Sandra Tayler (born 1973) is an American short story and children's book writer and blogger. She edits, formats, and publishes her husband

Howard Tayler Howard V. Tayler (born February 29, 1968 in Florida) is the creator of the webcomic ''Schlock Mercenary''. He worked as a volunteer missionary for the LDS Church, then graduated from Brigham Young University. Using his degree in music compositi ...

's ''

Schlock Mercenary ''Schlock Mercenary'' is a comedic webcomic written and drawn by Howard Tayler. It follows the tribulations of a star-travelling mercenary company in a satiric, mildly dystopian 31st-century space opera setting. After its debut on June 12, 2000 ...

'' comic compilations and related works. She has published science fiction and fantasy short stories, essays on parenting and mental illness, and has presented at conventions on writing and geek parenting. Her blog, ''One Cobble at a Time'', received an

award An award, sometimes called a distinction, is something given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration. An awar ...

in 2009 from the

Association for Mormon Letters The Association for Mormon Letters (AML) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1976 to "foster scholarly and creative work in Mormon letters and to promote fellowship among scholars and writers of Mormon literature." Other stated purposes have inc ...

Biography

Sandra Owens was born 1973. She married

in 1993 and they are the parents of four children. The writer Nancy Fulda is her sister.

Career

Tayler began blogging to "rediscover who I was when I wasn't Mom." Her blog entries received the

award for online writing in 2009. She published selections from her 2011 blog entries in a compilation entitled ''Cobble Stones: Year 2011''. Her fantasy short story, "Immigrant", was published in ''Ages of Wonder'', an anthology from Daw Books edited by Julie E. Czerneda and Rob St. Martin. She edited the 2009

roleplaying game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal ac ...

book, '' XDM: X-Treme Dungeon Mastery'', written by Tracy and Curtis Hickman and illustrated by her husband, Howard. Sandra felt inspired to write ''Hold on To Your Horses'' and ''The Strength of Wild Horses'' to help her daughter "visualize and control her impulsive ideas." Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of ''The Horn Book'', said ''Strength'' was "purposive but lightened with humor." Two of Tayler's essays have been featured on ''The Mighty'', a website that spotlights experiences with mental health issues. Tayler has presented at many conventions. She moderated a panel on geeky parenting at the 2014 Salt Lake Comic Con. She was a panelist at the 2016 Salt Lake ComiCon FanXperience about how to share and moderate media consumption. At the

Gen Con Gen Con is the largest tabletop game convention in North America by both attendance and number of events. It features traditional pen-and-paper, board, and card games, including role-playing games, miniatures wargames, live action role-playin ...

Writer's Symposium in 2016, she presented on self-publishing, writing author bios, how to avoid writer's block, and how to support a creative lifestyle. In a presentation at

Life, the Universe, & Everything ''Life, the Universe, & Everything: The Marion K. "Doc" Smith Symposium on Science Fiction and Fantasy'' is an academic conference held annually since 1983 in Provo, Utah. It is the longest-running science fiction and fantasy convention in Utah, ...

in 2013, she recommended setting aside a physical space for creative work and working in small bits of time as they become available.

''Schlock Mercenary''

Tayler directs the publication of her husband Howard Tayler's ''

'' comic compilations, completing editing, layout, and design. She was the primary editor and a contributor to '' Planet Mercenary'', a tabletop RPG set in the ''Schlock Mercenary'' universe. She completed the formatting and design for ''Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries'', which was available in two editions to Kickstarer backers: a "defaced" version with comments written by characters and a "pristine" version without handwritten comments. Tayler formatted the notes in the "defaced" edition using handwritten notes.

Works

Books

* ''Hold on to Your Horses'' (2008, The Tayler Corporation) * ''Cobble Stones'' (2012, Hypernode Press) * ''The Strength of Wild Horses'' (2014, Hypernode Press)

Short fiction works

* "Immigrant" in ''Ages of Wonder'' edited by Julie E. Czerneda and Rob St. Martin (2009, Daw Books, ) * "Bethan's Garden" in ''The Mind of the Beholder'' (2012, AnthologyBuilder, ) * "The Road Not Taken" in ''2012 Mormon Lit Blitz'' (2012, online only)

Roleplaying games

* '' XDM: X-Treme Dungeon Mastery'', editor (2009, The Tayler Corporation, ) * '' Planet Mercenary'', editor (2017)

Essays

* "The Non-Fictional Sense of Wonder" in ''Locus Roundtable'' (2011, online only) * "Married to Depression" in ''Altered Perceptions'' edited by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, and

Robison Wells Robison Wells (born April 4, 1978) is an American novelist and blogger. Personal life Robison Wells, the brother of author Dan Wells, was a reluctant reader as a child. He did not become interested in writing until he was in college. He gradu ...

(2014, Fearful Symmetry) * "When Mental Illness Is in Disguise" on ''The Mighty.com'' (2016, online only) * "When You’re the Wife of a Man With Depression" on ''The Mighty.com'' (2016, online only)

Awards and recognition

References

External links

One Cobble at a Time
Tayler's blog
Folksinging in the Owens family
a collection of family folk songs collected by Sandra Tayler {{DEFAULTSORT:Tayler, Sandra American children's writers 1973 births Living people Latter Day Saints from Utah Harold B. Lee Library-related 21st century articles