Indie Author Tuesdays: D. Chauncey Taylor

D. Chauncey Taylor

D.Chauncey Taylor is a Bronx native who currently resides in Baltimore, MD. Her first book, My Heart in Paper Form, which Taylor would describe as a peephole to who she is as a writer, became an Amazon Best Seller. Taylor says her ultimate goal in writing is and will always be to help others to be comfortable with showing up as their whole selves no matter where they are or who is around. Taylor believes it is important for everyone to be comfortable and confident in who they are and wishes to convey that message in all her writings. Although she enjoys writing, Taylor says she one day wishes to own her own publishing house as well as start a reading program for low-income families who desire to enhance their reading skills.

Obsession was… close to home. By the third poem, I felt as though, maybe this was not only Chauncey Taylor’s heart pouring out- but mine too.  I am a sucker for internal rhyming and romance, but when I read lines such as:

“What happens when the manifestation of your prayers for a life partner is the same sex as you? Do you still see it as a blessing? Or do you settle for something else because society says your love is wrong?”

 – Obsession, D.Taylor

in the first few poems, I was ready to dive in.

“I could keep pink lipstick on me if it meant that I could keep kissing her.” This mushy stuff is my weakness. Sigh.

Anyway.

Obsession is not the usual romance collection. Even the format is unorthodox. No  titles. NONE. I was a bit iffy about this because it’s out of the norm. However, I’m all for rebellion and people making their masterpiece their own. There are a plethora of one-liners that are satisfying:

“Masturbation is simply intimacy without the heartbreak”- Obsession, D. Taylor

 And, then, she came for us:

“We say we want someone to genuinely care about us but turn around and catch an attitude when they ask you a million questions or when they call/text you nonstop because you had a bad day. We scream we refuse to be someone’s secret but have an excuse every time we get invited somewhere. We want someone who can push us to our greatest potential but can’t handle them going off on you when you’re slacking. “ –Obsession, C.Taylor

First of all, this is true…but still.

Her vulnerability in this collection is comforting for someone like me. Although, mostly free verse, the unorthodox, Obsession, is free of intentional poetic forms and devices. I honestly don’t mind being that it’s literally chunks of my own damn diary.  Taylor’s transparency is inspiring and it allows readers to fess up to their own mess when it comes to love and lack thereof:

I broke my own heart when I walked out on you. –Obsession, D.Taylor

But she also teases readers with light details that obviously glosses hefty stories:

“If only I could rewind the hands of time and never read those messages I found. Who knew that behind those beautiful brown eyes was a person capable of telling so many lies”- Obsession, D.Taylor

Ummm, Ma’am. So you just finna leave us like that? What messages? Who said what?

Damn writers and their cliff hangers.

Interestingly enough, the shift after that poem is sharp. Love turns sour and the one-liners are more straight forward. Single stanzas are heavy lines from a darkened heart and a one-sided lover, for a brief moment. It continues on, but on a lighter note with soft imagery of heartache and reconciliation.

D. Chauncey Taylor E-Interview:

1. Are your poems dedicated to one person or a few people?

The poems are dedicated to a few people. They are also based on situations I have observed as well.  

2. How long did it take for you to complete this collection?

This collection took years. I started it in 2016, and it never felt complete until a few months ago. This collection even had a different name, Letters for Lovers. It wasn’t until I re-read the book for myself that I decided to change the name.

3. I noticed you didn’t title your poems or have a table of contents. Why is that?

I didn’t title the poems or create a table of contents because I wanted the book to feel like one continuous story.

4. You have a lot of passion in your poems. Do you feel poets need passion in order to create their best work?

I do believe poets need passion to create their best. Poems without passion are just words on the paper.

5. Let’s talk about your title. Obsession. What does it mean to you?

Obsession to me is being fully invested in one thing or person. It’s wanting to know every little detail. Needing to know everything or your own world will fall apart.

6. Where do your one-liners come from? Was it from personal journaling?

The one-liners come from random thoughts I would have throughout the day. Most of them come from when I’d sit in the park and just listen to music.

7. Do you believe people have “one true love”?

I do believe people have only one true love. I believe there a different loves for different period of your life, but only one stands through everything life might throw at you.

8. What’s the story behind your book cover?

The book cover is a visual interpretation of what I think obsession is. A person so determined to see that they would look through a peephole.

D. Chauncey Taylor is a bronx native who currently resides in Baltimore, MD. She picked up a notebook in 2009, and has been writing ever since. In September 2016, she published her first book, My Heart in Paper Form and became an Amazon Best Selling Author

Now available on Amazon!

Purchase your copy HERE