Simon R. Taylor

Simon Robert Taylor (born 14 December 1988) is a British author, editor, play wright and critic. He is best known for his fantasy novel Fairydust, and his long-running spy satire Monday: Impossible.

Early life

Taylor was born on 14 December 1988 in Paisley, Scotland. He attended Paisley Grammar School from 2000 to 2006, under the same English teacher credited for spotting David Tennant’s potential years previously.

Career

Taylor began his writing career in 2003 with Monday Morning Post, a satirical weekly editorial. Initially designed as an internal publication for his classmates, it grew in popularity and expanded its audience and content base significantly. By 2007, three senior staff, including Taylor, operated a full production house by the same name which released multiple titles under the Monday Morning brand. Taylor quit the organisation and his eponymous publication in 2009 to focus on other projects and was succeeded by Alison Law. Amongst the many contributors to Taylor’s final edition was then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Taylor’s foray into published fiction began with satirical spy comedy/drama Monday: Impossible in 2004. The Monday Morning Post spin-off was ultimately released four times in the UK, Europe and USA making the first episode (then also named Monday: Impossible, but subsequently referred to as Pilot]) Taylor’s most widely read production]. Taylor continued to post new episodes online, each around 9,000 words, for ten years. The final episode was released in May 2014.

Taylor's debut novel, End from the Beginning, was released in 2010 to positive reviews but poor sales. In 2012 he released a free prequel to his second novel, Fairydust, with the full novel published in 2013. Fairydust also achieved positive reviews and was much more commercially successful. Chris Taylor of the Daily Record described it as "casting a spell over all who read it", and called Taylor "talented". Leslie Wright of Blogcritics gave it the maximum five stars, adding: "Taylor will take you on a journey you're sure to remember."

In 2014, Taylor announced his third novel would be called Roll the Dice.

Personal life

Taylor married his first wife in 2008 but the marriage ended in 2011. In 2013 he announced his engagement to Anna-Marie Smith, and was interviewed by Take A Break magazine. Taylor cited Smith as a major influence on the female lead of Fairydust. Taylor and Smith welcomed their daughter the same year. As of 2015, they have separated.

Bibliography

Novels

  • End from the Beginning (2010)
  • Fairydust (2013)
  • Roll the Dice (forthcoming)

Online Work

  • Monday Morning Post (2003—2009)
  • Monday: Impossible (2004—2014)
  • Beat: Impossible (2011–2012)
  • Pulse: Impossible (2012)

Plays

Charlie Bob & Victoria Helvectia series

  • All I Want For Christmas Is The Rent To Be Paid (2002)
  • All I Want For Summer Is The Rent To Be Paid (2003)
  • All I Want For Christmas Is The Rent To Be Paid 2 (2003)
  • FERTILIZ (2004)
  • All I Want For Christmas Is The Rent To Be Paid 3 (2004)
  • Charlie’s Broken Onion (2005)

Others

  • The Magical Land of Ruby (2006, co-writer and director)

Other works

  • Gobbledygook! (2001 anthology, contributor)
  • The Grammarian (2006, production manager, official Paisley Grammar School magazine)