Interview with Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Jennifer Hudson Taylor is a member of Colonial American Christian Writers and a contributor on Colonial Quills.  She has just released her newest book - Highland Sanctuary.

Published by: Abingdon Press

Date: Oct 2011

Jennifer Hudson Taylor is also the author of Highland Blessings (Abingdon Press, 2010).  Her website is http://www.jenniferhudsontaylor.com

Jennifer, what got you interested in the colonial time period?

I grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina where one of the great battles of the Revolutionary War occurred between the British and the colonials. (http://www.nps.gov/guco/index.htm) As a result, my hometown is actually named after the colonial General in that battle, Nathanael Greene who fought Lord Cornwallis. For as long as I can remember, my dad took us out to the Guilford Battleground Park for their annual re-enactments. Imagine my excitement when as an adult I began researching my family history and discovered we had ancestors who fought in the Revolutionary War, as well as Quaker ancestors who lived right there where they were fighting on their land and they cared for both the British and the colonials and buried them together. Yes, there will be another story from my family history coming—I can feel it!

When my dad talked about the history of our country, his voice was so animated it became contagious for me. He spoke about it in a way that brought patriotism to my heart and a spirit of pride for my country and how much our ancestors must of sacrificed for us to have what we have today. I’m very grateful to my dad for that.

You have some upcoming releases set during colonial times, besides this new release set in the 15^th century. Can you tell us about them?

I have some colonial works coming out -  a novella entitled “Highland Crossings” in the spring and another 3-book series I’m working on which won’t release until 2013.

Note: Jennifer is also an author in this 19th century Spring 2012 release:

Do you have a favorite colonial place you like to visit and why?

Yes, so many! In my home state of North Carolina, I love to visit Old Salem, (www.oldsalem.org) the Moravian colonial village that is a living re-enactment year round. My favorite time of the year to visit is in the fall when all the leaves are changing and they have lots of activities going on. I enjoy their colonial shops, museums, their tavern, their book store, and especially their bakery, which still bakes things in their old-fashioned colonial oven. You can watch them do this and buy what they make. Everything tastes so good, their breads, cookies, cakes. Their tavern has excellent food as well.


What other colonial places are there in your state?

I live in North Carolina so as one of the original 13 colonies, our state abounds in colonial history. In addition to Old Salem and Guilford Battleground Park, we have New Bern with the Tryon Palace in New Bern, the first capital of our state and where the governor lived. (http://www.newbern.com/tryon/)  We have several surviving plantations. If you’re interested in some of these plantations, I’ve written about them here: http://jenniferswriting.blogspot.com/p/historical-research-tidbits.html

Giveaway: Leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Jennifer’s new release Highland Sanctuary, which I am reading and really enjoying!  You can choose Kindle or paperback.