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Taylor grew up in Carolina small towns and tobacco farms but went international at an early age when, as an Army brat during the Korean Conflict, he learned the nuances of back-alley Japanese in Tokyo and mastered the fine art of winning Japanese cigarettes in the pachinko parlors. He also discovered his intolerance for excessive alcohol with the headaches of Kirin beer.
Once again defying the wisdom of the academics, he graduated with honor from the Infantry Officers Advance Course and instructed at the Fort Benning Infantry Center before completing his Masters degree at North Carolina State University at Raleigh, to be rewarded by a second fully-funded tour of Southeast Asia. Next came staff assignments in interesting locales such as historic Fortress Monroe and Bavaria, where he became a connoisseur of jaeger schnitzel, apfel schnapps, ski slopes and the many regional beers of Bavaria. Again facing down the trials of the classroom at the Armed Forces Staff College, Taylor followed with an intensive bit of nuclear weapons on-the-job-training and served as the Army Strategic Nuclear Plans and Programs staff officer. Finally escaping the Pentagon's Alas, Babylon environment, he joined the Rapid Deployment Joint Task Force in Florida during its evolution into US Central Command and enjoyed the benefits of exotic and fun-filled operations in the Middle East while learning about the wonders of Stella beer - a Cairo exclusive and taste-wise a close cousin of Biere LaRue - and taking a Russian's place in the bowels of an Egyptian Air Defense complex. Twenty years after his first assignment with the 101st Airborne Division, he returned to Fort Campbell where, under the watchful eyes of hard-eyed, grizzled instructors (born the same year he first joined the Division), he survived Air Assault School, commanded the 501st Signal Battalion (Air Assault) and served as the Division Signal Officer. Taylor finally got to move to the front of the formation where he could see what was going on. Following a return assignment with Central Command, Taylor retired from the Army to work as a telecommunications system engineer on military C4I programs and as a project manager for advanced technology R&D programs. Much to his surprise, he found himself traveling to Europe and back to the Middle East, and continuing to monitor Stuttgarter Hofbraeu quality.
Taylor is a life member of the 101st Airborne Division Association and Florida Gulf Coast Chapter of the 101st Airborne Division Association, the Military Officers Association of America, Disabled American Veterans, and the Association of the United States Army, and also is a volunteer with the Pasco Sheriff's Office. He also is an active member of the Mystery Writers of America, and initiated the series of Children's "How to Write" workshops at the St. Petersburg Times Reading Festival. He is a member of the Military Writers Society of America, the Electronically Published Internet Connection (EPIC), the Florida Writers Association (FWA) and is a past president of the Tampa Writers Alliance. Click here for a St. Petersburg Times article featuring Taylor and his trained cat Rocky! |
© 2000-2010 John M. Taylor |
J. M. Taylor’s first novel, 
Despite his father's advice (an Army man 
Continuing his desire to see the world, he and his platoon were attached to the1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division and deployed to 
He now writes and lives with his family on the Florida Suncoast where he has discovered Ybor Gold and Honduran cigars.