Sandra Tayler

{{Short description|American children's book, fantasy writer, & blogger (born 1973)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2017}} {{Infobox writer | name = Sandra Tayler | image = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | pseudonym = | birth_name = Sandra Owens | birth_date = 1973 | birth_place = | occupation = Editor, writer, publisher | language = English | nationality = American | education = | alma_mater = | period = 2008–present | genre = Children's books, fantasy, science fiction | subject = Mental illness | notableworks = <!-- or: | notablework = --> | spouse = Howard Tayler (1993–present) | relatives = Nancy Fulda (sister) | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | years_active = 2008 - present | website = {{URL|onecobble.com}} }}

'''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's ''Schlock Mercenary'' 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 in 2009 from the Association for Mormon Letters.

==Biography== Sandra Owens was born 1973.<ref name="birthday">{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Birthday-- The day after|url=http://www.onecobble.com/2005/01/28/birthday-the-day-after/|website=One Cobble at a Time|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> She married Howard Tayler in 1993<ref>{{cite book|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|last2=Call|first2=Anglea|title=Hold on To Your Horses|date=2008|publisher=The Tayler Corporation|url=http://www.onecobble.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/HHpdf-format.pdf}}</ref> and they are the parents of four children.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Halloween|url=http://www.onecobble.com/2016/10/31/halloween-4/|website=One Cobble at a Time|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> The writer Nancy Fulda is her sister.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fulda|first1=Nancy|title=Hold on to Your Horses by Sandra Tayler|url=http://www.nancyfulda.com/hold-on-to-your-horses-by-sandra-tayler|website=Nancy Fulda: The Author's Official Website|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref>

==Career== Tayler began blogging to "rediscover who I was when I wasn't Mom." Her blog entries received the Association for Mormon Letters award for online writing in 2009.<ref name="aml2009"/> She published selections from her 2011 blog entries in a compilation entitled ''Cobble Stones: Year 2011''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Cobble Stones 2011 by Sandra Tayler paperback|url=https://store.schlockmercenary.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=B-CS+2011+Sand|website=schlockmercenary.com|access-date=2 February 2017}}</ref>

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 book, ''XDM: X-Treme Dungeon Mastery'', written by Tracy and Curtis Hickman and illustrated by her husband, Howard.

Taylor wrote ''Hold on To Your Horses'' and ''The Strength of Wild Horses'' to help her daughter "visualize and control her impulsive ideas."<ref>{{cite web|last1=Hines|first1=Jim|title=Sandra Tayler Talks About The Strength of Wild Horses|url=http://www.jimchines.com/2013/11/strength-of-wild-horses/|website=Jim C. Hines|access-date=January 17, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Books that can help ADD kids and their parents|url=http://www.onecobble.com/2008/07/02/books-that-can-help-add-kids-and-their-parents/|website=One Cobble at a Time|access-date=January 17, 2017}}</ref> Roger Sutton, editor-in-chief of ''The Horn Book'', said ''Strength'' was "purposive but lightened with humor."<ref name="horn book review of strength of wild horses">{{cite web|last1=Sutton|first1=Roger|title=Selfie Sweepstakes Reviews: The Strength of Wild Horses|url=http://www.hbook.com/2015/03/blogs/read-roger/selfie-sweepstakes-reviews-the-strength-of-wild-horses/|website=The Horn Book|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> Two of Tayler's essays have been featured on ''The Mighty'', a website that spotlights experiences with mental health issues.<ref name="the mighty contribs">{{cite web|title=Sandra Tayler – The Mighty Contributor|url=https://themighty.com/author/sandra-tayler/|website=The Mighty|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref>

Tayler has presented at many conventions. She moderated a panel on geeky parenting at the 2014 Salt Lake Comic Con.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Johnson|first1=Chandra|title=Why costumes are no longer just for Halloween|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865610662/Why-costumes-are-no-longer-just-for-Halloween.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119050423/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865610662/Why-costumes-are-no-longer-just-for-Halloween.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 19, 2017|work=DeseretNews.com|date=September 12, 2014}}</ref> She was a panelist at the 2016 Salt Lake ComiCon FanXperience about how to share and moderate media consumption.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Ramirez|first1=Alexandria|title=How 'geeky families' can love tech but also set limits|url=http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865657478/Open-communication-setting-guidelines-strategies-for-media-in-the-home-panelists-say.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707150307/http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865657478/Open-communication-setting-guidelines-strategies-for-media-in-the-home-panelists-say.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 7, 2016|access-date=January 5, 2017|work=DeseretNews.com|date=July 5, 2016}}</ref> At the Gen Con 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.<ref>{{cite web|title=2016 GenCon Symposium Schedule v2.3|url=http://genconwriters.com/docs/2016GenConSymposiumSchedulev2.3.pdf|website=GenCon|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105192324/http://genconwriters.com/docs/2016GenConSymposiumSchedulev2.3.pdf|archive-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> In a presentation at Life, the Universe, & Everything in 2013, she recommended setting aside a physical space for creative work and working in small bits of time as they become available.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Structuring Life to Make Room for Creativity|url=http://www.onecobble.com/2013/02/18/structuring-life-to-make-room-for-creativity/|website=One Cobble at a Time|access-date=30 January 2017}}</ref>

===''Schlock Mercenary''=== Tayler directs the publication of her husband Howard Tayler's ''Schlock Mercenary'' comic compilations, completing editing, layout, and design.<ref name="Bliss">{{cite web|last1=Bliss|first1=Rodney M|title=The Power Behind The Schlock Mercenary Throne: An Interview With Sandra Tayler|url=https://rodneymbliss.com/2015/12/14/the-power-behind-the-schlock-mercenary-throne-an-interview-with-sandra-tayler/|website=Rodney M Bliss|access-date=January 5, 2017|date=December 15, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=About Sandra Tayler|url=http://www.onecobble.com/about/|website=One Cobble at a Time|language=en-us}}</ref>

She was the primary editor and a contributor to ''Planet Mercenary'', a tabletop RPG set in the ''Schlock Mercenary'' universe.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Books|url=http://www.onecobble.com/books/|website=One Cobble at a Time|language=en-us}}</ref><!-- this Kickstarter update suggests that "Patrick" was also an editor: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/howardtayler/the-planet-mercenary-role-playing-game/posts/1776140--> She completed the formatting and design for ''Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries'', which was available in two editions to Kickstarter backers: a "defaced" version with comments written by characters and a "pristine" version without handwritten comments.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=Seventy Maxims of Maximally Effective Mercenaries|url=http://www.onecobble.com/2016/10/26/seventy-maxims-of-maximally-effective-mercenaries/|website=One Cobble at a Time}}</ref> Tayler formatted the notes in the "defaced" edition using handwritten notes.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Tayler|first1=Sandra|title=When a Project Doesn't Work|url=http://www.onecobble.com/2016/10/05/when-a-project-doesnt-work/|website=One Cobble at a Time|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref>

==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, {{ISBN|978-0-7564-0543-4}})<ref name="ages of wonder">{{cite web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?270026|title=Publication: Ages of Wonder|publisher=Internet Speculative Fiction Database|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> * "Bethan's Garden" in ''The Mind of the Beholder'' (2012, AnthologyBuilder, {{ISBN|9781475296204}}) * "The Road Not Taken" in ''2012 Mormon Lit Blitz'' (2012, online only)<ref name="road not taken">{{cite web|url=http://lit.mormonartist.net/2012/02/day-five-sandra-tayler/|title=Day Five: Sandra Tayler: The Road Not Taken|publisher=Mormon Lit Blitz|first=Sandra|last=Tayler|date=February 20, 2012|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-date=January 19, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170119050349/http://lit.mormonartist.net/2012/02/day-five-sandra-tayler/|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

===Roleplaying games=== * ''XDM: X-Treme Dungeon Mastery'', editor (2009, The Tayler Corporation, {{ISBN|9780977907465}}) * ''Planet Mercenary'', editor (2017)

===Essays=== * "The Non-Fictional Sense of Wonder" in ''Locus Roundtable'' (2011, online only)<ref name="non-fictional sense of wonder">{{cite web|url=http://www.locusmag.com/Roundtable/2011/10/sandra-tayler-the-non-fictional-sense-of-wonder/|title=Sandra Tayler–The Non-Fictional Sense of Wonder|publisher=Locus Online|date=October 6, 2011|first=Sandra|last=Tayler|access-date=January 5, 2017|archive-date=January 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118230321/http://www.locusmag.com/Roundtable/2011/10/sandra-tayler-the-non-fictional-sense-of-wonder/|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> * "Married to Depression" in ''Altered Perceptions'' edited by Brandon Sanderson, Dan Wells, and Robison Wells (2014, Fearful Symmetry)<ref name="altered perceptions">{{cite web|url=http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?502669|title=Publication: Altered Perceptions|publisher=Internet Speculative Fiction Database|access-date=January 5, 2017}}</ref> * "When Mental Illness Is in Disguise" on ''The Mighty.com'' (2016, online only)<ref name="mighty disguise">{{cite web|url=https://themighty.com/2016/02/when-mental-illness-is-in-disguise/|title=When Mental Illness Is in Disguise|publisher=TheMighty.com|date=February 1, 2016|access-date=February 3, 2017|archive-date=February 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205101105/https://themighty.com/2016/02/when-mental-illness-is-in-disguise/|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> * "When You're the Wife of a Man With Depression" on ''The Mighty.com'' (2016, online only)<ref name="mighty wife depression">{{cite web|url=https://themighty.com/2016/01/when-youre-the-wife-of-a-man-with-depression/|title=When You're the Wife of a Man With Depression|publisher=TheMighty.com|date=January 21, 2016|access-date=February 3, 2017|archive-date=February 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205100752/https://themighty.com/2016/01/when-youre-the-wife-of-a-man-with-depression/|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

==Awards and recognition== {| class="wikitable" style="width:95%;" |- ! scope="col" style="width:30px;"| Year ! scope="col" style="width:120px;"| Organization ! scope="col" style="width:150px;"| Award title,<br />Category ! scope="col" style="width:150px;"| Work ! scope="col" style="width:10px;"| Result ! scope="col" style="width:10px;"| Refs <!-- Use the template below for each row |- | YEAR | ORGANIZATION | TITLE,<br />CATEGORY | WORK | {{nom}} or {{won}} | REFERENCES --> |- | 2009 | Association for Mormon Letters | Award for Online Writing | ''One Cobble at a Time'' website | {{won}} |<ref name="aml2009">{{cite web|url=http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/aml-awards/aml-awards-2008-2009/|title=AML Awards 2008 – 2009|access-date=January 6, 2017|publisher=Association for Mormon Letters|archive-date=January 11, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111125423/http://associationmormonletters.org/blog/aml-awards/aml-awards-2008-2009/|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> |}

==References== {{reflist|30em}}

==External links== * [http://www.onecobble.com/ One Cobble at a Time], Tayler's blog * [http://archives.lib.byu.edu/repositories/ltpsc/archival_objects/ref10010_pbo Folksinging in the Owens family], a collection of family folk songs collected by Sandra Tayler

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Tayler, Sandra}} Category:American children's writers Category:1973 births Category:Living people Category:Latter Day Saints from Utah