When I was young, I was terrified by words. I felt dumb, as if a part of me was broken, unable to write and read correctly, praying every day my teacher wouldn't call on me to read out loud. I did my best to hide from the world of words (and math), choosing creativity as the primary way I demonstrated my intelligence. It wasn't until I applied to college a decade later that I'd learn I was severely dyslexic. Needless to say, becoming an author was never on my list.
My career spanned through the ranks of designer, animator, film editor, and software-maker for the entertainment industry. I surrounded myself with storytelling, yet never my own. So when a random bedtime story turned episodic, my oldest daughter suggested I write a book. Somehow, I agreed.
In the end, I was left with the manuscript for CLARA POOLE AND THE LONG WAY ROUND (Pixel & Ink, 2023 & 2024), then a somewhat failed portal adventure called THE LAND OF ENDS, and most recently SPROUT, a speculative fiction about a girl with an unusual abnormality. I only wish I had started sooner.
I find endless joy in writing for middle-grade readers, who are no longer children but not quite adults. It is a bridge in time before self-awareness and teen relationships take over when things like magic still have profound importance. I hope my stories help keep that moment around a little longer—for them as well as me.
When I am not writing, I like to create improv musicals to embarrass my two daughters and drive my beautiful wife to question why she ever married me. I also have a mini-Aussie named Tucker, who is never more than five feet away from my side and makes me believe that Philip Pullman's daemons aren't so far-fetched as they might seem. But until we find other worlds, we will keep creating our own in books.
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Taylor lives with his family outside Boston, MA in an antique farmhouse that just might fall down. He is represented by Erin Clyburn at Howland Literary.
Taylor's favorites
BOOKS
Phantom Tollbooth, The Secret History, Harry Potter, Watership Down, The Hobbit, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, A Monster Calls, The Alchemist.
MOVIES
Goonies, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Big Fish, Super 8, Edward Scissorhands, Pan's Labyrinth, JAWS.
THINGS WE NEED MORE OF
Nonsense, egg sandwiches, thunderstorms, snorkeling, ski trips, Belgian ale, long talks in the kitchen, dogs, more dogs, Peter Gabriel, fried chicken, The SUNDAYS, and a whole lot of gratitude.
QUOTES
"You're only given a little spark of madness. You mustn't lose it." ~ Robin Williams
"Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." ~ Roald Dahl
A Roundabout Path to Writing
