Jeannie St. John Taylor
"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." (Prov. 16:3)
"About the Author" - Jeannie's Publishing History
Jeannie launched her writing career in 1998 with the co-authored children’s book, "What Would Jesus Do Today," a Silver Medallion winner from Multnomah Press. In the five years since its release, she has signed contracts with five publishers, and her writing has appeared in several magazines and short story collections. Ten books authored by her, four adult-level books on the subject of prayer and six children's books, are currently available in bookstores.
In 2003 Jeannie’s focus took an unexpected turn when two publishers asked her to illustrate for them. Her first written and illustrated children’s book "Am I Praying?," Kregel, August 2003, is a finalist for the 2004 Gold Medallion Award. A miniature golf course based on the characters from "Am I Praying?" will be featured by Kregel Publishers’ at the Christian Booksellers Convention in Atlanta in June.
Jeannie’s releases for 2004 include "The Guilt Free Prayer Journal for Moms," AMG Publishers and "You Wouldn’t Love Me if You Knew," Abingdon Press. "Am I Trusting?" written and illustrated by Jeannie, a teen novel called "Out at Home," and "Matt’s Fantastic Electronic Compusonic," written by a Colorado author and illustrated by Jeannie will all be out by Fall.
Early in 2004, a series of brief radio spots on prayer that Jeannie wrote and recorded began airing on an American Family Radio station in Dothan, Alabama. By Fall 2004, CBD will sell a product called "Prayer Prompting" along with the Bible cover she designed last year.
"NW Drizzle," a secular e-magazine, featured Jeannie and her artwork in the Fall of 2002. "Christian Retailing Magazine" spotlighted her in July 2003.
Several more books, for adults and children, are scheduled for release in 2005.
A professional artist as well as a writer and teacher, Jeannie’s paintings have hung in several galleries in Oregon and even traveled to Texas for a special show. They currently hang in the Candace Trout gallery in Portland, Oregon. Jeannie teaches and speaks at conferences, and works as a freelance editor -- most recently editing eight children’s books for Kregel and a fantasy novel for AMG Publishers. In her spare time, she works as a private investigator for Taylor Made Financial Investigations, a company owned by her husband Ray, a retired federal criminal investigator.
Born and raised in the Midwest, Jeannie earned a degree in Elementary Education from Olivet Nazarene University in Illinois, then moved to Oregon to teach art and English in the small town of Yamhill. Jeannie’s education continued in Portland, Oregon with a Masters Degree from Lewis and Clark College as well as an extra year of art credits from Portland Community College and Portland State University.
She lives with her husband of twenty-eight years, ten minutes from downtown Portland, Oregon on a five acre cattle farm surrounded by subdivisions. She and Ray have three grown children.