We chat with author D.L. Taylor about her electric enemies-to-lovers romantic fantasy The Beasts We Bury, which sees the heir to the throne fall for a thief who plans to manipulate her into helping him steal from her father in an act of revenge.
Hi, D.L.! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hi there, and thank you for having me! Let’s see, I grew up in California but currently live outside Chicago with my husband and three kids. For several years, I was an attorney doing criminal defense and non-profit work. It was a busy time and I only had a couple, pre-dawn hours to myself every day, but I would spend them at a coffee shop, sipping hot chocolate and writing fantastical worlds. The Beasts We Bury is my debut, and it came directly out of those magical mornings. Also, as a fun fact, my hair has been every color of the rainbow and every natural color at least once.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Before I could even read! As a preschooler, I would sit down, draw a pile of pictures, and then tell my mom what captions to write beneath each one so that I could bind them all together into mini books. Before long, I even started signing my creations with a (very embarrassing, never to be revealed) author pseudonym. I believe my mom still has a couple of those budding stories tucked away somewhere.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: I have a vivid memory of reading The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in first grade, in the dead of night, hiding under my blankets with a flashlight so I wouldn’t get caught.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Probably Anne of Green Gables, because I wanted to use my own vivid imagination as proudly as Anne did
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Lately? The Stormlight Archives by Brandon Sanderson. I’m halfway through Wind and Truth, nobody spoil it.
Your debut novel, The Beasts We Bury, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Dark, emotional, tense, romantic, empowering
What can readers expect?
The Beasts We Bury centers around a dark magic system that serves as a metaphor for trauma. It features a girl raised as a weapon who finds the strength to claim peace, and a con man seeking vengeance who ends up falling for the mark. There’s lots of betrayal and high-stakes tension, but at the heart of it is a romance that’s grounded in accepting the other person for who they are, flaws and all, and helping them seek growth.
Where did the inspiration for The Beasts We Bury come from?
I was playing with the idea of taking a traditionally “good” magic, like summoning animals, and giving it a darker twist. Not just for the sake of a gritty reboot, but because a lot of times you look at a person and you see their strengths, but you don’t see the things that they had to go through to acquire those strengths. Or you see the front they put up, but that may not be their whole story. Mulling over those themes ultimately led me to Mance, a girl whose power was won in an awful, heart-wrenching way, but whose heart is softer than most would assume.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
Writing Mance herself was a really cathartic process for me. I think I worked through a lot of my own emotions as I was writing hers. Actually, in my original conception of this story, Mance was only a side character, and someone else was the protagonist. But as I brainstormed and drafted, she ended up pulling more and more of my attention until she basically WAS the story. And it might be a weird thing to say, but I’m proud of her for that.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
Absolutely. Writing itself is a challenge. This is not the first book I’ve written, but it was the first that I really couldn’t let go of. Still, when I started it five years ago, I knew that my skills were not yet up to the level of the story I wanted to tell. So I read all the craft books I could find, I took online writing courses, I listened to podcasts, I asked strangers on the internet for feedback. I even applied for a mentorship, and although I didn’t get it, I did manage to befriend several other people who applied. We formed a community that has been absolutely instrumental to my writing success, and I could not be more grateful to that group, several of whom already have or soon will be debuting alongside me!
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
Surreal. Life-changing. When I got the offer email from the woman who would eventually become my agent (the amazing Catherine Cho), I was in the middle of court, with several clients left on the docket. I managed to keep a professional face on as I handled each of their cases with the attention they deserved, but as soon as the court call was over, I sprinted to my friend’s office and broke down into happy sobs. Then just a few months later a very similar thing happened when I got my book deal. And I’ve had an incredible time since. I truly could not be more grateful for the opportunity given to me or for the absolutely fantastic people I have had the privilege to work with.
What’s next for you?
I’m thrilled to say that Mance’s story does not end here! The second half of the duology, entitled The Beasts We Raise, is coming out early next year, and writing it has been a true joy for me. My only hope is that readers have half as much fun reading it as I did writing it.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up in 2025?
There are quite a lot, honestly, but I’ll give you three: The Notorious Virtues by Alwyn Hamilton, Needy Little Things by Channelle Desamours, and Boys With Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell.
