Miranda Horner was born in
Waukegan, Illinois, was raised in
Texas, and moved to
Kansas City shortly before attending college there. Growing up, she read fantasy books such as
TSR's
Endless Quest series, and the
Dragonlance Chronicles trilogy, and she also watched the
Dungeons & Dragons cartoon; this led to an interest in role-playing games. She originally wanted to be an accountant, but after taking classes on Accounting and other business subjects, she decided she would rather study History and English Literature as she wanted to edit fantasy books: "Since TSR was close to my grandparents' house in
Illinois, I made it my goal to somehow get into TSR." Horner began making contacts in the gaming industry at
Gen Con, and met her future husband Shaun at a
role-playing convention. ==Career==