The authors of the magical Rituals and Runes Anthology (R&R) are thrilled to present you with our author interviews about the swoon-worthy books included in our box set.
Today, we are excited to present, J.E. Taylor who will talk about her novella, Jasmine!
Author: J.E. Taylor
Book: Jasmine, A fractured fairy tale.
R&R: Hi, Ms. Taylor. Thank you for joining us today. As your contribution to the Rituals and Runes Anthology, you’ve chosen to write Jasmine, A Fractured Fairytale, a story inspired by Arabian Nights.
What inspired you to choose this theme and what aspect of Arabian Nights did you base your story on?
Ms. Taylor: I started my fractured fairy tales four years ago and I originally was going to do eight – at least that is how many covers I ended up getting. Red, Cinder, Brave, Tangled, Frozen, Snow, Spindle and Belle.
And then my cover artist did a premade that sparked an Aladdin retelling in my head (inspired by Arabian Nights). But like some of the fairy tales, I spun it on its head and made my genie a female who fell in love with her master.
Each book has a theme of either Shifter or Magic. And now I have a total of ten because I also found a wonderful Hook cover that will be coming next year. It’s paranormal romance, so there are HFN or HEA endings, unlike some of my urban fantasy books which can be ambiguous.
R&R: Oooh, that sounds so juicy and fun. I know a lot of fans love a fairytale flipped in its head! And I love how you tied into our theme relating your story to both magic and breaking the rules.
Tell us something about Jasmine that isn’t in the blurb. Also, what genre is the book?
Ms. Taylor: Jasmine is cunning and smart and does not quite get a man who doesn’t make wishes out of selfish wants. That is what she is used to. So she doesn’t quite know what to think of Ali.
R&R: Awesome! Jasmine sounds intriguing and I can’t wait to find out what happens between her and Ali. I’d like to know more about Jasmine but I’ll make it challenging.
Describe her in only three words.
Ms. Taylor: Magical, beautiful, and smart!
R&R: Score one for the strong and intelligent female character. How about you tell us more about what makes your main characters tick?
Ms. Taylor: Jasmine must follow the rules set for genies or she will be demolished. Ali wants his kingdom restored to what it once was.
R&R: Your story sounds so exciting, like your characters get in some sticky situations, and have huge challenges ahead of them. I love all the mystery and big stakes. It makes me want to find out what happens.
How about a few questions about you. Do you listen to music when you write? If so, does your book have a play list?
Ms. Taylor: Not usually. Usually, my husband has sports on the television and I’m just typing away as he watches.
R&R: That’s funny! Well, we do what works.
What genres do you write?
Ms. Taylor: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Suspense, and Horror.
R&R: That’s a fantastic variety. Tell us, what books do you have coming out that are not involved in the anthology?
Ms. Taylor: My first book in my new Shades of Night Trilogy is coming out on April 5th. Wicked Heart is an urban fantasy about a vampire hunter who has a bad night that she cannot remember and must find out what happened before she becomes the hunted.
I also have another fractured fairy tale coming out in another #shiftersunleashed set – Belle is coming out in June in Shifters Ever After! This is a beauty and the beast retelling where Belle is the beast.
R&R: Exciting! You really give readers a lot to look forward to! Those sound fun and filled with mystery. Now for our fun bonus question. Tell the readers, would you rather be in a room full of snakes or spiders?
Ms. Taylor: Snakes. I’d befriend them all. And funny you should have snakes as an option – because there is a scene in Jasmine with a snake. 
Spiders – I’d need to burn down the entire house.
Thank you so much for joining us today. It was a pleasure having you with us and hearing about your wonderful projects.
Please enjoy the blurb and an awesome excerpt from Jasmine. You can also find out more about Ms. Taylor and where to find her!
Blurb:
There are three rules all genies must obey: No killing. No raising the dead. And above all else, never fall in love.
I have been granting wishes to the most deplorable of humans for thousands of years. So, when Prince Ali releases me back into the world, I’m not prepared for a selfless man who isn’t an absolute bastard like all the others before him.
His stepfather is another story. The new sultan carries out his rule with an iron fist. His return to barbarian ways leaves the kingdom cowering with fright, for the new sultan finds joy in screams of fear and pain.
When Ali comes to me with an impossible wish, I must decide whether to follow the rules, or break them and be banished to my lamp forever.
Excerpt:
He groaned and moved again. His hip rubbed the lamp with his motion.
I laughed at the irony. He hadn’t freed me on purpose. I drifted down and crossed my arms on the edge of the outcrop he laid on, mere inches from him.
“Psst,” I whispered to get his attention.
His head turned in my direction, and his eyes fluttered open for the briefest of seconds before his eyelids fell again. But it was enough time for me to see eyes of bright emerald under those dark lids. His profile revealed a beauty that men usually don’t carry. He was all high cheekbones and supple lips, with a crop of dark hair that hung over his forehead. His nose was neither too skinny nor too broad. His form was lithe but muscular, with broad shoulders that tapered to a thin waist and an ass right out of heaven’s mold.
He was perfection incarnate, and I sighed heavily, rustling his hair with my breath.
His eyes slowly opened and met mine. His eyebrow cocked and he timidly pushed himself onto his elbows.
“You are on a ledge,” I said in case he decided to roll to check out his surroundings.
“Are you an angel?” he asked in a groggy voice.
I let out a hearty laugh and raised myself up so I filled up the cavern above. Expanding enough to make his eyes as wide as the cave’s entry used to be.
He tracked my movement with something akin to awe filling his features, making his slack-jawed stare that much more amusing.
“I am a genie, and you have freed me from my prison. Therefore, I shall grant you three wishes.”
He rolled back, pressing my lamp into the dirt wall.
“Just don’t ruin my home, please.” I waved behind him.
“But I thought I gave the lamp to my stepfather.” His forehead creased in confusion.
I put my hand on a crumbling pillar next to me and used my magic to raise it as high as the one that had once held the decoy. With a wave of my hand, another imitation lamp appeared on the pedestal. “You mean this shiny piece of crap?”
He nodded and felt behind him, finally pulling my real lamp out. It was as black as night and his rubbing of the side revealed my golden seal embedded in the onyx container. He stared at it and slowly pushed himself into a sitting position so he could glance at his predicament. The shelf he sat on was not big enough for him to maneuver much, and it was a straight drop to the fiery pit below.
As if sensing a possible meal, the earth belched a fiery bubble.
Author Bio:
J.E. Taylor is a USA Today bestselling author, a publisher, an editor, a manuscript formatter, a mother, a wife, a business analyst, and a Supernatural fangirl, not necessarily in that order. She first sat down to seriously write in February of 2007 after her daughter asked:
“Mom, if you could do anything, what would you do?”
From that moment on, she hasn’t looked back.
In addition to being co-owner of Novel Concept Publishing, Ms. Taylor also moonlights as a Senior Editor of Allegory E-zine, an online venue for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, and co-hosts the popular YouTube talk show Spilling Ink.
She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and during the summer months enjoys her weekends on the shore in southern Maine.
Where To Find Her:
Website https://JETaylor75.com
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/JETaylor/
Facebook Reader Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/JETReaderClub
FB Profile: https://www.facebook.com/JETaylor75/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jtaylor8/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/J-E-Taylor/e/B003FER8M6
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3153969.J_E_Taylor
Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/j-e-taylor
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JETaylor75
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jetaylor75/
Blog: http://jetaylor75.blogspot.com/
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcZDfwKo5R-ARo7yjpk5DyA
TikTok: @jetaylor75
Get more magical & paranormal-themed stories like this in Rituals & Runes!
Universal: https://books2read.com/rituals
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3oz9aGJ
