About Us

In 2005, after having a very successful career in nanotechnology research and development, Dr. Shawn Phillips decided to break the seal on his teenage dream of writing fantasci (a true combination of fantasy and science fiction). It started as a hobby, as Shawn had a full-time job leading rocket engine development for the Air Force, but after four years resulted in the completion of Dillon’s Dream: Water & Earth. With a finished book in hand, the wide-eyed, novice writer leapt head-first into the shallow pool of literary agents and publishers. After receiving over thirty generic rejection letters, he and his lovely bride of nearly twelve years decided to open their own company to publish his books.

YBCoyote Press was conceived of in 2009, and received its official business license in 2010. The company is currently only focused on promoting works written by Dr. Phillips, but has a vision of marketing entertaining books that also educate the reader on a particular subject.

What’s with the name? We established our company in Palmdale, California which is located in the heart of the Antelope Valley. It is also in the southwest portion of the Mojave Desert, known for its strange-looking Joshua trees and abundance of coyotes. We wanted to capture the essence of the locale in our name, while also ensuring it was unique. Yucca is the genus and brevifolia is the species for the biological classification of the Joshua Tree. Add a little creativity and our name, YBCoyote Press was born.

Thanks to Mr. Dean Richards, graphics guru, for the logo design.

Dr. Shawn Phillips spent most of his pre-teen years living in small farming communities in southern Michigan, finally settling down in Jonesville for his middle and high school years. Upon graduating he moved to Holland, Michigan to pursue a chemistry degree at Hope College, which he completed in 1992. He relocated to California to continue his chemistry studies, and obtained his doctorate in 1997. He has spent more than a decade conducting and directing materials development and rocket propulsion research at the historic Rocket Research Site, located at Edwards Air Force Base, California. In addition, he holds a third degree blackbelt in Hoshinroshiryu and a green belt in Songham Tae Kwon Do. He has two children, whom he joyfully raises with his wife Yvonne Campos, amongst the beautiful desert hills of Palmdale, California.