By: Elena Howard
Caroline Taylor, an award-winning author known for her captivating mystery novels, takes a bold step into mainstream fiction with her latest work, Tough Love. In this deeply personal interview, Taylor delves into the inspirations behind her novel, particularly how a life-altering medical scare and reflections on grief influenced her writing journey. Set against the backdrop of the Great Recession, Tough Love explores themes of loss, family dysfunction, and personal growth through the lens of its protagonist, Lilac Larsen. Taylor shares how her diverse life experiences, from growing up in the Mountain West to serving in the Foreign Service, have shaped her storytelling. Join us as we explore the creative process, challenges, and insights that make Caroline Taylor’s writing both relatable and profound.
Lilac Larsen is a compelling character dealing with grief, family drama, and personal transformation. What inspired you to explore these themes, and how did you develop Lilac’s character through these challenges?
Caroline: I had just survived a medical scare involving my husband. It had us both talking about what would happen to me in the event of his death. Luckily, he survived, but those thoughts—how would a grieving widow get on with life?—inspired my first attempt at mainstream fiction. Lilac thinks life without Steven is not worth living. She almost commits suicide. I used Tulip’s arrival as a chance for Lilac to focus on the here and now, overcome her tendency to avoid conflict and learn to embrace the messiness of life with a person she thinks she despises.
The dynamic between Lilac and her half-sister Tulip seems to be a major source of tension in the story. How did you approach writing their relationship, and what does Tulip represent in Lilac’s journey?
Caroline: I thought about how I would react if a relative I didn’t like showed up on my doorstep and more or less made herself at home. If I didn’t have the gumption to throw her out—mostly because she is family—then what, beyond setting house rules, could I do to manage the situation without making things worse? These are the questions I asked myself as the story unfolded. Tulip represents a past that Lilac has managed to ignore—her father’s death, Tulip’s exposé of his supposed abuse, and Caitlin’s constant reminders of the death of Lilac’s own child, Ricky. Lilac tends to be too quick to judge Tulip. When she discovers the damning photos, though, she realizes that the lying publicity hound she thought she knew really was a victim of child abuse.
Set during the Great Recession, Tough Love intertwines personal struggles with a broader economic crisis. How did the recession shape the story, and what parallels do you see between that time and today’s world?
Caroline: The Great Recession mostly set the stage for Lilac to take in Tulip and Caitlin, especially when it became clear that Tulip had no money to stay elsewhere. But Lilac herself is feeling the pinch. She has not kept up maintenance of the house or her car, partly because of the grieving but also because she’s afraid she can’t afford it. The parallel that I see is the inflation worries besetting people today and the challenges of coping with higher prices.
Caitlin’s hospitalization becomes a pivotal moment in the novel. How does this event push Lilac to her breaking point, and what role does “tough love” play in her character’s growth?
Caroline: Caitlin’s hospitalization is the moment at which Lilac realizes that avoiding conflict is not advisable and that she must confront Tulip about her lack of parenting skills, tough though it may be. She can dish out advice in her weekly column, but she can’t seem to practice that sort of “tough love” on Tulip or on Max. It is at this point that she also realizes that she cares about Tulip and Max. She does not want these painful confrontations to disrupt a life she realizes may be quite challenging but also much more interesting.
Tough Love mixes elements of humor and hardship. How do you balance these contrasting tones in the story, and what do you hope readers take away from Lilac’s unique and often chaotic life?
Caroline: There has to be a rising and then a falling. The rising is when the tension ratchets up; the falling is when the characters can relax and take a breather. Sometimes, humor is necessary to ease the tension. What I hope readers take away is that you’ve got to roll with the punches. The old adage of making lemonade out of the lemons that life gives you also applies. Retreating into isolation is unhealthy and not helpful.
Your writing spans both fiction and nonfiction, with a particular focus on mysteries. How have your experiences growing up in the Mountain West and traveling abroad, including your time in the Foreign Service, influenced the themes and characters in your work?
Caroline: There’s a big, wide world out there where people live vastly different lives and hold widely different worldviews. It has taught me not to imagine that there is only one true path. Several experiences from childhood and in the Foreign Service show up in my short stories and in my novel Loose Ends.
You’ve received accolades like the Firebird Book Award for two of your novels; one was a Freddie Award finalist. How has the recognition shaped your career, and do you feel it has impacted your approach to writing?
Caroline: It is tremendously gratifying to learn that others, especially editors and publishers, appreciate my novels. The recognition has affected my approach to writing by encouraging me to persist despite the rejections and the struggle to get published.
As a former publications manager and editor for Humanities magazine, how did your editorial background influence your journey as a novelist? Did it provide any unique insights or challenges in transitioning to fiction writing?
Caroline: The great thing about starting out as an editor was understanding how the written word ends up on the page. (These were the days before e-readers.) I often had to tighten up a writer’s prose to make it fit the constraints dictated by the publication, and very often, I had to add a bit of color to otherwise drab prose to keep readers interested in the topic. Nonfiction mostly tells fiction shows. I had become very good at telling, so I decided it was time to learn how to show. It took quite a few years, including one rejection slip that said, “This reads more like an essay,” for the penny to drop.
You are a Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime member. How has being part of these communities supported your work as an author, and what role do you believe professional networks play in a writer’s success?
Caroline: Professional networks allow writers to share their experiences. Otherwise, some of us would continue to beat our heads against the wall and wonder why it continues to hurt.
Your career encompasses both short stories and full-length novels. What do you enjoy most about writing in these different formats, and do you approach the creative process differently for each?
Caroline: Actually, it’s the same. I get an idea: What if? And then I start writing. In novels, the protagonist has to transform in some meaningful way, even if it’s just solving the crime. In short stories, the prose is compacted, but there has to be a point (contrary to what one often sees in the New Yorker) at which the reader says, “Aha.”
Those interested can download the novel Tough Love on Amazon.
Published by: Khy Talara
