Author Archives: RJ Taylor

About RJ Taylor

RJ Taylor is a speculative and literary fiction writer. She writes mostly fantasy, near-future, and hidden magic novels, short stories, and flash fiction. RJ has an MFA from Emerson College and was part of the pilot year of Grub Street’s Novel Incubator program, a year-long intensive novel writing and revision course. She has also had the honor of participating in four Out of Excuses Writing Retreats studying with Brandon Sanderson, Mary Robinette Kowal, Howard Tayler, and Dan Wells, among other fantastic mentors. Her short pieces have appeared in Quarter After Eight, been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize, and received honorable mention in the Glimmertrain Short Story contest. She’s had other lives as a bookstore manager and a librarian.

Why? Why? Why?

I need to finish my outline. I need to take the trash out. I need to be spending time researching. I need to do the laundry. I need to revise that chapter. I need to go to the grocery store. These to-dos buzz around my head like mosquitoes on…

Dealing with Dragons

(This post originally appeared on Grub Street Daily). The first book I remember falling in love with was Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede. As the title might suggest, it’s a playful YA fantasy novel about a princess who…

Writing, Fast and Slow

It wasn’t until I joined in National Novel Writing Month (Nanowrimo) a few years ago that I finished a full draft of a novel for the first time. For anyone unfamiliar with Nanowrimo, it’s a national challenge to write a 50,000…