Liza Nash Taylor
Author Interview - Liza Nash Taylor
Author of Etiquette for Runaways
Author I draw inspiration from: If I can only choose one, then the late Charles Portis. In my humble opinion, TRUE GRIT is a masterpiece of American literature.
Author Interview - Liza Nash Taylor
Favorite place to read a book: Where I am at this moment: sitting in a rocking chair on the upstairs porch of my old farmhouse, in the company of two or three dogs, in springtime, with the scent of blooming viburnums wafting from the yard below.
Book character I’d like to be stuck in an elevator with: The narrator of Daphne Du Maurier’s REBECCA, because I might finally get to learn her name.
Author Interview - Liza Nash Taylor
The moment I knew I wanted to become an author: This is such a great question.
I’ve always been a voracious reader but I never considered writing anything creative until I was in my fifties. I started in fashion design in New York and then had a retail shop on Nantucket. When my daughter was young I worked as a photo stylist and designed a line of baby accessories made of recycled cashmere. When she started high school, all of a sudden, I had glorious chunks of time to claim as my own and I started looking for my next creative thing. I’m all about evolving as we move through life. So, at around age 53 I started taking literature courses. When the (young, smug) college counsellor looked at me condescendingly and asked, “Mrs. Taylor, do you want to take this course for credit, or would you rather just audit?” I got my back all up. Audit, my ass. Then and there, I decided I would show her, and get a degree in English. That pursuit led to a creative writing course. So to say I got a late start as a writer would be an understatement. I was 54 when my first piece was published and 56 when I started my MFA. I think that the moment I began to fill out the applications for MFA programs was the point of no return, because I was making a commitment to invest in myself, to really have a go at this writing thing.
Hardback, paperback, ebook or audiobook: Audio and hardback, with different titles going simultaneously.
The last book I read: ON THE ROAD, by Jack Kerouac was my last listen. Will Patton ROCKS the narration. I could listen to him read the phone book. Last hardback was DISAPPEARING EARTH by Julia Phillips.
Author Interview - Liza Nash Taylor
Pen & paper or computer: Computer.
Book character I think I’d be best friends with: Another good question. Since I’m fairly introverted, maybe Olive Kitteridge, because she wouldn’t just drop by, or want to have long chats on the telephone.
Author Interview - Liza Nash Taylor
If I wasn’t an author, I’d be a: aspiring author.
Favorite decade in fashion history: 1920s.
Place I’d most like to travel: Paris, always.
My signature drink: (Does answering this question honestly make me sound like a lush?)
Aperol Spritz (summer) Jack & Ginger (winter), Veuve Clicquot Champagne anytime, anywhere. I’m also working on a signature cocktail for my book launch. During prohibition folks started concocting cocktails that would mask the taste of corn liquor, so in my novel, which is set in 1924, they drink something called a Bitter Blow, which is shadblow berry cordial, moonshine, soda water, and bitters. A shadblow berry is like a cross between a blueberry and a currant, so I’m thinking of a cassis-infused Cosmopolitan, or something similar.
Favorite artist: I don’t think I could name one fave, but my favorite painting is of Joan of Arc (1879) by Jules Bastien-Lepage, and it hangs in the Metropolitan Museum. It’s huge, and luminous, and inspiring.
Number one on my bucket list: I’d love to spend month in a house on the French Riviera.
Anything else you'd like to add: Thank you, Ashley. I’m grateful for the interview opportunity!
Find more from the author:
Instagram- @lizanashtaylor
Facebook- Liza Nash Taylor Author Page
Twitter- @LizaNashTaylor
Pinterest- https://www.pinterest.com/lizanashtaylor/etiquette-for-runaways/
Author Interview - Liza Nash Taylor
