A Woman's Place Is In the Clouds: Joan Merriam Smith, Jerrie Mock, and Other Pioneering Women of Aviation

Taylor C. Phillips is the author of Queen of the Clouds: Joan Merriam Smith and Jerrie Mock’s Epic Quest to Become the First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World. Queen of the Clouds was awarded the Gold Medal for Biography and the Gold Medal for General Nonfiction by the Florida Authors and Publishers Association, 2023, and was named a Finalist in Biography in the Best Book Awards, American Book Festival, 2023. Taylor recently retired as the Chaplain at Westminster Oaks Retirement Community in Tallahassee, Florida, where he collected life stories and shared them with upcoming generations. He earned degrees in philosophy, theology, and psychology from Rhodes College, Columbia Seminary, and Pacifica Graduate Institute. Taylor leads a series entitled “A Whirlwind Tour of the History of Women in Aviation” through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Florida State University. He has published articles in the Leading Age internet magazine, the Presbyterian Older Adult Ministries Newsletter, and the Mission Yearbook of the PCUSA. High school students working with Taylor have developed History Fair projects which have placed first in district, second in state, top ten nationally, and top twenty worldwide in the annual Florida History Fair/ National History Day competition. Taylor tells stories on stage at Florida Storytellers events, The Moth storytelling events, churches, schools, and conference centers. Taylor lives in Tallahassee, Florida, with his beloved wife Pam, their sons Colin and Isaac, and their Belgian Malinois, Chuck. They enjoy drinking coffee at the Black Dog Café at Lake Ella.