana Wesleyan University.

Her writing ranges from educational to fiction. She is best known for her study on emotional intelligence and the multi-national leader, which she completed with her academic writing partner Joe Tseng-Gill and presented at the Union Global Compact Committee. She loves writing, consulting, and teaching. However, she has spent her business life encouraging others through career and academic development programs, including being a campus president for National College and founder of Intelligence Solutions. After years of assisting others in pursuing their dreams, Rhonda follows her passion for writing as she lives a peaceful life raising her three dogs and living with her husband, Dana.

Welcome, Rhonda. Please tell us a little bit about your new release.
Crossroads is a journey in the central character’s life, Paris Pennington. The setting is Indianapolis, Indiana, in the early 2000s. Indianapolis is the twelfth largest city in the United States and is best known as the home of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Where the Indy 500 Race is held annually. The downtown area is well organized, with many hotels and restaurants around all the major attractions. But crime is a social problem that does not lend itself to analyzing or treating a city’s face-lift for tourists. The main character, Paris Pennington, is a type-A, non-nonsense powerhouse in the financial community in Indianapolis. However, she is forced to fulfill her civic duty and participate in a murder trial as a juror in a case involving the death of a 15-year-old girl. The case and being nominated as jury foreman created a landslide of harrowing events. The first betrayal is the perceived mistake of a judge giving out the jury foreman’s name (Paris Pennington). The consequence of this event is that Paris Pennington’s life is turned upside down. She is introduced to the world of drama, illness, death, and betrayal, which her well-organized life is ill-prepared for, and her life begins to fall apart.

Excerpt from Crossroads:
Paris sat down and closed her eyes. The jury finds the defendant guilty. Signed, the foreman, Paris Pennington. Unable to sit, Paris sprang up and began to pace. She had enjoyed the responsibility of going through the laws to determine if the defendant could be found guilty of murder. But this was frightening. If somebody wanted to find her, all he needed was a phone book.

At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
My story of reading and writing is simple. It matched my maturity level. Looking back at family pictures, most had me reading a book, listening to music, or playing a musical instrument. However, I was never a “good student” in English, Reading, and Writing. It was quite the opposite. I struggled with the Victory Drill Book and McGuffey Readers. The phonetic concepts escaped me as a child.

I was drawn to books such as the Encyclopedias placed on my family’s books shelves with a colorful world to learn about or books such as Carmen, which was based on the  Famous Opera turned Graphic Novel. These books were about the real world and daring young women to live their lives in their way. In other words, these books opened my eyes to a new and exciting world and took me on a journey away from the small town of Noblesville.

Books and reading exposed me to a world where, with a glance into the pages, I could be another person or go on a voyage through time.

Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
I read anything I can get my hands on. The last books read are:

The Making of the West, People, and Cultures, Volume 2 by Hunt, Martin, Rosenwein, and Smith. The Making of the West is a history textbook that follows mostly European history Since 1500. I selected this book to understand more about the history of my ancestry to assist in expanding my knowledge of my ancestral past. It is also an excellent text to assist in learning the risks of not having religious, political, and economic tolerance. One can learn a lot about human behavior from history.

Another book I highly recommend that I recently read is When the Hart Speaks: Whimsy and Wisdom from the Little House on the Alley by Janet Hart Leonard, a local author and journalist from Noblesville, Indiana. This book and the author inspired me to dust off my manuscript and share it with the world. I learned from Janet’s book that one has to get out of own’s own way and stop holding oneself back out of fear of rejection. Janet’s memoir points out that God has a better story for your life. When the Hart Speaks shares personal stories encouraging one to remember that faith is not found in the good times but in the struggles.

Of course, I wouldn’t be a fiction reader/writer without sharing the most recent fiction and my go-to reading for entertainment: the master of suspense, Dean Koontz. The book I last read was Devoted. Nothing gets one’s heart pounding like Koontz. Kipp is a lovable character to which I became attached and left wanting more. When I need to feel good, l I read Danielle Steel.

What inspired you to write this book?
Crossroads is the product of passion, determination, and commitment. It took me a year to write and 20 years to introduce it to the world. My writing career started through academics first. I was a business student that had to author paper after paper. Then, I received my bachelor’s degree in business science management. Afterward, I earned my MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University. When attending the University of Phoenix for my doctorate in management, I wrote my first academic paper on emotional intelligence and, as a multi-national leader, presented it at the Union Global Compact Committee.

My fiction writing has been a love since 2002. I would write and save the manuscripts in a variety of ways. Yes, this manuscript was on a flop disc, and a printed copy was on mine. At first, it was more about authoring the stories than sharing them with others. I loved creating the character learning more about their motivations, and developing a story. One day, I was doing my file checks on the various fiction manuscripts. I lost one of the manuscripts to a corrupt disc. For days, I had images of having to retype the manuscript. Finally, I realized it was time to step out on faith and share the characters and stories with others, not just my writing partners. I did not want the stories lost; I had become attached to the stories, lessons learned, and characters. I did not want to be one of the people whose family found the manuscript in a closet. I had to share, which meant I had to make myself vulnerable to others.

Links:
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April 5 – HERE!

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April 7 – Sandra’s Book Club – Review

April 8 – Nana’s Book Reviews – Spotlight

April 10 – Jav Bond Reviews – Review

April 11 – Crossroad Reviews – Spotlight

April 12 – Novels Alive – Review

April 13 – Book Corner News and Reviews – Spotlight

April 14 – The Avid Reader – Interview

April 15 – Liliyana Shadowlyn – Spotlight

April 17 – Momma and Her Stories – Excerpt

April 18 – Book Junkiez – Spotlight

April 19 – My Reading Addiction – Interview

April 20 – Sapphyria’s Book Blog – Spotlight

April 21 – Momma Says to Read or Not to Read – Spotlight

April 22 – Matters That Count – Excerpt

April 23 – Just Another Reader – Review

April 24 – Paws. Read. Repeat – Review

April 25 – The Faerie Review – Spotlight

April 26 – Our Town Book Reviews –  Spotlight

April 27 – Buffy Kennedy – Excerpt

April 28 – RABT Reviews – Wrap Up

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