Tanya R. Taylor

I grew up on a tropical island in The Caribbean where there is a lot of sand, sea and sun. When I was just a child, there was a large, old, dilapidated house where no one lived for a very long time. It was surrounded by many fruit trees and my brother and I used to go onto the large property many times to pick the fruits off the trees. Looking at the house with the broken glass windows, doors that were off the hinges - sitting there all dusty and alone - peaked my senses. I was already writing stories from I was around seven years old or younger and seeing that house in such a condition gave me an idea for a really scary story. My book 'CORNELIUS' - released February 12, 2015 - was birthed from that experience.

My surroundings played a slight role in my writing, but having heightened sensitivity from very young, feeling people's emotions and sympathizing with them when there were issues, I think, made my job as a writer much easier than if I didn't have that sort of exposure.

I was between five and seven years old.