Character Coffee Chat with Taylor Bishop nka Rhoades
Welcome to the next installment of the Character Coffee Chat series!
Readers immerse themselves in books they enjoy, especially when they can relate to the characters as if they are real people. Friends you can turn to, family you spend special moments with and even those characters you love to hate. Character Coffee Chats offer a little extra time with some of the characters readers have enjoyed meeting or getting to know in the Jorja Matthew mystery series. For those who haven’t yet read the series:
BE MINDFUL some coffee chats might offer spoilers!
For those who have kept up with the series since the beginning, here’s your chance to spend extra time with each character, gain insight about recent events in the novels and learn more details about their backstory. Now, grab a cup of coffee or other hot drink of your choice and let’s get started!
Today’s coffee chat will be with Taylor Rhoades formerly known as Taylor Bishop, from the Jorja Matthews mystery series.
Let’s begin with Taylor telling us a little about herself and how she knows Jorja…
Well, until recently my name was Taylor Bishop but I recently got married and now my last name is Rhoades. I manage the only bookstore café in Tenino with Jorja, who is my best friend, and we’ve been running the store for almost a year and a half. I also help Dylan, my husband—I can never get tired of saying that!—in the mornings or afternoons at his bakery when he needs extra help.
How long have you known Jorja?
Oh…she and I met down in Vancouver years ago. I turned 30 last year so we’ve known each other for over ten years. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long! I was attending night classes and met Jorja at a school event during the spring of my first year and we immediately became friends.
Did you decide to move to Tenino when Jorja did?
Yeah, not long after anyway. She inherited her family home and decided to open the bookstore, which was a big deal because change wasn’t something Jorja usually ran toward. When she asked if I would help her manage the store, I didn’t hesitate! My life in Vancouver was at a standstill anyway. My degree didn’t get me anywhere and I was working at a coffee shop to pay the rent. I figured it would be much more fun to work at a coffee shop with Jorja instead. And then after we opened the store she decided to become a private investigator too.
The changes in her life since moving here have been pretty incredible. Before we moved here, she had a degree but was working for someone else, didn’t have as much contact with her parents as she would have liked and had no interest in dating anyone. Now she’s working for herself, running two businesses, her mom is our bookkeeper so she sees her parents more often, she’s discovered and gotten to know additional family members and she’s had some romantic prospects. Overall, this move was a great choice for both of us!
You mentioned romantic prospects for Jorja…
Yes, at least two for sure. First, there’s her sweetheart from high school, Brad Dawson. He coaches the high school football team and he’s one of those guys who can be friends with just about everyone. It’s hard not to like him. I mean, he’s good looking and has a great sense of humor. He also adores Jorja. Sometimes, I think they might rekindle the flame, if she’d let it happen, but for now they have a pretty close friendship, which is a great start for any relationship.
And then second, there’s Ethan Fritz, one of our town’s local law enforcement officers. Brad is tall, muscular and good looking, with blue eyes and a constant smile. Fritz, as he goes by, is also tall and muscular but he has dark features, with dark brown eyes and hair, and he’s more serious. A lot more serious. He and Jorja clash sometimes because he doesn’t like her getting involved with some of the cases she takes on, but I know he’s reacting the way he does because he cares. Jorja’s stubborn though, and determined, so Fritz has his work cut out for him if he thinks he can tell her what to do, especially if she’s trying to help someone she thinks has gotten a raw deal.
What about your family? Are they in Vancouver and do you get to visit with them often?
I’m actually from Portland and…no, I don’t visit my family and they don’t visit me. Jorja and her parents are really the only family I care to spend time with.
Didn’t your family come up for the wedding?
No, they didn’t make it to the wedding because they weren’t invited. I’d rather not talk about it any further than that. Jorja didn’t understand when I made the decision not to invite my family to the wedding but it’s not something I like to talk about. Sometimes, the family you were born in to isn’t the family you decide to spend your most important days with.
Many would probably agree. Moving on, as you mentioned Jorja is also a private investigator and works cases in addition to running the bookstore. Weren’t you originally going to assist and also work as a private investigator?
It started out that way. It was fun working with Jorja on cases but then, I met Dylan and things got serious a lot quicker than any of us expected. Between working at the bookstore, helping Dylan at the bakery and keeping up with the bookstore blog and other projects Jorja and I need to stay on top of, I really had no time to try to take on cases on the side. I don’t mind helping Jorja, but to take on my own caseload? I didn’t have the time or the desire. I love the bookstore and would rather help Jorja make it a successful business while I help Dylan with the bakery. It’s the best of both worlds for me!
Even if you aren’t investigating, you have been involved with at least one of Jorja’s cases in more ways than you intended, haven’t you?
That’s an understatement! The first time I experienced real fear was when I found Jorja knocked out in our home by a suspect after she’d discovered the truth about a cold case murder. I was so afraid for her!
And then there was the case where our friend was attacked in her home. Jorja and I found her on her kitchen floor after she’d been hit over the head. Then Jorja got caught up trying to help our friend, not only with the assault but also with a legal case, while we were trying to plan my wedding, so there was a lot going on. And as if that wasn’t enough, I had a new friend that caused some conflict between me and Jorja. Jorja always seemed too busy to talk about my wedding prep so I enjoyed having someone to hang out with who I could talk to. Problem is, we didn’t know my new friend was hiding a big secret! You just never know with people anymore and I’m glad Jorja is the one constant in my life that I can truly rely on.
And on a funny note, even my cat, Bella, has gotten involved with at least one case. She was sneaking out of the house and getting into other homes and brought an item home that turned out to be pretty important for a case Jorja was working on!
So you don’t regret your move to Tenino?
Not at all! I manage a business with my best friend, I met Dylan and now I’m happily married and I enjoy spending my time between the bookstore and Dylan’s bakery. I love this town and I’ve met so many incredible people and made new friends.
I love what our bookstore has offered to everyone…it’s a place where anyone can stop by, grab their favorite drink and sweets we always have on hand from Dylan’s bakery, sit and read a book or chat with a friend and feel completely comfortable during their time with us. We have book club meetings and holiday gatherings, we share a blog with our readers, we open the store for other groups to hold meetings, grade school classes visit for reading hours, and we love taking part in community events when given the chance. It really has been a great place to live and moving here when Jorja asked me to was the best decision I’ve ever made—besides agreeing to marry Dylan!
We’ve hit the allotted time for our coffee chat, so we’ll end the conversation here. Taylor may come back another time, but it could be awhile so if you have a question specifically for her, please note it down in the comments and she’ll reply to best of her ability.
I hope you enjoyed this Character Coffee Chat and that you’ll check back next month for the next chat with another character from the Jorja Matthew mystery series!
